Author:
Publication: Andhracafe.com
Date: December 3, 2007
URL: http://www.andhracafe.com/index.php?m=show&id=29439
Niloufer junior doctors on Sunday went on
a flash strike after MIM legislator Afsar Khan allegedly attacked them, following
another attack earlier in the day by a patient's attendants.
Junior doctors alleged that Mr Khan and MIM activists beat them up even as
the police stood by and watched. The legislator was arrested and bailed out
later. On his complaint, police booked a case against the doctors for allegedly
manhandling him.
Late at night, hospital resident medical officer
Dr Usha said that services had been hit because of the strike. Assistant professors
are attending on emergency cases. Two junior doctors, Dr Suresh and Dr Praveen
Chandra, suffered minor injuries, the doctors association claimed.
Narrating the sequence of events, AP PG Medical
Students Association president, Dr Girish Kumar Devar, said an one-year-old
baby was brought to the out-patient block for breathlessness at around noon.
"The baby was healthy and had recovered from the attack.
"We decided to conduct more investigations,"
he said. The baby was taken to emergency and placed on a ventilator. The PG
doctor asked the attendants to get a casesheet from the OP block. The attendants
refused and asked the doctors to get it, Dr Devar said.
Following this, the attendants abused a female
doctor and beat up another doctor who came to her rescue. The PG students
locked themselves in a room and the attendants left the hospital with the
baby. The doctors noted down the number of their vehicle and complained to
the police who booked a case.
Legislator Afsar Khan came to the hospital
to strike a truce. He entered the resident medical officer's room along with
about 15 associates. This led to an altercation between the doctors and Khan's
associates, Dr Devar said.
"The legislator himself was involved
in the attack. They threatened to lynch the doctors. They dragged out the
doctors and beat them up on the road," Dr Devar said.
"A sub-inspector of police witnessed
this and didn't try to the stop it," he said. The police official was
identified as Fayaz Khan. Towards evening, doctors boycotted duty, burnt an
effigy of the legislator and sat in front of the main gate. "Such incidents
are recurring. No security is provided at the hospital. There is no response
from the government," Dr Devar said.
"We will not rejoin duty till things
are set right. We are in touch with our state units and the strike will spread
to other hospitals if they don't take action," he said. Junior doctors
of Osmania Medical College took out a mock funeral procession carrying an
effigy of the legislator.
