The Jammu and Kashmir Students Association (JKSA) expressed deep pain on Wednesday and in a full public scene, a resident doctor at Smhs Hospital, Srinagar recently strongly condemned the Brezen attack on a resident doctor at Srinagar. This disturbing incident occurs on the heels of a similar attack on another doctor in Government Medical College (GMC), Jammu.
The association’s national media coordinator, Mir Zubair, said in a statement that repeated work of violence against healthcare professionals is not only deeply disturbed, but also shows a dangerous and growing trend that reduces the morale, safety and dignity of the medical fraternity.
“Doctors are the frontline protector of public health. They often work during long innings, and in an emotionally charged environment, especially in tertiary-care hospitals such as SMHS and GMC. Any form of violence against them is unfair and a serious threat to the integrity and functionality of our health system.”
“This is a Brezen attack on the great sanctity of healthcare. The Srinagar police should work rapidly and decisively to maintain the law and provide justice to the culprit. Such acts are completely condemnable and are worth uneven condemnation from every corner of the society, no cavity, no justification,” they stressed.
He further stated that, “A doctor is a physical attack on a doctor by a hostess in a full public scene. If there was any complaint from the attendant, it should have been informed to the hospital officials through appropriate channels. Slap a doctor who is to save life, not only unacceptable, is not only inhuman, it is inhuman. It is not inhuman. Hospitals are not in place of violence.
Accepting emotional stress that emergency may be for patients’ families, Zubair said, “Any amount of nervousness or crisis may not be correct to attack physically or orally those who work selflessly to save life. Violence against healthcare professionals should be condemned in the strongest possible words.
The association urged Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and Health Minister Sakina Itu to take immediate cognizance of these dangerous developments. “We demand direct intervention of the Chief Minister to ensure that such incidents have not been repeated and that the words are implemented through accountability, not words. We do not have strict security protocol institution, deployment of adequate security personnel in hospitals, installation of CCTV monitoring systems, and installation of hospital protection committees.”
He said, “A zero-oppression policy should be strictly implemented for any form of violence against healthcare workers. Swift, transparent, and exemplary legal action should be taken against the culprit so that justice is served and such incidents are not repeated,”.
Zubair said that, these attacks disrupt serious emotional trauma on young resident doctors, low morale in healthcare workforce, and already overseased systems. “If such incidents become uncontrolled, they will prevent future generations from joining the great profession of medicine,” he warned.