In a significant development in last week’s much-hyped doctor–patient scuffle at Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC) Hospital in Shimla, both parties on Tuesday reached a compromise. The senior resident doctor and the patient shook hands, apologised for what happened, and vowed not to repeat such behaviour in future.
The mediation was done by the state government, led by Principal Media Advisor to the Chief Minister, Naresh Chauhan. Chauhan. He called the senior resident doctor, Dr Raghav Nirula, and the patient, Arjun Singh, along with their families, to his office at the state secretariat, where he facilitated the compromise. After the meeting, both addressed the media.
The scuffle took place on December 22 in the Pulmonary Medicine ward of IGMC. The incident quickly entered the public domain after the patient’s attendant circulated a video on social media allegedly showing doctors assaulting the patient. This led to ruckus in the hospital, with more than 100 people entering the hospital premises in support of the patient and allegedly threatening the doctor with dire consequences. The doctor, who also sustained injuries in the scuffle, reportedly had to lock himself in a small duty room of the Pulmonary Medicine ward for nearly seven to eight hours.
Under tremendous public pressure, the government suspended the doctor from duty within six hours of the incident and terminated him from his senior resident post within 48 hours based on an inquiry. The inquiry report had reportedly held both the patient and the doctor responsible for the scuffle. The termination triggered strong protests from doctors, who went on mass casual leave on Friday and launched a statewide strike on Saturday on a call by the IGMC Resident Doctors’ Association. The strike was called off on Sunday after Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu assured the doctors that the decision would be reviewed.
“The December 22 incident was very unfortunate. We have both apologised to each other. I hope the public of the state will also forgive us. We will not repeat this,” Dr Nirula said after the compromise. Patient Arjun Singh also apologised, saying he regretted any harassment or actions following the incident.
Principal Media Advisor Naresh Chauhan said the compromise should have come earlier. “The Chief Minister had assured the doctors that a solution would be worked out, yet they went on strike. Later, after discussions with senior doctors, the strike was withdrawn. This is a positive outcome, and the cases lodged by both parties against each other will also be withdrawn,” Chauhan said.
On Monday, Sukhu directed senior health department officials to constitute an inquiry committee to review the decision to terminate the senior resident doctor. The termination had been ordered by the Director of Medical Education based on an inquiry conducted by a committee headed by the college principal.
“It’s good that the doctors called off their strike on my call. It was totally wrong on the part of the Senior Resident to have got involved in a scuffle with the patient. Yet the government doesn’t want to spoil anyone’s career. The government actions can also be reviewed. The Senior Resident is remorseful of what all happened. Both the doctor and the patient are like our family. We will constitute an inquiry committee of the senior IGMC doctors now to reconsider it and submit their report early,” he said.
The CM also told officials to include mandatory course on behavioural aspects for doctors during their induction, as it was very important that doctors should be polite and sensitive towards patients in hospital settings.
Also Read: IGMC doctors call off strike after CM's assurance
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