Assam Health and Family Welfare Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who visited the Silchar Medical College and Hospital (SMCH) on Tuesday, has agreed to set up a police outpost inside the hospital campus for which he assured of talking to the Cachar Superintendent of Police (SP) soon.
It may be mentioned that following junior doctors’ stir in SMCH, all the medical services in the hospital came to a standstill.
Also read: Assam health minister rushes to Silchar Medical College and Hospital
After his visit, Sarma also said that security arrangements would be beefed up inside the campus.
A memorandum was submitted to the Health Minister by the junior doctors and students in connection with repeated incidents of assault of on duty doctors and other supporting staff members.
The Students’ Association & Junior Doctors’ Association, Silchar Medical College demanded that a police outpost be set up inside the hospital campus to safeguard the expensive property along with the on duty doctors including the supporting staff.
Health Minister Sarma on Tuesday night rushed to SMCH along with local BJP leader Dr Rajdeep Roy, who is the son of former Silchar legislator late Bimalangshu Roy.
The minister entered the SMCH premises at 8 in the evening to take stock of the situation.
The anger and outrage that led to Junior Doctors’ protest, began Monday evening, when family members of one patient named Fazu Mia Laskar, aged 60 years and a resident of Madhurbond on the outskirts of Silchar Town, died at 5:45 pm, when he was undergoing treatment at the hospital, to replace his pacemaker.
The matter turned worse when the power services were down in the hospital and that too in an ICU unit of the Cardiology Department.
Unable to monitor on the screens, of the health and conditions of these patients, led to the death of Fazu Mia Laskar, alleged his family members.
Enraged by this outcome, the family members of Fazu Mia didn’t waste time in ransacking the ICU unit of the department and also beat up the senior cardiologist Dr Ahmed Choudhury for such lapses.
Junior doctors too, who were on duty, were not spared from this assault.
Demanding for a stringent security of this hospital, and CCTV cameras to be put up in all corners, the students, sat for a protest on Tuesday shutting down all medical services in the process.