The Delhi Government on Tuesday issued a circular directing all government hospitals to file an institutional FIR in case a patient or any attendants involve in any sort of abuse or violence related incidences against doctors.

“It will be incumbent on the medical superintendent/director of the institution to ensure an FIR is lodged in such cases by the hospital or institution concerned rather than insisting on the concerned hospital staff to get it lodged,” stated the circular issued by principal secretary (health) Sanjeev Khirwar. “Non-compliance of aforesaid directions will be viewed seriously,” it added

Dr Arun Gupta, head of Delhi Medical Council (DMC), said this was a much-needed directive. “It is the duty of the hospital to protect its employee and fight for him /her if the doctor or any other staff is attacked while on duty,” he said.

DMC registrar Girish Tyagi also welcomed the government move. “I had raised this issue with chief secretary Vijay Dev recently, and it was reiterated with other senior members of Delhi Medical Association,” he said.

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“In public hospitals like ours, there’s no profit mongering. We work for 36 hours at a stretch with limited resources, and even after that get abused and assaulted,” said a senior resident at Safdarjung hospital. The hospital witnessed a day-long strike recently against the assault on a junior doctor by a patient and his attendants who allegedly broke the doctor’s nasal bones.

The hospital doctor said the attack on them — physical, verbal and through social media — has become a trend. “We have become the favourite bashing boys. No one will go and ask the administration why there are such few ICU beds? They won’t go and ask the government why even after six decades since independence, the disparity in availability of super-specialty health services remains high across different regions,” said Dr Vivek Couksey, former president of the Federation of Resident Doctors’ Association of India.

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