A case of assault on a junior resident doctor treating a child in the neonatology department of Nehru Hospital of Chandigarh PGI has come to light. Seeing the marks on the child’s neck, the angry family members dragged the doctor out of the NNN ICU by holding him by the collar and slapped him.
As soon as the matter was reported, representatives of the Association of Resident Doctors (ARD) reached the spot and demonstrated in support of the doctor. On the demand of ARD, within a few hours, the police have registered an FIR against the unknown attackers in Sector-11 police station under sections of misbehavior and assault.
The situation worsened after marks appeared on the neck
According to the information, Dr. Paras Kandpal had taken help from associate doctor Dr. Siddharth Chakraborty to insert an IV cannula to a newborn. After the procedure, the nursing staff told Dr. Siddharth that marks were visible on the child’s neck. As soon as this news reached the family, they called 4-5 relatives.
After this, they caught hold of Dr. Siddharth and dragged him out of the ICU and started beating him. After about 10 minutes, the doctor somehow managed to return inside. Dr. Siddharth has filed a complaint at the police station and demanded strict action against those who assaulted him. He said that such violence with doctors in the hospital has made it very difficult to work.
Doctors warned – will not tolerate violence anymore
After the incident, ARD President Dr. Vishnu Jinja expressed deep displeasure over the increasing violence against doctors and met the PGI Director and demanded strict action against the culprits. He warned that doctors are there for treatment, not to become victims of anyone’s anger. The security system in the institute should be strengthened immediately.
It is worth noting that in 2024, the resident doctors of PGI boycotted the OPD for several days in protest against the assault on a doctor at Kolkata Medical College. At that time big promises were made regarding security. Many plans like CCTV cameras, security buttons and increased patrolling were made, but the current situation is exposing these claims.
Security claims exposed, CCTV cameras malfunctioning
The safety of doctors and patients in PGI is now under question. Out of the 904 CCTV cameras of the institute, 86 cameras have been out of order for a long time. Many of these cameras are installed at important places like Research Block, Doctor Hostel, New OPD Building, Laundry Plant and Gate No. 4. According to the PGI spokesperson, additional security guards have been deployed at places where the cameras are not working and security monitoring staff has been deployed at places where the cameras are not working.
Death due to negligence has happened earlier as well
A major lapse in security was also seen on 15 November 2023, when at around 11:05 pm, a woman entered the gynecology ward of PGI without permission and introduced herself as a nurse and injected the admitted patient. After some time, the patient’s condition started deteriorating and she died during treatment.
