Open Access Research Article
AN EMPIRICAL RESEARCH ON ATTACKS ON DOCTORS.
Abstract
Violence against
doctors has led many people including healthcare workers like registered
medical practitioners and legal jurists to author articles or books about the
legal defense and physical protection of doctors in the field of medicine and law.
The doctors are well aware about their rights and duties and in the past they struggled
with inadequate protections under Indian Penal Code while earlier iterations of
National Medical Commission and Medical Council Of India regulations fell short
in providing clear defense against frivolous criminal complaints or patients violence.
They were vague, unclear and ambiguous in nature. But after 2020, the existing laws
have been amended and numerous state laws about doctors safety have been created.
The BNS of 2023 and the newer NMC has given the clear criteria about when and
under what criteria should doctors be prosecuted for. Also, they have given
ironclad protection and defense for doctors from the patients' violence and baseless
faultless allegations. Laws were passed in recent times to allow patients to
redress their grievances against doctors, yet the patients take matters into
their own hands illegally and unlawfully without giving doctors their side of
story to be heard regardless of whether the doctors are innocent or guilty. A
one-week cross-sectional study of 47 medical practitioners revealed high
vulnerability and a severe reporting paradox:
High Abuse Rates: 55.3%
faced verbal abuse, 23.4% experienced stalking or threats, 10.6%
encountered public accusations/demonstrations, and 4.3% suffered
physical assaults or property damage.
Reporting Paradox: 93.6% of
victimized practitioners did not file official complaints. Primary
deterrents included reliance on informal mediation (29.8%), fear of
retaliation (21.3%), and a lack of institutional support or channel
awareness (10.6%).
Intervention Outcomes: Out
of 24 practitioners who intervened, 58.3% succeeded via informal
mediation, 33.3% failed completely due to institutional
inaction, and 8.4% remain partially resolved or under investigation.
Despite making
prevention to curb the cause for violence against doctors, it is still
prevailing.
Published Paper
Author Details
Authors: ESTHER MARIA DCOUTORegistration ID: 1013480 | Published Paper ID: IJLRA13480Approved ISSN: 2582-6433 | Country: Delhi, IndiaPage No.: 2626-2652
Article Information
AN EMPIRICAL RESEARCH ON ATTACKS ON DOCTORS.
Authors: ESTHER MARIA DCOUTO
- Journal IJLRA
- ISSN 2582-6433
- Volume 3
- Issue 7
About Journal
International Journal for Legal Research and Analysis
- AbbreviationIJLRA
- ISSN2582-6433
- AccessOpen Access
- LicenseCC 4.0
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