Assault on medical student: PMCH junior doctors end strike after security and action assurances

Patna: Junior doctors at Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) on Thursday withdrew their strike within hours after the hospital administration and police assured them of action against those involved in the alleged assault of a medical student and promised enhanced security on the campus.Hospital services began returning to normal by noon following a meeting between the protesting doctors, hospital authorities and police officials. The strike, however, disrupted services during the morning hours, with the OPD recording 1,324 patients against nearly 3,000 on a typical day.The protest was triggered by an incident late Wednesday night following the death of a critically ill heart patient. According to PMCH superintendent Dr Rajiv Kumar Singh, the patient’s relatives became agitated after the death, leading to an altercation with doctors. During the commotion, a medical student, who was neither on duty nor associated with the patient’s treatment, was allegedly assaulted on the hospital premises.The student sustained head injuries and was admitted to the ICU. Dr Singh said his condition was stable. While the superintendent alleged that the student was repeatedly hit on the head with a helmet, members of the Junior Doctors’ Association (JDA) claimed he was attacked with iron rods.Junior doctors launched the strike around 9am, affecting services in the OPD, emergency department, operation theatres, ICU, wards and registration counters.Following talks with JDA representatives, the hospital administration assured the doctors that action would be taken against those responsible for the assault. Dr Singh said he had spoken to senior police officials and sought round-the-clock deployment of at least two security guards each in the medicine, surgery and emergency departments.He said an FIR against unidentified persons had been registered at Pirbahore police station and one person had been arrested in connection with the case.“The growing intolerance among people has become a major concern. Most patients brought to PMCH are in critical condition, and despite best efforts, some cannot be saved,” Dr Singh said.PMCH JDA president Dr Satyam Kumar said doctors could not be expected to save lives if their own safety was under threat. He demanded stronger security measures and urged the administration to lodge institutional FIRs in such cases in future.However, a hospital source, requesting anonymity, alleged that some junior doctors continued turning away patients and asking them to visit NMCH even after the strike was withdrawn. The source also claimed that several surgeries had to be postponed.Reshma Kumari, whose husband was admitted to the emergency ward, alleged that no doctor was available when his condition worsened and that treatment was delayed for nearly two hours. Several other patients and attendants reported similar disruptions during the strike.