Assault on Doctors in India – A Rising Unhealthy Trend (Viewpoint)

Abstract

A young lady postgraduate of the Department of Pulmonology at the Radha Gobinda Kar Medical College Hospital (Kolkata, India) had to sacrifice her life in the most gory and brutal way(1) to wake an entire nation and its rulers up to the fact that doctors working in India are extremely vulnerable to physical assault and are totally unprotected by the law as well as the institution where they work. In India, assaults on doctors have become a growing concern in the recent years. (2-6) For obvious reasons, big hospitals as well as small clinics tending to sick children are more vulnerable to such assaults. Physical attacks not only hamper the professional and emotional well-being of healthcare providers but also undermine the integrity of the medical system. Doctors, who are considered as healers and expected to save lives, often face physical and verbal abuse from patients and their families. Various factors contribute to this disturbing trend, and understanding them is essential to develop practical solutions.