Chennai:
A knife attack on an oncologist at Kalaignar Centenary Hospital in Chennai on Wednesday – the doctor was stabbed seven times by a patient’s son and is in critical condition – has sparked angry protests from his colleagues, who want armed security to prevent such incidents in the prevent in the future.
Dr. Anto Uresh, member of the Tamil Nadu Government Doctors’ Association, told NDTV that medical professionals are feeling “insecure” after this attack, which he said shows that people in the southern state are not afraid of the law. He also rejected Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin’s statement that the attack was not a security lapse as the suspect was a hospital employee.
“Doctors feel insecure. The attack was a security breach and indicates a lack of fear of the law… security needs to be tightened. CCTCs have been set up but I don’t think they are functioning,” he said.
“We want death penalty for the accused (which is not yet applicable in this case as no lives have been lost so far)…” he continued. ‘The condition of the attacked doctor is critical. We want two. Layered security and fit police officers should be deployed in hospitals.”
Meanwhile, doctors have also suspended some non-critical treatments in protest.
The storm broke out this morning – around 10am – after a young man stabbed Dr Balaji and calmly walked to the hospital exit. He was overpowered and stopped before he could leave the building; Cell phone footage showed him being punched and kicked by an angry crowd.
According to initial reports, the young man, a hospital employee, was angry because he felt that the doctor had prescribed the wrong medicine to his mother, a cancer patient.
He stabbed the doctor with a small knife hidden on his body; The same cell phone footage showed him dumping the knife in a corner of a hallway as he tried to escape.
The doctor was admitted to the ICU or intensive care unit of the hospital with injuries to his upper chest and face.
Prime Minister Stalin has ordered an investigation and promised medical aid, assuring that such an attack will not happen again. His deputy (and son), Udhayanidhi Stalin, confirmed to NDTV that the suspect had been arrested.
“His mother was shifted to a private hospital after six months of treatment at a government hospital… the doctors at the private hospital misled him,” Stalin junior said. “There was no safety lapse as he was a known employee. don’t search everyone who comes into the hospital.”
However, both the Prime Minister and his deputy have promised that security measures will be reviewed.
The attack in Chennai has once again focused attention on the safety of healthcare workers at their workplace, an issue that gained national attention following the rape and murder of a doctor at RG Kar Hospital in Kolkata. One suspect, Sanjay Roy, has been arrested for the crime.