Assam Medical Service Association demands government to ensure safety of on-duty doctors, medical staff

Our Correspondent

MANGALDAI: The Darrang district committee of Assam Medical Service Association (AMSA) has strongly condemned the act of some anti-social elements who assaulted doctors and staff on duty at Mangaldai Civil Hospital on Saturday night, and demanded the government to ensure the safety and security of on-duty doctors and medical staff in government hospitals.

All the members of AMSA organized a protest meeting in the hospital premises where besides the AMSA members, office bearers of the Mangaldai chapter of Indian Medical Association (IMA), including Dr Rama Bora took part. AMSA activists Dr. Jayanta Deka, Dr. Anil Sarma and Dr. Arun Deka, while taking part in the meeting, strongly condemned the attack on the medical staff on duty and demanded the authority concerned to take steps so that no further incident could take place in future.

The speakers also dwelt at length on the increasing number of outdoor patients in the civil hospital and the acute shortage of doctors, staff and sufficient medical infrastructure to combat such situations. They demanded deployment of a full strength of armed security cover in the hospital campus at night.

The doctors and staff of Mangaldai Civil Hospital also observed two-hour strike from 10 am to 12 noon on Monday in protest against the violent incident of Saturday night. Addressing the protest meet, senior AMSA activist Dr Nani Gopal Sahariah expressed serious concern over the alarmingly increasing incidents of attack on medical practitioners and staff serving in government hospitals in the State and demanded the government to ensure the safety and security of the medical staff on duty. He also appealed to all concern to work unitedly for maintaining a healthy environment where a medical practitioner could provide the best possible service to patients in the hour of need. He also demanded a judicial inquiry into the Saturday night incident and exemplary punishment to the miscreants involved in it.

The prime witness of the Saturday night incident, Dr. Jayanta Deka and staff Mukut Swarnakar also narrated the violent incident on Saturday night in which both were allegedly attacked by some miscreants in an inebriated condition.

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