Doctors demand strict enforcement of Medicare Act

PUNE: The medical fraternity in Pune on Tuesday condemned the assault on a doctor and two paramedics at Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital in Pune on Monday by the relatives of a patient who died and the attack on resident doctors at J J Hospital in Mumbai on May 19.

They demanded effective enforcement of the Maharashtra Medicare Service Persons and Medicare Service Institutions (Prevention of Violence and Damage of Property) Act 2010 and stricter punishment for culprits.

The recent assaults on doctors can be attributed to poor doctor-patient ratio, lack of communication, unrealistic expectations and rude staff, say experts.

“The law has failed to act as a deterrent. The conviction rate in such assaults on doctors is negligible. Knowing you can easily get away with such attacks encourages offenders. At private hospitals, the unruly elements get away by attacking staff and vandalism when it comes to paying the bills,” senior paediatrician Jayant Navarange, head of the medico-legal cell at Indian Medical Association (IMA), Pune chapter, said.

Senior paediatrician Dilip Sarda, former president of the IMA, Pune chapter said, “Doctors and hospital staff are under tremendous mental stress due to repeated attacks on them. In spite of the best treatment given, patients can die. If every death is viewed as a case of medical negligence, there would be no end to such attacks.”

Activist and medical practitioner Sanjay Dabhade said, “At government hospitals, resident doctors are at the forefront of providing healthcare. The delicate job of communicating the news of death to the patients’ families is also entrusted to them.”

People believe that resident doctors are too young and inexperienced and therefore responsible for the demise of their loved ones, Dabhade said. “The presence of senior doctors can defuse the situation, but when sudden deaths occur after office hours, very few senior doctors are available. Nor are there social workers or counsellors who might be better equipped to deal with such situations and address the relatives' anxieties and queries,” he added.

Senior gynaecologist Sanjay Gupte said, “At government medical college attached hospitals, the resident doctors have to bear the brunt for deficiencies in resources. There is no fear of the law hence doctors are abused, intimidated and attacked.”