The Puducherry chapter of Indian Medical Association (IMA) will be organising a massive rally here on June 27 to protest against frequent attacks on doctors by relatives of patients.
Doctors and paramedical staff of all hospitals in the city will participate in the rally and submit a memorandum to the Chief Minister N. Rangasamy and Chief Secretary Manoj Kumar Parida demanding the Puducherry Government to bring in an ordinance to protect doctors against frequent attacks by relatives of patients.
Speaking to reporters here on Saturday, G. Sriramulu, president of IMA Puducherry chapter and G. Sreenivasan, secretary expressed concern over the increasing incidence of attacks on doctors and hospitals and nursing homes in the city.
The Puducherry government should pass an ordinance to deal with deterrence against those indulging in attacks against doctors. Several states including Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Odisha and Punjab have enacted the Ordinance in the Assembly.
According to the Ordinance, attacks on doctors by any person would be considered a non-bailable offence punishable with a three-year to 10 year jail term and the offender would have to pay fine up to Rs.5 lakh for property damages.
Referring to the recent incident of attack on a private nursing home at Lenin Street in the city, Mr. Sriramulu claimed that the 20-year-old patient was brought to the nursing home in a dehydrated condition.
The patient had abdominal pain and repeated bouts of vomiting for the last 48 hours. All the peripheral veins had collapsed and by the time the doctors could start an Intravenous line the patient had collapsed. However, the patient’s relatives vandalised the nursing home leading to its closure.
