The resident doctors have gone on a strike, because some patient’s relatives beat up a resident doctor in another civic hospital today. There is a law that makes assault on doctors in a civic hospital a cognizable offense for which the police can arrest the offenders. The hospital has a security force for protection of the hospital, its personnel, and patients. Despite this some dissatisfied relatives of patients keep assaulting doctors. Then the resident doctors keep going on strike. The civic body has not been able to find a solution to this problem.
The solution to this problem is perhaps reciprocation. The doctors could be trained in self defense, using martial arts techniques. If communication skills are mandatory in their curriculum, I don’t see any reason why self defense cannot be a part of the curriculum too. It is understandable that one or two doctors cannot defend themselves if there is mob of people. But there is police force for the protection of people in the state which can be called upon in such a situation. And there is the hospital’s security force too. When there is an assault on doctors, the security personnel should come down heavily on the offenders. It could be something like Rapid Action Force. When the offenders are beaten up well a couple of times, new offenders will not dare assault doctors again. When reason and civic sense do not prevail, only fear works. Now the time has come for putting this last method to work, so that the soft targets in the form of doctors can do their work in peace and without fear.
