Stabbing of resident docs rocks Yavatmal medical college

I am still scared and shaken I donrsquot know why I was attacked by a patient firstyear resident Dr Jebastin Paul Addwin 25 told midday from the ICU of Shri Vasantrao Naik Government Medical College SVNGMC Yavatmal on Friday afternoonWhile the external wounds will heal in a few days the scars of getting assaulted will remain for the rest of his lifemdashas is the case with all medical students and professionals who have faced the fury of mobs or been targeted by individuals Medical students say it is high time the state government conducts a safety and security audit of all medical colleges located on the outskirts of Mumbai and take proactive steps to curtail such incidentsOn Thursday evening Dr Jebastin and secondyear resident Dr Abhishek Jha who are attached to surgical unit 3 of SVNGMC were assaulted by a patient under their care with a kitchen knife The doctors were on their routine evening rounds examining the patients admitted to male surgical ward no 25The incident has again highlighted the lax security arrangements in the government medical colleges and hospitals especially at SVNGMC where a medical student Ashok Pal was killed in 2020 just outside the college building Last month injured people from two different groups who had come for treatment at SVNGMC exchanged blows inside the hospitalWithin minutes of Thursdays incident the Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors MARD Yavatmal called for a flash strike which was later supported by its other units in Maharashtra as well as the Indian Medical Association IMA Junior Doctors Network Maharashtra Chapter They demanded that a police chowkie be set up in the area and strong legal action against the offender An additional demand increasing security inside the campus and hospital has been also made to the administrationDr Santosh Kadam secretary of IMA Maharashtra said The worrisome thing is that the patient had a sharp weapon What were the securitywatchmen doing Yavatmal has become the crime capital of Maharashtra This college witnessed the gruesome murder of a medical student in the recent past Still the administration is slumberingAlso read Take strict action against those responsible say doctors after stabbing incident in YavatmalldquoEvery time such a violent attack happens agitations take place meetings are held and the administration promises additional security Slowly we forget about everything and return to square one After the incident at Dhule Medical College nearly two years ago the government extended additional security at all medical colleges Where is it now The state and Central government must come out with a permanent solution to safeguard the medical profession and services The longstanding demand of the medical fraternity for a Central Act against medicare violence is being given the cold shoulder This shows the governments sheer apathyrdquo Dr Kadam concludedThe incidentDr Anup Shah president MARD Yavatmal and a thirdyear surgical resident said The patient who attacked the doctors at SVNGMC Suraj Thackeray 28 is a resident of Arni Taluka in Yavatmal He was admitted a few days ago for allegedly causing selfinflicted stab wounds in his abdomen probably a failed suicide attemptSuraj Thackeray the accusedldquoAs the team of resident doctors moved away from his bed Suraj suddenly attacked Dr Jebastin stabbing him near his neck area from behind Dr Jha who intervened sustained a minor injury Other residents overpowered the patient and looked for the security guard all over but no security guard was spotted on the entire second and first floor of the hospital building The guard had to be called from the ground floorrdquo explained Dr Shah Soon the father and other relatives of the patient rushed into the ward and they were also shockedAt the casualty wardDr Jebastin who was bleeding profusely was rushed to the casualty ward by residents where Dr Shah himself was on duty ldquoDr Jebastin was in a state of shock and had sustained a 2x8cm gash Had the stab been a little deeper it could have been fatal We decided to operate on Dr Jebastin immediately to seal the blood flow We could stop the bleeding by suturing the wounds and he was later shifted to the ICU where he will continue to be under observation Dr Jha had sustained a minor abrasion and cut on his finger and leg and did not require any admissionrdquo said Dr ShahSuraj was expected to be dischargedDr Shah said ldquoAs the patient had a selfinflicted injury he was referred for psychiatric evaluation The psychiatrists could not find anything abnormal about Suraj and they stated that he was fit for discharge subject to surgical clearance And his wound was healing a decision to discharge him was to be taken the day after he attacked our junior doctorsrdquoCalling off the strikeAsked about calling off the strike Dr Shah said ldquoThe police and district collector in a highlevel meeting held at the college on Friday afternoon agreed to set up a police chowkie on the hospital premises and ensure that strict action is taken against the accused as per the law We are now awaiting for the hospital administration to give this in writing to us Once we receive the same we will decide on calling off the strike The agitation was still ongoing at the time of going to pressrdquoMedical college dean speaksDr Milind Fulpatil dean of SVNGMC said ldquoWe have sought additional security from the higher authorities as per the norms The security personnel for the hospital and medical college is provided by the Maharashtra State Security Corporation and from a private agency as per the security audit normsrdquo Asked about the present security strength he said ldquoWe have around 56 guards and have requested the authorities to double the numberrdquoAsked if the strike was affecting the hospital routine the dean replied in the negative stating Our faculties and seniors are on call Also there were no planned surgeries that had to be called off The hospital is also reviewing this situation and providing security guards for resident doctors on their rounds to prevent such incidentsWhy wait for incidentsProtesters stated that after residents protested in the wake of the murder of Dr Pal the hospital administration for the first time installed CCTV cameras on the premisesThe height of boundary walls was also increased as were floodlights and security guards However within three to four months the strength of security guards dropped drastically Why does the administration wait for such incidentsrdquo asked an agitatorAccused has no remorseDr Pavan Bansod superintendent of police Yavatmal said ldquoWe booked Suraj under Sections 307 attempt to murder and 326 voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapon Preliminary inquiries have revealed that the accused was eating fruit when the doctors visited him He offered the fruit to the doctors but they refused and asked to examine his abdomen wounds Suraj refused them permission As the doctors were about to move to the next bed he used the knife in his hand to attack the doctor Suraj is jobless and even his parents are fed up with him which was unfortunateHe added ldquoWe have agreed to construct a chowkie but as the hospital and medical college is spread over a vast area its administration will have to increase their security guards Unfortunately the college does not have a separate prison and psychiatry ward The former would help keep inmates in police custody while undergoing treatment while the latter would help in monitoring patients and doctors can take extra care while entering such wardsrdquo said Dr Bansod5Day in January when incident occurred