Knife attack on Indian doctor renews safety fears

NEW DELHI — A knife attack on a doctor in the southern Indian city of Chennai has raised fresh concerns about the safety of medical professionals in the country.

Police say that Balaji Jaganathan, an oncologist at a government hospital, was stabbed several times by a man who was reportedly unsatisfied with his mother’s treatment.

The doctor’s condition is reported to be stable and the attacker has been sent to police custody.

More than 75% of doctors in India have faced at least some form of violence and 68.33% of such attacks are committed by the patients’ attendees, a report by the Indian Medical Association (IMA) shows.

The case comes months after the rape and murder of a trainee doctor inside the hospital where she worked sparked nationwide protests — and a conversation about the unsafe working conditions of medical practitioners in India.

The attack took place on Wednesday, when Jaganathan was treating the attacker’s mother, who was recently diagnosed with an advanced stage of ovarian cancer.

Reports say that the man was seen quarrelling with the doctor a day before. The next day, he entered Jaganathan’s consultation room, locked it and reportedly stabbed him seven times with a kitchen knife.

He was caught by hospital staff on his way out and taken into police custody.

Meanwhile, Jaganathan, who suffered wounds to his scalp, head, neck, back and ear, was rushed into surgery.

“His condition is stable. He will be monitored in ICU by a team of doctors,” the hospital’s director, Dr L Parthasarathy, told reporters on Wednesday.

The incident sparked protests across Tamil Nadu state, where Chennai is located, with several doctors unions threatening a complete strike of services.

IMA, which is the biggest union of medical professionals in the country, condemned the attack and demanded strong measures to curb violence against doctors.

“Only a comprehensive overhaul of the security atmosphere in the hospitals could restore the confidence of doctors. The nation owes this to its doctors,” it said in a statement.

Opposition parties in Tamil Nadu also reacted to the incident and accused the government of failing to maintain law and order in the state.

Deputy Chief Minister Udayanidhi Stalin visited the hospital on Wednesday and assured of strict action against the attacker. — BBC