Following the horrific stabbing of a doctor in Chennai, Tamil Nadu Health Minister Ma Subramanian made the momentous announcement that doctors have cancelled their protest after being given safety guarantees. The protest was started in reaction to the event at Chennai’s Kalaignar Centenary Hospital where Dr. Balaji was attacked by an assailant named Vigneswaran. When the attack occurred, Dr. Balaji was treating patients and was reportedly stabbed seven times. Vigneswaran, the attacker, was a hospital visitor who apparently went with his mother to receive chemotherapy.
The public and medical community were reassured by Tamil Nadu’s Health Minister after the incident that Dr. Balaji was currently stable and receiving treatment. He underlined that the doctor is getting medical attention and that his condition is no longer life-threatening. One person has been taken into custody by the police in relation to the event, and enquiries are still being conducted to ascertain the attack’s motivations. The safety of medical personnel is still a top concern, and such occurrences will not be accepted, Subramanian continued.
Following the incident, Udhayanidhi Stalin, the Deputy Chief Minister, spoke to the media and paid a visit to the injured doctor. He called the attack a “accident” and reaffirmed the government’s resolve to protect healthcare workers going forward. Stalin also promised the populace that steps would be taken to ensure that similar occurrences would not occur again.
The government of Tamil Nadu swiftly addressed the problem by putting in place a number of safety precautions for medical personnel. A notification detailing specific steps to improve security at medical facilities was released by the Directorate of Public Health and Preventative Medicine. These include controlling hospital entrance, especially for family members of patients, and making sure security equipment like CCTV cameras and sufficient illumination are operating as intended. Regular police patrols at Primary Health Centres were also suggested in the announcement.
The announcement also asked for the establishment of two new committees, a “Hospital Security Committee” and a “Violence Prevention Committee,” with the goal of improving hospital security. These committees will be in charge of creating and putting into place suitable security measures to shield medical personnel from harm. To guarantee that security measures are successfully implemented throughout the state’s healthcare system, senior medical professionals, such as Block Medical professionals and In-charge Medical Officers, will serve as the committee’s leaders.
Stronger safeguards for healthcare workers are urgently needed in light of this unfortunate tragedy, and the Tamil Nadu government has responded quickly to the public’s and medical professionals’ concerns.
SOURCE :
HEALTH WORLD
