Hospital Violence-brief synopsis.

 

Timeline of major recent incidents in India between 2016-19.

31 October 2019: Two residents of Banaras Hindu University, were beaten by patient attendants and goons in the parking space who escaped after the assault on motorbikes in Varanasi .

14 June 2019: A doctor was tied to a tree, robbed of his money and belongings; his wife and daughter were gang-raped in the Gaya district of Bihar .

11 June 2019: A junior resident doctor at Nil Ratan Sircar Medical College Hospital was hurled a brick to the head by the relatives of a 75-year-old patient. He suffered from a skull fracture and needed ICU admission 

5 June 2019: A Kolkata doctor was manhandled by the mob after the death of a six years old child in the Garden Reach area 

21 May 2019: The drunk attendants of a patient assaulted the Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) doctor, Telangana 

12 May 2019: The medical officer in Dikom tea garden suffers from fractured ribs and broken bones after being assaulted by a mob in Assam 

27 February 2019: A junior doctor in the pediatric department of Gandhi Hospital, Hyderabad was assaulted by the grandmother of a 2-month-old baby who succumbed during treatment 

1 January 2019: A senior pediatrician was brutally assaulted by the patient’s family at his clinic in Himayatnagar Hyderabad, Telangana 

9 February 2019: An on-duty ophthalmologist at the Central Hospital North Eastern Coalfields (NEC) Coal India LTD, Digboi, Assam was assaulted by some miscreants 

23 December 2018: A doctor on duty in the ICU of Kolkata Nursing Home was harassed and physically assaulted by the relatives of a patient complaining of chest pain 

2 December 2018: A doctor was assaulted by the villagers at the District Headquarter Hospital, Bhadrak, Odisha after the refusal of Mahaprayan Vehicle 

25 November 2018: Two nursing staff were physically assaulted by the patient attendants on night duty at the Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) 

November 2018: A trainee doctor at the Chengelpettu Medical College, Tamil Nadu was assaulted by inebriated patient attendants 

15 October 2018: The relatives of a patient assaulted a reserved category doctor demanding the service of an upper-class doctor at Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh

30 August 2018: A police officer, who underwent wrist surgery, slapped the Junior doctor without provocation at the Calcutta Medical Research Institute (CMRI) hospital, Ekbalpore, West Bengal ].

19 May 2018: A patient's relative beat up two resident doctors of JJ Hospital, Mumbai 

15 March 2017: An orthopedician at the Dhule government Hospital, Maharashtra, who was brutally assaulted by a patient's kin develops blurring of vision in one eye [.

August 2016: The relatives of an alcoholic deceased patient brutally thrashed two medical residents working at the Sassoon Medical College .

Violence against doctors leading to the number of strikes in hospitals reported in India from January 2007 to November 2019.

Most common types of violence against Indian doctors

Factors stressing Indian doctors

Government Policies and Responsibilities should be stricter&Change in government policies like -

•  increased government spending on healthcare, 
• improving the infrastructure of the hospitals, 
• stricter implementation of rules, 
• laws, and punishment for violence under the Prevention of Violence against Doctors and Hospitals according to appropriate Acts(BNS&VARIOUS STATE ACTS)and relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), 
• violence against health-care personnel and hospitals should be made a nonbailable offense and 
• damages should be recovered from the persons responsible for the violence.
•  The government should take responsibility for the safety of healthcare workers.
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  Amendment of various state acts & promulgation of the federal act is need of the hour.
  
  
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• Steps Doctor Should Take
• The doctors should take a few precautions while taking valid and informed consent. Audio-visual consent is preferred.
•  Proper documentation has to be done. 
• The next important thing is communication which should be done preferably in the patient’s native language. Improving communication skills is another aspect of it. They shouldn't try to overdo or overreact and remain calm and composed.

Steps Institution Should Take

• The standard operating procedure should be made and followed strictly. 
• Code Purple should be declared and all measures should be taken in case of violence. 
• Security staff to respond and assist immediately. 
• All staff (except Operation Theatre & ICU) should form a human chain. 
• All staff should remain calm & practice restraint. 
• Closed-circuit television (CCTV) monitoring in sensitive areas is a must and should report to the Police immediately,

Unless there is an entire overhaul of the prevailing healthcare system, it is a herculean task to curb violence against doctors. The medical curriculum should include soft skills and communication skills required to empathize, remain calm, and twiddling my thumbs regardless of repeated prodding by the anxious patients. Along with this increased communication between the doctors and patients, filling crucial gaps in communication between doctors, patients, and relatives will help in mitigating the violence in a long way.