PANAJI
Doctors in Goa staged a black ribbon protest at Manipal Hospital, Dona Paula, expressing solidarity with colleagues assaulted at the municipal hospital in Dombivli, Mumbai and highlighting growing concerns over the safety of doctors and healthcare workers nationwide.
Orthopedician Dr Deep Bhandari raised alarm over the nature of such attacks. “People with political clout are generally involved in these incidents, as was the case in Mumbai,” he said.
He added that what shocked the medical fraternity more was the public’s silence during the assault. “What has surprised and alarmed us is that members of the public present when the incident occurred showed no inertia to intervene in defence of the doctors and health workers,” Bhandari noted.
Other doctors said the protest was not only about solidarity but also about raising awareness of the dwindling security in hospitals. They demanded stronger legal safeguards and better protection measures to prevent recurrence of such incidents.
The black ribbon demonstration drew support from patients and bystanders, many of whom agreed that public apathy worsens the crisis.
The Dombivli incident had occurred earlier this week when a group of men led by a ruling party corporator, stormed into the municipal hospital and attacked doctors and staff because the family of an infant was advised to shift to another hospital due to lack of space.
The violence left doctors and hospital staff in a state of shock and sparked outrage across the medical fraternity.
