Delhi hospital on strike after attacks on docs

HOSPITAL RAGE: A patient's relatives had earlier attacked a doctor protesting medical negligence.

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New Delhi: Doctors have gone on an indefinite strike in Delhi's Lok Nayak Jaiprakash Narayan Hospital (LNJP) demanding security at the workplace.

This after family members of a patient attacked doctors allegedly protesting medical negligence.

"On Friday night one of the doctors was attacked with beer bottles and knives, similar attacks took place on the following consecutive days, Saturday and Sunday," says resident Dr Madhu.

"Such attacks have become common in the last one year," says resident Dr Anant.

Younger doctors can handle odd working hours, a shortage in medical infrastructure and an overwhelming number of patients who come to public hospitals in their last stage.

However, one thing they cannot cannot handle is the behavior of the relatives of the patients who don't survive.

Among the demands they have put forward are:

• Armed security guards to protect the doctors
• Entries into the hospital to be manned and a strict gate pass checking
• And a FIR on every incident of hospital rage

While the private hospitals have imposed guidelines restricting the number of attendants with each patients, govt authorities are reluctant to impose the same in the govt-run institutions.

"One cannot compare a govt hospital with the private hospitals. There is a shortage of staff at the hospital," says Principle Secretary , Delhi government Dr Vivek Ray.

At any given point in time there are around three to four hundred patients in the casualty ward of the LNJP and the hospital administration says, they simply cannot serve everyone at the same time.

"We are admitting all the patients without any exceptions, we are not refusing admission to any patient weather we have that kind on man power or infrastructure," says Medical Superintendent of LNJP Dr Batra

The resident doctors of LNJP had gone on a strike in 2006 for a similar reason. Now, after a week of living in fear, they have gone on an indefinite strike from Monday night.

Similar incidents have taken place in the past:

Doctors at the Lok Nayak Jaiprakash Narayan Hospital were on strike in April last year as well. The same month resident doctors at the DDU hospital too were on strike after relatives of a patient, who died, became violent.