Despite a law in place now to protect frontline healthcare personnel, doctors and health workers engaged in Covid-19 duties continue to come under attack in different parts of the country.
A young doctor was mercilessly punched, kicked, and pounded with metal trash cans and bricks by the relatives of a Covid patient who had died at Odali Covid-19 care centre in the Hojai district of Assam. A video of the attack has since gone viral triggering concerns all around about the safety of the corona warriors.
Down south in Karnataka, a 50-year-old doctor was beaten up in Chikkamagaluru district while health care workers were attacked in Jharkhand.
Amid the second wave ripping through the country, there has yet again been an increase in incidents of violence on health care workers. Attacks and assaults on them last year had forced the government to bring in The Epidemic Diseases (Amendment) Act, 2020, providing for up to five years in jail for those attacking doctors and healthcare workers.
Prior to the Act, the Government had brought in an Ordinance to ensure a safety net for these Covid warriors who put their lives in line of duty. According to the Indian Medical Association, 748 doctors died of the infection across the country in the first wave of the pandemic.
Both the Houses of Parliament passed the Bill unanimously in September last year and the Presidential assent to the Bill came in October.
But then, the law doesn’t seem to have acted as a deterrent. Take the case in Assam, where a junior doctor at a Covid Care Centre (CCC) was beaten up by a mob on Tuesday after a Covid-19 patient died during the treatment allegedly due to a shortage of oxygen.
Taking note of the incident, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma tweeted, “Brutality against a doctor post MBBS , rural posting is highly condemable . I demand an impartial inquiry and Strict action against those culprit.” Sarma also said that such barbaric attacks on frontline workers won’t be tolerated.
In another tweet, Sarma said ‘24 culprits involved in this barbaric attack have been arrested and chargesheet will be filed at the earliest.” I am personally monitoring this investigation and I promise that justice will be served, Sarma tweeted adding, “Such barbaric attacks on our frontline workers won’t be tolerated by our administration.”
The Indian Medical Association of Hojai unit has called for a total boycott of work till all the culprits are arrested.
In another video, which also went viral on social media, some people are seen beating up a doctor in Chikkamagaluru’s Tarikere town in Karnataka. The doctor was treating a 6-year-old child, for dengue. After the child developed complications, he was shifted to Shivamoga where he later died. Four people have been arrested in this case so far. In Jharkhand, a health care worker was attacked in Khunti Thorpa in Jharkhand. The healthcare workers had gone to educate villagers about COVID vaccinations. State Health Minister Banna Gupta said: “People should not indulge in such acts. We will not hesitate from taking strong action. If any health worker is attacked, the state government will deal strictly with such mischievous elements.” “Action is being taken against the culprits. People fear and have misconceptions in rural areas about vaccine. We are trying to educate people,” said the circle officer.
Earlier, in Delhi, eight hospital staff including doctors and nurses were attacked by relatives of patients at Apollo Hospital on April 27. The incident happened after a patient who had not got a hospital bed in the ICU died.
On April 15, a team of doctors and medical staff had reached Moradabad’s Nawabganj area to take primary contacts of a deceased COVID-19 patient when a mob pelted stones at the ambulance and medical staff. On May 1, the staff of a hospital in Bareilly was attacked after a patient was not admitted due to lack of oxygen. The Association of Healthcare Providers (India), a non-profit body that represents the majority of healthcare workers, dashed off an SOS to the Prime Minister’s Office on April 29. On April 16, the Resident Doctors Association (RDA) of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) had written a letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, requesting him to implement the ‘Health Services Personnel and Clinical Establishments (Prohibition of Violence and Damage to Property), Bill’. The letter pointed out that despite a home ministry advisory to ensure protection to doctors, multiple instances of violence have been reported across the country.