Patient attacks junior doctor inside SVIMS emergency ward; hair pulled, head slammed on rod

Tirupati: Amid the ongoing investigation into the brutal rape and murder of a female PG doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, which has sparked outrage among resident doctors across the country, a similar disturbing incident has occurred in Tirupati.

At the Sri Venkateswara Institute of Medical Sciences (SVIMS), a junior resident doctor was assaulted while on duty in the emergency ward. CCTV footage being widely circulated among the medical community shows a patient violently pulling the medical student’s hair and slamming her head against a table.

Doctor’s head slammed on steel rod

The medical student, currently interning in the Surgery Department, described the incident in her complaint letter. On August 24, while she was on duty in the Emergency Medicine Department, a patient named Bangaru Raju unexpectedly attacked her from behind, yanking her hair and banging her head against the steel rod of a cot. Despite her attempts to defend herself, she was overpowered and there was no security present at the time. Immediately, her medico friends around rescued her.

The patient, who had come to Tirumala with his family on a pilgrimage from Bobbili in the Vizianagaram district, is reportedly an epilepsy patient. He was initially admitted to TTD’s Ashwini Hospital in Tirumala and later transferred to SVIMS on Saturday morning, where he received drips and other treatments.

However, the reasons for the attack are not clear yet.

Doctors stage protest at hospital

In response to the attack, junior doctors and students from Sri Padmavathi Medical College for Women staged a sit-in protest outside the casualty ward.

The assaulted student expressed grave concerns about workplace safety, noting that the situation could have been far more dangerous if the patient had been armed. She urged the authorities to implement better security measures in high-risk areas like the Emergency Medicine Department.

This incident comes at a time when junior doctors across the country are already demanding improvements in working conditions, including regular payment of stipends, better hostel facilities and enhanced security within hospital premises.

The body of a junior doctor was found on August 9 with severe injury marks inside a seminar hall at a state-run hospital in Kolkata, which has fuelled these demands.

Just three days ago, resident doctors at AIIMS Delhi and RML Hospital called off their 11-day strike after an appeal from the Supreme Court, which assured them that no adverse action would be taken once they resumed work.