Reproduced
from: http://www.indialegallive.com/did-you-know-facts-about-news/perspective-news/attack-on-doctors-doctors-dilemma-67480,
Published June 22, 2019
The strike by medical
professionals is yet another reminder of the need for a one-time solution in
the form of a central act against violence with stringent punishment
By Dr KK Aggarwal
It started as a small
protest by doctors at a Kolkata hospital, two of whom were assaulted by a dead
patient’s relative. But it did not take long for it to spread into a nationwide
movement with government doctors in various states expressing solidarity and
resorting to agitations. On June 17, the Indian Medical Association (IMA)
staged a 24-hour-long protest across the country, demanding a comprehensive
central law to deal with attacks on doctors and healthcare professionals in
hospitals. The strike impacted medical services and all non-essential
healthcare facilities, including OPDs, were closed from early morning on that
day. The IMA also staged a dharna at its headquarters in Delhi.
Mercifully, normalcy
was restored later the same day after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata
Banerjee accepted the demands of the protesting doctors. As the strike was
called off, the Supreme Court on June 18 did not pass any order on a PIL
seeking measures for the safety and security of doctors in hospitals across
India and posted it for July.
The IMA has been
urging the centre to frame a central law to check violence against medical
professionals in hospitals for a long time. This writer was president of the
IMA when it submitted to the centre a draft law in this regard. On June 15, the
Union health minister, Dr Harsh Vardhan, attached a copy of the draft in his
letter to all chief ministers asking them to frame laws for the protection of
medical professionals.
This is not the first time
that doctors have been assaulted. A 2015 IMA survey found that over 70 percent
of them had faced mental torture and/or physical violence in their careers. It
polled 1,781 doctors of whom only 37.7 percent said that they were happy with
their profession; 82 percent were stressed out; 34.5 percent had high blood
pressure; 18.6 percent had diabetes; 61.6 percent had fear of violence during
patient visits; 56.5 percent had thought of hiring security at the place of
their practice; 31.6 percent never wanted their children to become doctors; for
45.4 percent, the main source of stress was the fear of violence and 75.6
percent faced anxiety attacks.
There are several
legal provisions that deal with the violence against doctors and healthcare
professionals:
· Criminal Law: Any
assault or attack on doctors, nurses and other staff, as well as clinical
establishments, etc, are punishable under the provisions of the Indian Penal
Code (IPC), 1860. The provisions can be further placed under:
1. Criminal conspiracy—Sections 120A and
120B of IPC
2. Offences disturbing public
tranquility—unlawful assembly (Sections 141, 143 and 144 of IPC), rioting
(Sections 146, 147 and 148 of IPC), affray (Sections 159 and 160 IPC).
3. Offences affecting public health,
safety, convenience, decency and morals—public nuisance (Sections 268, 269 and
294 of IPC).
4. Offences affecting human body—hurt
(Sections 319, 323 and 324 of IPC); grievous hurt (Sections 320, 325, 326 and
326A of IPC); act endangering life or personal safety of others (Sections 336
337 and 338 of IPC); wrongful restraint (Sections 339 and 341 of IPC); criminal
force and assault (Sections 350, 351, 352 and 355 of IPC).
5. Offences against property—theft
(Sections 378 and 379 of IPC); mischief (Sections 425 and 426 of IPC); criminal
trespass (Sections 441 and 447 of IPC).
6. Offence of defamation (Sections 499 and
500 of IPC).
7. Offences of criminal intimidation,
insult and annoyance (Sections 503, 504 and 506 of IPC).
8. Offences outraging and insulting the
modesty of women (Sections 354, 354A, 354B, 354C and 509 of IPC).
In case of the above
mentioned offences, the doctors and their staff can lodge a police complaint
under Section 154 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and get an FIR registered
against the said offender.
· Civil Law: A civil
suit can also be filed by victims on the ground of offences committed as
mentioned above. It could be a suit for permanent injunction, for damages or
for defamation.
· Apart from these legal
remedies, around 15 states and Union Territories have their respective
legislation related to violence against doctors. For example, there is
legislation like the Delhi Medicare Service Personnel and Medicare Service
Institutions Act, 2008; the Bihar Medical Service Institution and Person
Protection Act, 2011, and so on. In all these laws, the accused, once
convicted, can be punished with imprisonment which may extend up to three years
or fine up to Rs 10,000, or both. The convicted person/s will also have to pay
compensation which is twice the price of the damaged property. However,
legislation is not effective and doctors and police authorities are hardly
aware about the legal provisions.
· Government doctors
have additional protection against violence under IPC Section 186—obstructing a
public servant in discharge of public functions which says: “Whoever
voluntarily obstructs a public servant in the discharge of his public
functions, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term
which may extend to three months, or with fine which may extend to five hundred
rupees, or with both.”
An Indian businessman
was recently sentenced to life imprisonment for a hijack hoax on a Jet Airways’
domestic flight from Mumbai to Delhi in 2017 that resulted in an emergency
landing in Ahmedabad. Birju Kishor Salla, a resident of Mumbai, was arrested
and charged for posing a threat to the safety of passengers and crew on board
the aircraft. He was also fined Rs 50 million ($720,000), which a special
National Investigation Agency (NIA) court ruled would be given as compensation
to the crew and passengers. Each pilot will get a compensation of Rs 100,000
out of the fine amount, while each member of the cabin crew will receive Rs
50,000, and each passenger will be paid Rs 25,000 for the “misery” the incident
caused, according to a statement released by NIA.
The situation
described in the fake hijack incident is the same as when a doctor is beaten by
relatives/friends of a patient in a hospital. The safety of all patients in a hospital
is at stake. And there may be more number of patients in a hospital than in an
aircraft. The doctor’s role and importance is the same as that of a pilot.
The IMA has zero
tolerance for patients or their relatives if they indulge in violence. The medical
profession demands accountability but not at the cost of violence. A patient
doesn’t have any right to attack doctors or indulge in violence at medical
establishments. At the same time, doctors should not resort to violence as an
answer for assault. They need to follow the principle of humanity. It is
paramount for every doctor to become a role model in society as far as
healthcare is concerned.
So, is strike the
answer? In People for Better Treatment (PBT) vs West Bengal Medical
Council (WBMC) & Ors on June 14, 2019, the Chief Justice of the
Calcutta High Court, Thottathil B Nair Radhakrishnan, and Justice Suvra Ghosh
said: “At the outset, let us record that we do not propose to proceed with the
matter as an adversarial litigation. However, we need to provide appropriate
push with requisite grease to ensure that the ongoing strike by a section of
doctors comes to an end through governmental intervention by way of persuasion
or otherwise, in accordance with law. We do so because, within the parameters
of Article 21 of the Constitution of India, ‘human rights’ as understood in the
civilised societies and recognised in the international domain through terms of
international conventions, which bind different nations, it is the fundamental
requirement that the right to health is given top priority and any need for
medical help is immediately extended to any human being even if he is not a
citizen.
“Therefore, we take
this opportunity to state that resolution of disputes which would have arisen
as a consequence of certain unfortunate events even in the hospital is not to
be countered by action of eminent and well informed people like doctors by
keeping away from their primary and fundamental duty to serve the people.
“Be that as it may,
the State Government has also to ensure that the grievance of the doctors,
particularly in relation to certain incidents which are alleged to have
occurred, are addressed in accordance with law without any delay. We record the
submission made by the Learned Advocate General that First Information Report
has been lodged and arrests have been made insofar as the alleged incidents in
which the doctors are stated to be victims. This means that the State
Government has taken efforts to push the machinery in that regard. As a necessary
consequence, it is definitely for the doctors to now turn themselves to the
reconciliatory mode in the larger interest of the suffering people and answer
their oath which they have taken when they became doctors. The great advice
given through the Hippocratic Oath ought to lead them to better ways of dealing
with the problems which they are faced with. The State Government shall also
ensure that adequate protection is provided to the hospitals and place of work
of all doctors and also such places where doctors may feel insecure in any
circumstances.”
Every time there is a
doctors’ strike, courts have to intervene. The solution is a central act with
harsh punishment.
Dr KK Aggarwal
Padma Shri Awardee
President Elect Confederation of
Medical Associations in Asia and Oceania
(CMAAO)
Group Editor-in-Chief IJCP Publications
President Heart Care Foundation of
India
Past National President
IMA
No comments:
Post a Comment