Video: Patient Holds Woman Doctor By Hair, Bangs Her Head At Andhra Hospital

In a shocking incident, a patient harassed a woman junior doctor at the Sri Venkateswara Institute of Medical Sciences (SVIMS) in Andhra Pradesh. The patient caught the doctor by her hair and banged her against the steel rod in the hospital. Other doctors came rescue of the woman doctor and overpowered the patient who was sent away. The entire incident has been recorded in the CCTV camera. 

As per the reports, the junior doctor wrote a letter to SVIMS director cum vice-chancellor Dr RV Kumar. She wrote that on August 24, she was on duty at the Emergency Medicine Department when the incident happened.

The junior doctor's appeal for safety measures

She further wrote, "I was unexpectedly attacked by a patient, Bangaru Raju, who approached me from behind, pulled my hair and began forcibly banging my head against the steel rod of a cot." The doctor also said that there was no security present to rescue her. 

Demanding security measures for doctors, the junior doctor said,  "If the patient had been armed with a sharp weapon, the situation could have escalated with severe consequences."

To support the junior doctor and to speak against the lack of safety for doctors, doctors have staged a protest demanding safety measures. 

Supreme Court's action against the violence committed against doctors

The incident comes right amidst the aggression of the public over the Kolkata doctor's rape and murder. As the movement against the lack of safety of doctors gained momentum, many cases of doctors being harassed at the workplace have come to the fore. 

Considering this as a serious issue, the Supreme Court has suggested creating a 10-member National Task Force to come up with an arrangement to ensure the safety of doctors and prevent violence in healthcare centres. The task force must come up with a plan to prevent gender-based violence and proper working conditions for doctors at the workplace.