In view of the rising incidence of violence by relatives of patients in hospitals of the city, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) convened a meeting to discuss the issue.
Many doctors who participated in the discussions said that sometimes serious cases have to be admitted despite not having 24 hours emergency service facilities.
The president of the IMA, Dr Dinesh Udaenia said that this practice will only be counter-productive, and advised the private nursing homes to admit serious patients only if they are equipped enough to provide 24 hours treatment.
He added that serious patients will be deprived of proper treatment if there are no suitable facilities. This sometimes leads to loss of life, and causes violent reactions by the relatives of the deceased.
The meeting which was held at the SIMS hospital was attended by a number of doctors of the city. The doctors unanimously said that violent activities by the relatives of patients have become a common thing and hospitals are finding it hard to cope with it.
The IMA president said that such activities are illegal; if the patients have any genuine grievances they can bring it to the notice of the district administration, CMHO or MCI.
He further said that action against such miscreants has been taken in the past and appealed to the district administration and police to provide protection to hospitals.
He added that if things like this continue doctors will hesitate to treat serious patients.