Doctors in India have been demanding central laws for their safety due to various concerns related to the inadequacies and inconsistencies in the existing legal framework.
By Dr. Rajkumar Singh | October 2024
In India, the safety of doctors has been a significant concern in recent years. Considering the rise of various incidents of violence and aggression against healthcare professionals, especially doctors, there are several factors, as mentioned below, contributing to the risks they face.
When medical outcomes are unfavourable, especially in emergency and critical care settings, family members of patients sometimes react violently due to emotional distress. The high patient-to-doctor ratio in public hospitals often leads to prolonged waiting times, poor communication, and inadequate care, leading to frustration that can manifest as violence against doctors. Many hospitals, especially government and rural healthcare centres, lack adequate security measures such as trained personnel or surveillance systems to protect doctors and paramedical staff.
While some states in India have enacted laws to protect doctors (e.g. Maharashtra’s Prevention of Violence Against Doctors Act), enforcement is often weak. The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has called for a national law to safeguard medical professionals.
Doctors in India often work long hours under stressful conditions. This can contribute to a tense environment among healthcare workers and patients. High-stress conditions combined with emotional outbursts from patients’ families can escalate quickly. Many people in India still have misconceptions about medical treatments and outcomes. When outcomes do not meet expectations, patients and families sometimes attribute the result to negligence or malpractice without understanding the complexities of medical care.
As a response to increasing incidents of violence, doctors across India have staged protests and strikes demanding better protection. In several instances, these have led to temporary closures of healthcare services, further straining an already overwhelmed system.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, doctors faced heightened risks not only due to the virus itself but also due to an increase in violence against healthcare workers, particularly when hospitals were overwhelmed and supplies were short. However, an ongoing concern is addressing the root causes—improving healthcare infrastructure, increasing awareness, and better enforcing protective laws.
Causes of the unsafe environment
Doctors in India face significant safety concerns due to systemic, social, and infrastructural issues. For instance, many patients and their families have unrealistic expectations about medical treatments and outcomes. When results are not favourable, they sometimes blame doctors, even in cases where no malpractice has occurred. In critical or life-and-death situations, especially when a patient dies, family members can become emotionally volatile, leading to physical or verbal attacks on doctors.
India’s healthcare system is often overburdened, particularly in public hospitals, where the doctor-to-patient ratio is skewed. This leads to long waiting times, insufficient attention to each patient, and delays in treatment, which frustrates patients and their families. In many cases, the hospitals lack the necessary infrastructure, resources, and manpower to deliver timely care, leading to further patient dissatisfaction.
Instances of physical attacks on doctors have been reported regularly. Medical professionals, especially in emergency and critical care settings, are often the first to face the wrath of angry families if the outcome is not favourable. In some parts of India, there is a cultural tendency to deal with grievances through aggressive means. When a patient dies or suffers, emotions can boil over into violent actions against healthcare providers. Many hospitals, particularly government facilities, lack sufficient security personnel or protective measures to safeguard doctors. This makes it easier for angry patients or relatives to physically harm doctors during confrontations. In rural healthcare centres, doctors often work in isolation with little or no security, making them more vulnerable to attacks.
Many patients and their families have unrealistic expectations about medical treatments and outcomes. When results are not favourable, they sometimes blame doctors, even in cases where no malpractice has occurred.
Doctors in India frequently work long hours, often without adequate breaks or support. This leads to high stress and exhaustion, which can contribute to poor communication or mismanagement of cases, increasing patient tensions.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, doctors’ safety became even more precarious. Doctors were on the frontlines, but in many cases, hospitals were overwhelmed, and resources such as oxygen and ventilators were in short supply. When patients couldn’t receive the care they needed, healthcare workers faced the brunt of public anger. Addressing these issues requires systemic reforms, including better security, stronger legal frameworks, improved communication between doctors and patients, and increased public awareness about the realities of medical care.
Why is central law needed?
Doctors in India have been demanding central laws for their safety due to various concerns related to the inadequacies and inconsistencies in the existing legal framework. Currently, laws that protect doctors from violence, such as the Medical Protection Act (MPA), are enacted by individual states, and the level of protection and enforcement varies significantly across regions. Some states have more robust protections for healthcare workers, while others have weaker or no specific laws addressing this issue.
Since not all states have implemented robust laws, doctors in certain regions feel more vulnerable than others. A central law would create uniform protection across the country, ensuring that all doctors have the same legal safeguards regardless of where they practice.
Even in states where protective laws exist, enforcement is often lax. Hospitals may lack the necessary security infrastructure, or police may be reluctant to file complaints under these laws, often non-bailable offenses. A central law could establish stricter enforcement mechanisms, ensuring that attacks on doctors are taken seriously by law enforcement agencies across the country.
A central law would bring uniformity to how cases of violence against doctors are handled across India. This would prevent discrepancies between states, where similar incidents of violence may be treated differently depending on local laws. Doctors argue that a central law would signal national recognition of the issue as a serious problem. This would provide a strong message to society that violence against healthcare workers will not be tolerated and will be met with severe legal consequences.
In a nutshell, doctors in India are demanding central laws for their safety because they want consistent legal protection across all states, more vigorous enforcement, and national-level recognition of the growing violence they face. A central law could help establish uniform safety standards, raise public awareness, and ensure that violence against healthcare workers is addressed swiftly and effectively across the country.
The writer is Professor and Head of the Department of Political Science as well as Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences at the Bhupendra Narayan Mandal University in Madhepura, Bihar. He can be reached at rajkumarsinghpg@gmail.com
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