Jharkhand: 14 Patients Die In 36 Hours As Junior Doctors Go On Strike For Assaulting A Colleague
Image Credits: NDTV, Maharashtra Today

Jharkhand: 14 Patients Die In 36 Hours As Junior Doctors Go On Strike For Assaulting A Colleague

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At least 14 patients died in 36 hours in Jharkhand’s Rajendra Institute Of Medical Sciences (RIMS) as nurses, and junior doctors of the institute were on strike against the assault on one of its staff.

The protest which has since then ended on June 3, saw the nurses and junior doctors raising demands for their protection after one of their colleagues was manhandled by a deceased’s family members on Friday, June 1.


Probe Into The Deaths

In a recent development, the director of RIMS has demanded a report on the deaths. Dr R K Shrivastava, while talking to The Logical Indian said, “I have demanded a report on the number of deaths that have happened over the span of two days, after which we will be able to determine the reason behind the same.”

He added that it was only the PG students, and some nurses who were protesting, the senior doctors were not involved.


The Demands of Junior Doctors

As reported by The New Indian Express, the protesting junior doctors and nurses had blocked the emergency ward of the state’s largest hospital, and did not allow any patients to enter the premises. President of Junior Nurses Association, Ramrekha Rai told the daily, “We want those who manhandled the nurses to be arrested and the authorities to implement Medical Protection Act in the state. The family members of Geeta Devi came here on Friday also and injured at least four nurses while police remained mute spectators.”

Additionally, they also demanded immediate intervention of Jharkhand’s health minister Ramchandra Chandravanshi and principal secretary (Health) Nidhi Khare, to look into the issue.


Assault On A Nurse

Problems at the institute began when a patient had died after a nurse had given an injection. This incident led the deceased’s attendants to thrash the nurse on Friday night, reported NDTV.

The following day, nurses and junior doctors went on a strike, leaving about 2000 patients without treatment in the institute’s Out Patient Department (OPD). Moreover, patients admitted at RIMS had to shift to other medical care units.

However, the strike was called off on Sunday afternoon, after health minister Ramchandra Chndrabansi, and chief secretary Sudhir Tripathy held a dialogue at RIMS.


The Logical Indian Take

Recently, there have been numerous cases of assault on doctors in 2018 alone, and these are not isolated incidents. The responsibility lies upon both the Government and the public to ensure safety along with maintaining decorum in the hospital premises.


Also Read: Assaulting Doctors Is Not The Solution


We have all encountered doctors who were lax with their duties but, generalising a whole profession as negligent or violently attacking them is not the answer. These doctors who are getting brutally and mercilessly assaulted are usually Junior Residents. The Logical Indian condemns such acts of violence.

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Editor : The Logical Indian

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