COVID-19: Doctor alleges assault by family members after patient's death in Assam's Hailakandi

A doctor in Assam's Hailakandi Civil Hospital, Dr Gaurab Bhattacharya, has filed an FIR alleging assault by family members of a COVID patient, who died soon after he was brought to the hospital.

Dr Bhattacharya, describing the turn of events that took place on May 27, told ANI that he was on night duty when a patient with respiratory distress came in at around 8 pm.

"Upon examination of the patient, I penned down the treatment and instructed the patient to go inside the ward and use an oxygen mask. However, within 5-10 minutes, the patient died," he said.

"When attendants called me, I checked the vitals. He had no pulse and I declared him dead," he added

Alleging that family members assaulted him, he said, "Immediately afterward, the lady attendant pushed and abuse me. Even the male attendants abused me and threatened to attack me outside the hospital."

"Thereafter, they insisted me to refer the patient at a higher institute as the patient's body temperature was high, and felt warm. Since he was already dead, I told them that there was no point in doing anything like that," Dr Bhattacharya told ANI.

A Covid test could not be performed as the patient died with 5-10 minutes, said the doctor. "However, after he was declared dead, a test was performed and he tested positive for the presence of the virus," claimed Dr Bhattacharya.

"I have filed an FIR on May 28, so that protection should be given to doctors and no such incident takes place in future. I hope to get justice," he concluded.

So far, several cases have been reported across the country about the violence on doctors in the midst of the pandemic. Many doctors and medical officers associations have also protested against the act of violence/assault on them.

On Thursday, a protest was held at Alappuzha and Thiruvananthapuram districts of Kerala over healthcare workers on Covid duty being allegedly threatened and manhandled.

Earlier on June 2, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) president Dr JA Jayalal had expressed anguish over an alleged assault on a doctor in Assam's Hajoi district by a mob following a patient's death.

(ANI)

Also Read: Kerala: Doctors in Alappuzha, Thiruvananthapuram protest against assault on healthcare workers