Doctor ‘assaulted’ by patient’s kin in hospital

A woman doctor was allegedly assaulted verbally as well as physically by a patient’s relatives at the Delhi Government-run Hedgewar hospital here on Friday.

The incident allegedly occurred at the hospital in Karkardooma. The doctor was unreachable as her mobile phone was switched off. One of her colleagues said she is traumatised due to the incident. A resident doctor said a 70-year-old man was brought to the hospital in a critical condition.

He was suffering from high blood pressure, paralysis on one side of his body, breathing difficulties and chest pain that had persisted for three days. The patient was attended by the female doctor, who promptly suggested an ECG for further evaluation. However, the patient was allegedly not cooperative during the procedure and insisted on consulting a heart specialist, leading to his referral to the Guru Teg Bahadur (GTB) Hospital, the resident doctor said.

He added that an ambulance was dispatched to take the patient to the GTB Hospital, along with a member of the hospital’s staff due to the man’s critical condition.

“The patient’s condition worsened and he died,” the doctor said.

When the body was returned to the Hedgewar Hospital, the patient’s relatives allegedly subjected the on-duty female doctor to verbal abuse as well as physical assault, the resident doctor said.