NEW DELHI, India — Tensions are escalating at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) following an incident where a doctor was assaulted, sparking a potential strike by resident doctors. The uproar began after AIIMS allegedly failed to comply with a governmental directive to promptly file a police report concerning the assault that transpired last Thursday at a health center in Ballabgarh.
The assault occurred when a junior doctor, attending to a severe stroke patient, was attacked by the patient’s son. The confrontation ensued outside the treatment room where the physician was arranging necessary medical transport for the patient. Reportedly, the assailant threatened the safety of all medical staff present if his father’s condition deteriorated.
This incident violates the directives set by the Ministry of Health, which clearly mandate that FIRs (First Information Reports) should be registered within six hours of any act of violence against healthcare workers. This policy was instituted to provide legal protection to medical staff, a point underscored during a nationwide strike by junior doctors in August.
Despite the gravity of the situation, an FIR had still not been lodged two days after the attack, a delay that has attracted severe criticism from national doctor’s associations like FORDA and FAIMA. These groups have expressed their solidarity with the affected doctors at AIIMS and are demanding expedient legal action against the perpetrator.
An emergency meeting conducted the day following the incident, which included AIIMS officials, the local village head, police, and faculty members, was unable to resolve the deadlock. According to statements from the Resident Doctors’ Association (RDA) at AIIMS, attempts to broker a compromise were made, but no agreement was reached and the FIR remained unfiled.
The RDA has publicly denounced the inaction of AIIMS’s administration. They demand that the FIR be filed under stringent local laws designed to protect healthcare professionals from violence. The specific statute in question is the Haryana Medicare Service Persons and Institutions (Prevention of Violence and Damage to Property) Act, 2009.
Continued inaction, the RDA warns, would compel them to cease providing rural healthcare services and to begin a full-scale protest. This potential withdrawal from service highlights the critical nature of safety concerns for healthcare workers serving in rural or suburban setups, where such incidents can severely impact the medical care available to these communities.
This confrontation underscores a broader issue faced by healthcare workers in India, where instances of violence against medical personnel have been increasingly reported. This rising trend poses significant challenges not only to the safety of healthcare workers but also impacts the efficiency and morale within the health sector.
The Ministry of Health has yet to respond to these developments. However, the escalating situation at AIIMS and the potential strike by its resident doctors could act as a crucial inflection point, prompting a reevaluation of existing policies and enforcement measures related to the protection of healthcare workers across the nation.