04/06/2021
Violence against healthcare professionals in India occurs in the form of physical violence, verbal abuse, aggressive gesture, blackmailing, mob lynching and cyber bullying.
[1] The Indian Medical Association has reported that 75% of doctors face verbal or physical abuse in hospital premises and fear of violence was the most common cause for stress for 43% doctors.
[2] The highest number of violence was reported at the point of emergency care and 70% of the cases of violence were initiated by the patient's relatives.
[3] The incidence of reported violent crimes against doctors in India has been increasing from 2006 to 2017, with the highest violence rate occurring in Delhi, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh.
[4] Violence against doctors has also increased in other parts of Asia.
[5]In the past 10 years, nineteen state governments of India have passed laws for the safeguard of physicians.
[6]Due to the increasing reports of violence against doctors, the main source of stress for doctors was fear of violence, followed by fear of being sued.
[7]Some suggestions for reducing violence against healthcare staff are: posting security personnel at the hospital entrance, confiscation of weapons before entering the hospital, mandatory registration for all visitors at the reception, restricting the number of bystanders to two for every patient, displaying of laws related to punishment for assaulting healthcare staff on the walls of hospitals, creation of an emergency protocol and evacuation plan in case of major violence. 🏥
