- Thursday, November 14, 2024
The attack led to an outrage and doctors and nurses gathered in front of the hospital entrance to mark their strong protest
By: Shajil Kumar
A MEDICAL oncologist at the Kalaignar Centenary Super Speciality Hospital in Chennai was stabbed multiple times on Wednesday by the son of a woman patient allegedly over grievances regarding her treatment, a hospital official said.
The man assaulted the doctor inside the outpatient room during a conversation regarding his mother’s treatment.
He was immediately apprehended by the hospital staff and handed over to the police.
The doctor is being treated, and he is stable, the official said.
The attack led to an outrage and doctors and nurses gathered in front of the hospital entrance to mark their strong protest.
“We do not have safety while doing our duty,” one of the protesting KCSSH doctors said.
Government doctors announced a strike and Health Minister Ma Subramanian is set to hold talks with them.
The incident happened a few months after the rape and murder of a woman doctor inside R G Kar Medical College in Kolkata.
Expressing shock, Chief Minister M K Stalin said the assailant had been arrested and that he had ordered a detailed probe.
AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami said there was no security for a ‘government doctor in a government hospital,’ and it showed the status of the law and order situation.
The hospital official said the assailant had been identified as Vignesh, a resident of a suburban neighbourhood and his mother Kanchana was the patient.
The victim, Balaji Jagannathan, is a renowned oncologist and is serving as an associate professor in the medical oncology department in the hospital.
Police Commissioner A Arun inspected the hospital and reviewed the security arrangements. He said a police outpost would be set up on the premises.
A hospital official told reporters that Vignesh closed the consultation room from inside and stabbed the doctor multiple times, leading to blood loss.
The oncologist had recently undergone surgery for his heart ailment and a pacemaker was implanted.
He was resuscitated and immediately operated upon by a multidisciplinary team of surgeons.
The official said the assailant claimed that his mother was provided chemotherapy six times in the hospital. He said it was not clear what transpired between the victim and the assailant.
IMA condemns attack
The Indian Medical Association (IMA) on Wednesday condemned the attack on the oncologist and called for exemplary punishment for the accused and proactive safety measures.
“The medical profession of the country is stunned… (in) disbelief. No amount of superficial damage control exercises by governments is going to make doctors work without fear in this country. Strong deterrent legislations, exemplary punishments and proactive safety measures are required now and here,” the IMA said.
All governments have been put on notice with this heinous crime. The medical community of the country is deeply disturbed and is skeptical of the remedial measures, it said.
“Only a comprehensive overhaul of the security atmosphere in hospitals could restore the confidence of doctors. The nation owes this to its doctors,” the IMA said. (PTI)
