Following the death by suicide of a young doctor who was booked for murder in Rajasthan, a medical association has asked the Supreme Court to intervene and protect doctors from retributive measures by patients’ distraught kin.
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“There is an urgent need for laying down comprehensive guidelines for immediate protection of treating doctors in a circumstance when there is an allegation of medical negligence on a doctor and the treating doctor is constantly being exposed to threats from the attendants of the patients as well as the local police,” a petition filed by the Indian Medical Association (Dwarka) submitted.
It urged the court to direct the government to put in place a system of payment of compensation to the families of doctors who died in the cause of public service.
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The petition was spurred by the death of a lady doctor. It said she had “fallen victim” to harassment allegedly by her patient’s family.
“The instant public interest litigation is necessitated on account of continuous assaults faced by doctors across the country,” the plea, drawn by advocate Shashank Deo Sudhi, said.
It said the incident in Rajasthan had stirred widespread protests across the country.
“But doctors have played a pivotal role as corona warriors during wide spread of deadly COVID-19 across the country and their humanitarian services have been acknowledged and recognized by all sections of society across the world,” the medical association submitted in the petition.
The petition has also sought comprehensive guidelines for the establishment of digitally equipped medico-legal cells in police stations across the country to handle cases of medical negligence.