What occurred in Karnal
The trouble started at Gharounda Community Health Centre on the night of Holi, when Dr Prashant Chauhan was working. A number of patients apparently threatened the staff, and so the doctor asked the police to come and assist. Instead of helping, the station house officer who responded is said to have attacked and held the doctor.
The officer – Deepak Kumar, from Gharounda Police Station – is being seriously accused by people in the medical professions. Doctors are saying the SHO kept Dr Chauhan at the police station for several hours, which made doctors and hospital managers in Karnal, and in other places, very angry.
Doctors broaden strike to the whole state
At first, the Haryana Civil Medical Services Association – HCMSA – limited its protest to Karnal district. When the authorities did not quickly file a First Information Report – FIR – or arrest the people involved, the association made the protest state-wide. OPDs in a lot of government hospitals were stopped, in support.
Even as the strike got wider, doctors in Karnal began offering some emergency care again, so patients who were in serious condition could still get help. But the state-wide action did affect the usual treatment of many thousands of patients who were going to government places for outpatient visits and follow-up care.
Legal problems and what is being asked for
The HCMSA is demanding that a FIR is filed at once, and that the SHO and four other police people who may have been involved are arrested. Doctors are insisting that being suspended isn’t good enough, and that criminal proceedings must begin quickly to make sure people are held to account, and to prevent it happening again.
They mention the Haryana Protection of Medical Service Persons and Medical Service Institutions (Prevention of Violence and Damage to Property) Act. The Act says violence against people who work in healthcare is a serious, non-bailable crime; and the association thinks the Act’s rules should be what the police and prosecutors do.
How the strike affects patients and emergency care
The strike has made it harder to get the usual healthcare for many people, with thousands being affected by OPDs being suspended. Vaccinations, visits for long-term illnesses, tests, and non-urgent care have all been put off, which is putting more stress on patients and families who depend on government hospitals.
Hospitals mostly kept emergency services going, and some officials worked with doctors to get important care going again in Karnal. However, doctors warned that the protest could get worse if their legal demands weren’t met, and that this could cause longer-term risks to people’s access to public health and their trust in it.
What authorities have done, and what might happen next
Karnal Superintendent of Police Narendra Bijarniya suspended the SHO soon after the incident, in an attempt to make things less tense. But the HCMSA wasn’t happy with the suspension, and kept asking for a FIR to be formally filed, and for arrests to be made under the state law.
Getting the situation resolved will need clear legal moves, and talks between the state authorities and the medical community. Officials need to balance the need to keep law and order, with making sure healthcare workers are protected, to get services going again, and people’s trust, across Haryana.
