Flash Strike By Gandhi Hospital Junior Doctors

Two junior doctors were allegedly attacked and injured by relatives of a patient who reportedly died minutes after being brought to Gandhi Hospital in the wee hours of Wednesday, triggering off a flash strike by the junior doctors in protest.

According to the striking doctors, one 70-year-old Mohd Muneer alias Chinnu Miya was brought to the emergency ward of Gandhi Hospital at around 3:30 am on Wednesday in a critical condition with severe chest pain. Though some junior doctors attended to the patient immediately and made all possible efforts to resuscitate him, the patient died while undergoing treatment, they said.

This triggered off a violent response from the relatives of the patient who had brought him to the hospital. They allegedly attacked the junior doctors, as a result of which two women junior doctors sustained serious injuries.

The incident sparked off a flash strike from the junior doctors, who boycotted regular duties paralyzing services in the hospital. The doctors expressed concern that this was not the first time that they were being attacked when a patient died for no fault of theirs. Despite assurances by the hospital and other concerned authorities that such incidents would not be allowed to recur, there was no protection for the doctors who were sincerely doing their job, they complained.

The RMO swiftly lodged a complaint in the Chilkalguda Police Station against the attackers, and the doctors eventually withdrew their agitation and joined duties after the police announced that they had arrested three persons who had attacked the doctors, and assured the doctors that they would station some police in the hospital as security to them.

The Superintendent of the hospital Dr. Sravan Kumar said that all possible efforts were made to ensure that the patients were not put to any inconvenience while the strike was on, and that discussions were held with the striking junior doctors continuously, which resulted in a quick resolution.