Attack on Chennai doctor: Trichy doctors demand increased security for them

TRICHY: A day after senior oncologist Dr Balaji Jegannathan was assaulted by a patient's son at Kalaignar Centenary Super Specialty Hospital in Chennai, doctors in Trichy staged a demonstration demanding enhanced security measures and round-the-clock police deployment.

Doctors held a demonstration in front of Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Government Hospital (MGMGH).

The demonstration was organised by the Service Doctors and Postgraduates' Association (SDPGA) and supported by the Indian Medical Association (IMA), Trichy chapter. Medical practitioners at MGMGH, nine taluk government hospitals and 88 primary health centres (PHCs) suspended treatment and surgeries under the Chief Minister's Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme. The doctors abstained from official meetings, withheld reports and boycotted camp activities and suspended lectures at the KAP Viswanatham Government Medical College Medical College.

"The attack on the doctor in Chennai exemplifies the escalating mistrust and animosity towards the medical profession. This predicament stems partially from insufficient measures to prevent the public from unjustly faulting doctors for treatment outcomes, which are predominantly determined by the patient's health condition. Regrettably, we are fostering such antagonism," stated Dr T Aruleeswaran, state secretary of SDPGA.

He said commissioners of police and superintendents of police should evaluate security protocols during their monthly crime meeting and implement necessary modifications accordingly, the doctors emphasised.

Associations urged the state govt to establish additional posts for doctors and paramedics, highlighting that the positions created in 2020 have remained unchanged for 14 years.