Lack of security scares junior doctors

Lack of security scares junior doctors
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Highlights

The decision to increase the deployment of Special Protection Forces (SPF) at all government teaching hospitals remains on paper even two years after the GO was issued. The present strength of SPF is not sufficient to meet the requirement.

Hyderabad: The decision to increase the deployment of Special Protection Forces (SPF) at all government teaching hospitals remains on paper even two years after the GO was issued. The present strength of SPF is not sufficient to meet the requirement.

The delay in providing additional number of SPF personnel is allegedly resulting in continued attacks on doctors particularly junior doctors and house surgeons in Hyderabad. In the latest incident, relatives of a patient, who died on Tuesday past midnight, assaulted a doctor in Gandhi Hospital and the doctors, who were in state of panic, boycotted their duties.

According to an official, the increase in the number of SPF was already planned. The official recalled that GO No 79 was issued in 2015 pertaining deployment of SPF in eight teaching hospitals after the junior doctors went on a 30 days strike in 2007 to protest against an incident in which a local legislator manhandled a junior doctor at Niloufer Hospital.

The government then issued an ordinance making attacks on doctors a non bailable offence. After another attack on a junior doctor in 2011, the government deployed SPF and set up a police outpost on Niloufer campus
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“Round-the-clock security has been deployed at Osmania General Hospital (OGH), Gandhi Hospital, State-run Maternity Hospitals in Sultan Bazar, Petlaburj, Niloufer Hospital, MGM General Hospital in Warangal and Government Maternity Hospital, Hanamkonda and CKM Hospital, Matwada in Warangal. Each hospital had two head constables and six constables,” said the official.

On July 31 this year, the relatives of a patient attacked a junior doctor at Osmania General Hospital (OGH) that triggered a three-day strike. Then the Junior Doctors Association (JUDA) had reiterated their demand to deploy more number of SPF at OGH. The Director of Medical Education (DME) has assured that steps would be taken to increase the SPF at all the teaching hospitals. But, yet the number of SPF has not been increased.

A junior doctor said due to attacks on doctors, they would not work at government hospitals. “One of the relatives had tried to slap me six months ago. But I managed to escape,” she said. A senior doctor on the condition of anonymity said 80 per cent of the cases admitted in government hospitals were those which were in highly critical condition and the cases which the corporate hospitals refuse to treat. Unfortunately, the relatives of patient do not understand us and blame us for the death of the patient.

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