Doctors and staff of Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narain (LNJP) Hospital have alleged that a group of COVID-19 patients who were brought to the hospital through CATS ambulance on April 23, threatened and manhandled them when the staff asked them to wait for a while.
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In a video, hospital staff expressed their plight while narrating the incident. "Today some patients were brought here via CATS ambulance. They were asked to wait for a while as all the doctors here were busy but the patients did not wait and they removed his mask and suit and went very close to the doctor," said a male health care staffer.
"When the doctor asked them to maintain social distancing, the patients started arguing and said if they are detected with corona they will infect them (doctors) as well. Later, when the doctor tried to move them away from him, the patients got aggressive and misbehaved with the doctor," he added. He said that even female staffer working with CATS ambulance assaulted the doctor following which the Hospital staff called their female guard.
Later, A male staffer of CATS ambulance held our female guard from her neck behind the back, and started abusing her "We called the guard to control the situation and they even attacked him and abused us. They were repeatedly threatening that if they are detected with corona they will not leave us as well. We are trying to fight against corona but at the same time, we have to fight with these people as well. They misbehaved with us," the health care staffer said.
He added that at times, the attendants of the patients come and fight with them but still they continue to fulfill their duties. A female health care staffer said, "Our hospital is a COVID-19 designated hospital where we have to battle against COVID-19 day and night but it's difficult for us to work in such a situation." This comes a day after the central government brought an ordinance to end violence against health workers, making it a cognizable, non-bailable offence with imprisonment up to seven years for those found guilty.
