Doctor-patient brawl: Patients inconvenienced as IGMC resident doctors go on one-day mass leave

Patients at Indira Gandhi Medical College here were left inconvenienced on Friday as the prominent doctors' body went on a one-day mass casual leave to protest the termination of a medic following a brawl with a patient. Regular services, including outpatient departments (OPD), were disrupted, causing considerable delays and inconvenience to many patients, especially those from remote areas. Emergency services remained operational.

This comes after the Himachal Pradesh government had on Wednesday terminated the services of Dr Raghav Narula for his alleged involvement in a physical fight with a patient, Arjun Singh, on Monday. The report of an inquiry committee on the incident found ''misconduct, misbehaviour and acts unbecoming of a public servant'' on Narula's part, officials said.

This came after a video of the confrontation, which took place in the pulmonary ward of IGMC on Monday, surfaced, showing the doctor punching the patient in the face while Singh was attempting to kick the doctor. Singh, who had gone to the hospital for a bronchoscopy and complained of breathlessness following the procedure, alleged that the dispute started over the doctor's choice of words. He claimed he objected when the doctor addressed him as ''tu'' instead of ''tum'', which, he said, made Narula aggressive.

However, Narula maintained that it was Singh who instigated the fight by using abusive language against him and his family.

Following the termination, members of the Resident Doctors' Association (RDA) went on mass casual leave on Friday and warned of going on strike from Saturday, demanding reinstatement of Dr Narula and a transparent inquiry into the matter.

Speaking to PTI videos, Krishna Devi, a patient who travelled from Theog for treatment of leg pain at IGMC on Friday, said, ''The patients are facing a lot of inconvenience as the doctors are not available.'' Another patient, Jeevan Ram from Kumarsein in Shimla, who came for his sister's MRI test, told the PTI videos that he had been given another date for the test. Tusli Ram (80) from Nankheri said that he was not aware of the doctor's leave and came for treatment. ''Now, again, I would have to travel all the way for a checkup,'' he said.

On Friday, the members of RDA met Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and presented their side of the story.

Talking to media persons after the meeting, RDA president Dr Sohail Sharma said the chief minister gave a patient hearing to their demands, and the General House of the Joint Action Committee of various medical bodies would decide the future course of action. He said the chief minister has assured action against the mob, which allegedly threatened the doctor inside the hospital and affected medical services. New guidelines and directions to ensure the security of doctors in hospitals would also be issued, he said. The Shimla Association of Medical and Dental College Teachers (SAMDCOT) also called for a transparent legal investigation and warned that if legal action is not taken against individuals who allegedly incited the crowd, a statewide movement would be launched.

The Federation of Resident Doctors' Associations (FORDA), a pan-India body, had also submitted a representation to Chief Minister Sukhu, seeking a transparent, time-bound and impartial inquiry into the incident.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)