CORRESPONDENT
AGARTALA: Doctors of Tripura's premier Govinda Ballav Panth Hospital, attached to the Agartala Government Medical College, launched an agitation seeking restrictions on the movement of media personnel, particularly social media content creators, within the hospital premises to protect medical practitioners' professional interests and maintain their social dignity. They held a sit-in demonstration and threatened further agitation if no action was taken.
The agitation began following a recent social media report that accused a doctor of allegedly engaging in an indecent act while treating a male patient. The report, based on the patient's allegation, went viral, but the doctors said it had no connection with what had actually happened. They said the unverified report had damaged the dignity of the doctor in particular and the medical community at large. They also said the doctor concerned had gone into depression after seeing the report, which they described as baseless.
The doctors demanded a ban on video recording inside the college premises, along with action on other issues raised by the Association. They said unverified information should not be circulated or published without verifying the facts.
The Association also expressed concern over what it described as "media trials". It said that if there was any complaint or allegation against a doctor, the matter should be dealt with through proper legal and institutional procedures rather than through public trials on social media or other platforms.
According to the Association, publishing or sharing unverified content could damage the reputation of doctors and their families. It stressed that facts should be verified before any incident was reported or circulated publicly.
The Resident Doctors' Association said the incident had raised serious concerns about the safety, dignity and professional rights of doctors while they performed their duties. The doctors urged the college authorities to take steps to ensure a safe and respectful working environment for resident doctors.
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