New Delhi:. In order to prevent violence against doctors in India and other countries, medical experts and senior surgeons have demanded to make a stringent central law, as well as they,  suggest that under medical curriculum the doctors should not only be given the training to deal with various diseases but also how to deal with the patients, their relatives, and media.

“In the medical curriculum, the students are not briefed and educated about “how to deal with the patients, relatives, and media” appropriately. It seems of paramount importance now for the doctors to learn to deal with the violent patients and their relatives, and this must be included in the medical curriculum as a short subject,” said Prof. (Dr.) Raju Vaishya, senior Orthopaedic Surgeon, Indraprastha Apollo Hospital, New Delhi.

Prof. (Dr.) Raju Vaishya said that improvement in the communication skills of the doctors with patient and family would go a long way in improving our relationship with them and reducing their aggression toward the doctors. In a Chinese study of the doctors, increased violence by the patients has been a major contributing factor for the low morale of the doctors.

Dr. Rahul Gupta, Director of Neuro Surgery at Fortis Escorts Heart Institute and Research Centre said that most doctors in India, especially in government hospitals, are extremely busy and are flooded with the  patients, and hence it is inevitable that the quality of care may sometimes get compromised as the doctors attend a significant number of patients, in a small window of time. It imparts a perception of neglect and unsatisfaction to the patient and their family. Delay in attending to their patient or poor communication can quickly drive them over an edge. Apart from these factors, high expectations of complete and quick improvement from the patient and their relatives are major contributing factors for increasing assaults.

“We feel that the need of the hour is to save this noble profession in India by formulating strict legal provisions to ensure the safety of health worker, and these laws must be displayed prominently in the hospital premises so that the perpetrators are forced to think several times before committing this heinous act. Deployment of a sufficient number of police officers and security guards is also necessary for every hospital,” Said Dr. Abhishek Vaish of Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals.

According to an estimate by the Indian Medical Association, >75% of doctors have seen violence at work. In the last few decades, the doctor-patient relationship is not at its best, and the trust between them has been broken to the extent of violence.

Cardiologist Dr. R. N. Kalra said that violence against the doctors on duty must also be considered as a severe offense in law and must be subjected to severe consequences. The media must also be quite sensitive in reporting about the doctors and health-care facilities, as demonizing health-care professionals without adequate evidence and verifications lead to the negative image of this noble profession. The public must be made to realize that the hospitals are sanctums of healing and recuperation and any violence against the health workers could jeopardize the management of sick patients and hamper their recovery to health. It is paramount that each hospital must ensure the safety of their doctors and should create an emergency protocol to deal with a significant act of violence.

Prof. (Dr.) Raju Vaishya said that the Government of India has not yet been able to formulate a definitive protocol for tackling these violent incidences, and hence the perpetrators often go scot-free. The lay public also has lost faith in the police and judicial system and feels that only the rich would get justice. Thus, in cases of an unfortunate eventuality, the medical attendants may resort to taking immediate revenge, as a knee-jerk reaction, and often use the physical means rather than taking a legal course of action. There exist no laws for the protection and safety of the medical community. It is incredible to note that until recently in most states of India, there was no law to protect the doctors on duty from the physical violence by the patient and their attendants. On the contrary, there has been a non-bailable offense to assault other public servants on duty. The public takes undue advantage of these facts and does not hesitate in resorting to violence against the doctor on duty. These people get further encouraged to repeat such incidences in the future, as they usually go unpunished.

Meanwhile, Indian Medical Association (IMA) has launched a four-day nationwide protest from Friday to express solidarity with the doctors agitating against the attack on their colleagues in West Bengal and has written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah demanding enactment of a central law to check violence against health care workers in hospitals. “Suitable amendments should be brought in IPC and CrPC and Hospitals should be declared as “Safe Zones”. Security measures and the determinants leading on to violence should also be addressed. Exemplary punishment of perpetrators of violence should be a component of the Central Law. Structured safety measures including 3-layer security, CCTV, and restriction of entry of visitors should be well defined and enforced uniformly across the country in all sectors.” Said Dr. RV Asokan, Hony, Secretary-General, IMA.