Resident doctors at Bengaluru decided to learn self-defence techniques in wake of rising cases of violence against doctors in the country.
The self-defence programme was organised by the Karnataka Association of Resident Doctors in wake of the nationwide protest called by the Indian Medical Association (IMA) on June 18 against recent incidents of assault on doctors. At a hospital in Bengaluru, the doctors held placards saying "Stop violence against doctors", "If we bleed, You bleed. Save Us. Save Yourself"
"Stop violence against doctors. Doctors save lives. Don't Kill them."
Recently, the doctors in the city witnessed two such cases. On June 15, a doctor was allegedly assaulted by relatives of a COVID-19 patient after he died following his hospitalization for several days. In May, another pediatric doctor was allegedly assaulted by four men.
Back in 2019, the doctors at Rainbow Children's Hospital organised a similar programme on the occasion of Doctors' Day.
In the same year, two doctors at Nil Ratan Sircar (NRS) Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata were allegedly attacked by the kin of an 80-year old patient who died. This attack led to a nationwide stir in the country for several days and the mass resignation of several doctors.
In 2017, the resident doctors at AIIMS in Delhi had also decided to undergo training in Taekwondo to defend themselves if attacked on duty. IMA had called for a country-wide protest and demanded a central law on violence against doctors. It said in a statement that about 3.5 lakh doctors participated in the protest.
Increasing number of assaults on doctors
On June 1, this year, a doctor at a medical facility in Assam was allegedly assaulted by relatives after a patient suffering from COVID-19 and pneumonia died. The National Huma Right Commission (NHRC) took cognizance of the case and sought Action Taken Report from the Assam government within four weeks.
On May 31, a 50-year old doctor in Bengaluru was allegedly assaulted over a death of a six-year-old boy. Further, the IMA had said in a press meet in June that five such were reported in Pune and 57 in Maharashtra during the pandemic.
It has also written to the Union Health Minister seeking urgent corrective actions at various levels to stop the violence. The Health Services Personnel and Clinical Establishments (Prohibition of Violence and Damage to Property Bill), 2019, was drafted by the Health Ministry but was dismissed by the Home Ministry.
