Mohan Kuthar
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru(EP)

Mangaluru, Aug 29: Hundreds of doctors, nurses and medical students took out a protest rally from Netaji Yellappa Hospital to Rani Abbakka Circle at Ullal on Saturday August 29 protesting against the recent cases of assault on doctors and hospital staff in the event of a patient’s death.

The protest was organised by Indian Medical Association(IMA) and Association of Medical Consultants, Mangalore (AMC) , Indian Dental Association also supported the protest.

The protestors condemned the assault on doctors and staff on duty at Yenepoya Hospital, Deralakatte on August 17 where some people assaulted doctors and staff when they were informed about the death of a patient who was suffering from an acute kidney ailment.

"Even though the mob assaulted the doctors, paramedical staff, and hospital staff and damaged furniture in the hospital, it is unfortunate that the police did not come forward to arrest the culprits. Such incidents are on the increase. The relatives and friends of patients get angry if the patient dies or does not get cured as desired and resort to violence. The protest rally is being held to send a strong message to such people," they said.

“The police should arrest the people who indulge in such incidents. They should take action even when oral complaints are made. As the accused easily get bail, they indulge in such violence. The law should be such that only the court can allow them bail. If the doctors are not taken into confidence, they will not be able to provide the expected treatment to the patients. Besides this, some doctors may ask the patient’s relatives to take the patient to another hospital out of fear and the patient may die on the way," they said.

Dr Mukund, Dr Polnaya, Dr Satish Bhat, Dr Ganapathi Bhat, Dr Manjunath Rai, Dr Bharath Shetty, Dr Prakash Harischandra, Dr Ullas Shetty, Dr Kishore Kumar, Dr Vaswani, and others were present.