Doctors as victims: Law to deter assaults on healthcare personnel is needed

It is the professional responsibility of doctors to decry any violence as a danger to the physical and mental health of individuals and of society. The 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi is a good time for us all to work together to create a non-violent society where every citizen feels secure.

attacks on doctors, violence against doctors, west bengal doctors violence, nrc medical college doctors attack, nrc medical college — While assaults on healthcare personnel or establishments must be deplored and deterred, the multi-factorial causes of this problem must be recognised if we are to reduce the dissatisfaction and distrust that underlies such assaults. (File)

Acts of violence against doctors and other healthcare providers have been reported from different parts of the country in recent months, leading to outrage in the medical profession and strikes by doctors. The battering to death of a 73-year-old doctor by a frenzied mob, in the hospital of an Assam tea estate, was especially brutal and shocked the nation. Elsewhere, too, incidents of assault on healthcare providers and damage to hospital equipment have been frequently reported in different parts of India. Health professional associations have demanded a new law for their protection, extending beyond the deterrent punishments available in existing laws.