Doctors at Jharkhand's Dhanbad Medical College hold strike after colleague assaulted

Dhanbad, April 10 (IANS) Medical services at the government-run Shaheed Nirmal Mahato Medical College and Hospital (SNMMCH) in Jharkhand's Dhanbad were severely hit for over eight hours on Thursday as doctors went on a strike after a senior resident doctor was assaulted by relatives of a deceased patient, officials said.

In protest against the assault, doctors at the hospital went on strike from 2 a.m., leading to a complete shutdown of emergency services in the hospital.

According to the hospital, the incident occurred late Wednesday night when a young girl, admitted to the paediatric department following a snake bite, died during treatment.

The girl’s family, blaming medical negligence, created a commotion and physically assaulted the senior resident on duty.

Soon after, other doctors at the hospital, expressing outrage over the incident, halted all medical services, including in the emergency department.

Even critically ill patients were not admitted during this period, and many had to return without receiving treatment.

OPD services were also impacted for several hours in the morning on Thursday.

The striking doctors demanded the immediate registration of an FIR and the arrest of those involved in the assault.

They also raised concerns about the rising number of violent incidents targeting medical personnel and insisted that adequate security arrangements be put in place at the hospital.

Officials from the Saraidhela police station reached the hospital shortly after the incident and managed to bring the situation under control by pacifying the agitated people. However, the doctors refused to return to work until assurances of safety were given.

It was only after Medical College Superintendent Dr D.K. Gindourian intervened and held discussions with the striking doctors that services gradually resumed. By afternoon on Thursday, normalcy was restored across all departments in the hospital.

The incident once again highlighted the growing vulnerability of medical professionals to violence and sparked fresh concerns over the need for stronger legal safeguards and hospital security measures.

--IANS

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