Mumbai shocker: Man assaults 3 Cooper Hospital doctors after mother’s death; medics demand security

MUMBAI: Two doctors were assaulted by the son of a patient who died at civic-run Cooper Hospital, Juhu, late on Friday. A third doctor suffered injuries while trying to protect his colleagues.Following the incident, resident doctors and interns observed a mass casual leave. The BMC MARD (Medical Association of Resident Doctors) has given the BMC administration until 5pm on Monday to improve security and deploy armed security personnel at sensitive locations, threatening 'mass leave' protests in all civic hospitals.The patient, Andheri-resident Sajeeda Shaikh (57), was brought to the casualty department in a critical condition and did not respond to cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) administered by the duty doctor, Dr Gaurav Anandgaonkar (25), along with an intern.

When the patient was declared dead, her son, Samir Abdul Jabbar Shaikh, turned aggressive and physically assaulted the doctors, according to a statement issued by the Association of State Medical Interns (ASMI). "CMO Dr Gaurav Anandgaonkar was struck multiple times on the face. Intern Dr Prashant Bhadke was attacked, and resident Dr Karan sustained blunt trauma to the face, eyes, chest, and abdomen while trying to protect his colleagues," it said.

Juhu police have booked Samir Shaikh for allegedly abusing, beating, and threatening the medical staff but released him after serving a notice. "The accused claimed the doctor showed negligence and delayed providing treatment that cost his mother's life," said a police officer of the Juhu police station.The patient, who had a history of heart attack, was brought in a critical state around midnight, said a senior doctor of Cooper Hospital.

"Our doctors tried to revive her by giving CPR, but her pulse rate didn't improve. They then conducted an ECG and found she was dead."In the complaint, Dr Anandgaonkar said: "The treatment was started before the admission procedure. While we were examining the woman Sajeeda (57), the accused kept threatening us. He warned us with dire consequences if we could not revive his mother. He kept abusing us while we were providing treatment.""The accused got violent when the doctors informed him that his mother had died," he said. CCTV footage showed the accused charging at and assaulting the doctors before relatives and hospital guards overpowered him.A resident doctor said it's difficult to work in an atmosphere of fear. "Security is not a matter for negotiation. If the security system fails, it will not be possible to provide regular healthcare to the patients," said MARD.