Gasping Hospitals & Protesting Patients’ families!

It is unfortunate that lately a culture has been developed in the hospitals of Jammu and Kashmir to attack doctors and other paramedical staff, and go berserk damaging the property in case of adverse results in patient care like someone dying of a disease.
In the latest incident akin to similar nature, the death of a young man has sparked a strong protest in Associated Hospital of Government Medical College Rajouri wherein the protesters including patient's family members allegedly ransacked the hospital property. Such cases have become a routine in the hospitals of the Union Territory with medicos shirking to attend to the patients having critical situations.
In the aforesaid case, reportedly a local youth was admitted in the GMC Rajouri with some cardiac ailment and during treatment he expired leading to protests by his family members and others. While it is expected of medicos to do their best holistically, they are not Gods to do miracles. Such protest and reactions are natural if the kith and kin of the patient observe any laxity or casual approach by the Medicos in attending to the patient or in an eventuality the much needed bio-medical devices and life support systems are not available or not working properly and the patient collapses. No one knows what happened in a particular case except for the family/attendants and the medical staff on duty roaster.
The available scenario in the state hospitals and medical centres are not at all good to infuse confidence among the masses and people approach government facilities only in case of emergency and not for routine treatment.
This is not done as no medical professional allows such a bad thing to happen and it is a bit natural that at times adverse results do come to fore during treatment. Doctor only can put his best and in case an adverse eventuality happens with a patient, doctor can simply say his efforts failed in 5 to 10 percent of patients but for a family, losing their loved one is their hundred percent loss.
However, creating a scene or ransacking hospital property or engaging in any form of violence or destruction, regardless of the circumstances are not justified. Such actions are illegal, dangerous, and unacceptable. The loss of a loved one is undoubtedly a deeply emotional and distressing experience, and people may seek answers or accountability when a patient dies in a hospital. However, resorting to violence or damaging hospital property not only does not provide any solutions but also endangers the lives of other patients, healthcare staff, and the smooth functioning of the healthcare facility.
In such situations, it is far more constructive and appropriate to seek legal and peaceful means to address concerns or grievances. Families of the deceased have the right to request investigations, inquire about the circumstances of the patient's death, and hold the hospital accountable through lawful channels. Engaging in dialogue, working with patient advocacy groups, and seeking legal remedies are all far more effective ways to address any concerns related to patient care and medical negligence. Violence and destruction will not bring back a lost loved one and can result in legal consequences for those involved.
In the same context, the family of the deceased patient in GMC Rajouri has alleged that no senior doctor was available for the patient and only junior doctors in emergency duty kept providing treatment to the deceased, who, however, passed away.
Notably, there has been a growing demand in the medical fraternity demanding a separate law to prohibit violence against doctors and healthcare professionals. A draft of the Healthcare Services Personnel and Clinical Establishments (Prohibition of Violence and Damage to Property) Bill, 2019 was prepared but the Central Government has refused to enact separate legislation for prohibiting violence against doctors and other healthcare professionals.
In this very case, the simple solution was to check the roster of doctors and if a senior doctor was deputed and he or she played truancy then strict action should be taken against the wrongdoer but since there is generally no senior doctor is deputed during odd hours then the responsibility lies on the resident doctors, which seems to be the case in this matter but resorting to vandalism and violence is not justified at all and therefore government should ensure safeguarding the life and property in healthcare facilities as hospitals are not war zones but place to provide succour to ailing. The government should come up with a comprehensive plan to stop this hooliganism once and for all.