Feel the pain?

He was not donning a white apron but attendant followed him and an unexpected gesture unfolded, the doctor was slapped and banged to the ground, a sudden unpleasant treatment he would never have expected from an attendant, given that he is the one who gives new lease of life to patients and a sigh of relief to their attendants, makes significant contribution to well being of the community.

Video scrolled, people commented as per their personal experiences, for some ‘they should be treated in the same manner’ and some felt disgust. In the first instance, it was felt like two common people were fighting, till everyone came to know the real situation, ambiguity being doctor sans uniform; otherwise could have been a different seen, more empathetic and more emotional had the doctor put on the white coat.

The situation differs, the video portrays that the doctor was not taking a nap, sipping a cup of tea in the canteen, basking in the sunlight, sitting in a cozy environment and scrolling social media; rather the doctor was inside the ward, along the bedside, perhaps discussing treatment plans with other attendants of the patients in the ward.

The gesture of the attendant is highly deplorable, but the other side of the coin shows that the attendant apologized later on social media for his action which he blindly took in view of his emotional attachment with his near and dear ones struggling for life.

I remember a scene at a public health hospital in Srinagar decades ago, when an attendant in aguish visited office of the Head of the Department and slapped him; but he responded with a smile and then personally visited the patient out of the line of duty roster, a gesture of moral leadership.

But this is not the way, the line crossed by an attendant does not justify cutting the lifeline of other patients gasping for a single breath, as they see doctors as Messiahs.

The law should take its own course, slapping a uniformed doctor should be as offensive as slapping a police officer in uniform, but the doctors also have the role, to adhere to the medical ethics, as in the advanced technological innovations a simple written complaint with an ultimatum to the hospital administration could have changed the scenario, corroborated by CCTV surveillance system.

Then is the need to delve into the root cause of the confusion and the chaos in the hospitals. The doctor-patient ratio is required to be adhered in light of the existing guidelines, to prevent contribution of overburdened healthcare system and inadequate patient care system, nevertheless monitoring treatment protocol by seniors out of the line of the duty rosters is also imperative to contribute to the wellbeing of the community.

The author is regular contributor of GK HW & hails from Khrew