New Delhi/Chennai, November 13 (HS): Some people on Wednesday stabbed and seriously injured Dr Balaji Jagannath, a doctor on duty at Kalaignar Centenary Super Specialty Hospital (KCSSH) in Guindy, Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The attack, allegedly carried out by a patient's relative, is being linked to the security and staffing situation in government hospitals, to which medical professionals have reacted strongly.
Dr Balaji Jagannath was on duty in the oncology department of the hospital when the accused, Vignesh, 26, from Perungalathur, approached him. According to local police, Vignesh and three friends reached the hospital at around 10.30 am to meet Vignesh's mother. Once inside, he allegedly got into a heated argument with Dr Jagannath over the woman's deteriorating condition and accused the doctor of negligence.
According to the police, Vignesh allegedly took out a kitchen knife and attacked Dr Jagannath. He was stabbed in the neck and also sustained injuries on his head and upper body. Eyewitnesses immediately intervened and took the doctor to the ICU, where he remains in a critical condition.
The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has strongly condemned the attack on a government doctor and demanded the state government to take concrete steps to ensure the safety of doctors. In a statement on Wednesday, IMA said that onco surgeon Dr Balaji was stabbed seven times by a patient while on duty at Kalaignar Centenary Hospital in Chennai. The doctor lost a lot of blood. This clearly shows that even after so many incidents, the safety of doctors is still in the air. IMA President Dr R V Ashokan said that this incident shows how unsafe doctors are. Government rules are not proving effective. Strict rules are needed to prevent such incidents. Doctors of the country are apprehensive about their safety.
Speaking to the media, Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin said that the government will ensure that such incidents are not repeated and promised a detailed investigation into the incident. Health Minister Ma Subramaniam dismissed reports of shortage of doctors and called it false news spread by some groups. He said that the department will fill 3,505 vacancies for doctors by February and the department will also recruit 1,271 nurses this week.
Hindusthan Samachar / Indrani Sarkar
