Doctor of govt hospital beaten up after pregnant woman's death
Agartala: A doctor of a government hospital here was beaten up by family members of a patient after she died in the hospital's labour room in the early hours of Friday, police said.
Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb said stern action will be taken against those who attacked the doctor.
The 25-year-old pregnant woman was admitted to the state-run Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital around 1.20 am and she died of cardiac arrest around 2 am on Friday.
Alleging medical negligence, the patient's family then attacked and seriously injured the doctor, police said.
The gynaecologist was admitted to the trauma care centre of the G B Hospital where his condition was stated to be improving.
Addressing a press conference at his residence, Deb, who is also the home minister of the state, said, Dr Dipankar Debnath was attacked by a group of people after one patient died in a hospital's labour room on late Thursday night.
Security has been enhanced in two government hospitals following the attack on the doctor, the chief minister said.
"They severely beat up the doctor, dragged him out of the hospital and even tried to kill him," Deb said.
"This attack was inhuman and barbaric, and we cannot keep mum if anybody tries to take the law in his hand. The police has been asked to take stern action," he said.
Five persons were arrested in this connection.
They were granted interim bail by a court but they are still in jail because they could not produce bail bonds.
"The police will investigate the case seriously and take steps to punish them," Deb said.
Police pickets were set up in two major hospitals of the city, G B Pant Hospital and Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital, the chief minister said.
The chief minister also appealed to the doctors not to close their chambers or out patient departments (OPD) at the hospitals.
In a joint statement, the All Tripura Government Doctors Association and the Indian Medical Association's Tripura Chapter announced that doctors would close their chambers and refrain from voluntary services such
as blood donation and health camps. They also and threatened to resign en masse unless their demands were met within a week.
Their demands included arrest of culprits in attacks on doctors in the past one year, setting up of police pickets and installation of CCTV cameras in government hospitals.
"When the government assures to punish the guilty and enhance security for them, they should normalise the situation," the chief minister said.
Deb said, another doctor posted at Sabroom Government Hospital was attacked by relatives of a patient on April 1 and all the accused were arrested.
Meanwhile, Tripura Health Minister Sudip Roy Burman said he would surrender his police escorts in protest against the incidents of violence against doctors.
It is "improper and unethical" for him to move around with escorts while doctors are being attacked, he said.
"I am compelled to surrender police escorts as long as security in the Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital and other district hospitals is not provided," Burman said in a letter to the chief minister.
"The government doctors and other staff have been feeling insecured working at various government hospitals," he wrote in the letter.
These attacks are sending negative signals to the fresh graduates and in the coming days they might leave the state, the letter said.
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Maharashtra sets up state vaccination task force to strengthen immunisation programme
Mumbai (PTI): The Maharashtra government has set up a State Vaccination Task Force to strengthen the regular immunisation programme and review the progress of related campaigns, a health department official said on Monday.
The State Vaccination Task Force will comprise at least 29 members and will be headed by the administrative head of the health department, he informed.
The government has also constituted separate district-level and municipal vaccination task forces to improve implementation and address challenges at the grassroots level, he said.
Municipal task forces, chaired by respective civic commissioners, have been constituted in view of the vast urban population in Maharashtra and the role of civic bodies in implementing different health programmes.
The district-level task forces will function under the chairmanship of collectors.
"Complete immunisation of children at the appropriate age is an extremely simple, cost-effective and highly effective measure to reduce child mortality and the prevalence of diseases among kids. Immunisation is a powerful tool for reducing illness in children," maintained the official.
To ensure full vaccination of all children, the state government implements various campaigns from time to time as per the central government guidelines, he pointed out.
"Active participation and cooperation of other relevant government departments are essential (in making these campaigns successful)," according to the official.
The state-level body will review the regular immunisation programme, associated campaigns and vaccine-preventable diseases in detail. It will also conduct focused assessments of high-risk districts and municipal corporations, including vacancies at district, municipal and sub-district levels, availability of cold chain equipment, resource gaps and training requirements, he noted.
The state task force will review allocation and utilisation of funds for immunisation and ensure timely action by officers concerned based on reports from district and municipal task forces and state-level monitoring mechanisms, the official said.
It will also ensure active coordination and participation of other government departments in immunisation drives, while district and municipal task forces will carry out similar functions at their respective levels, the official added.
