By Dr Nadeem Jilani
As a doctor myself, reports of attacks on doctors from various places are profoundly disturbing and we must condemn such incidents in the strongest possible terms. Reports say doctors have been spat at and chased away from homes, and that in one case patients directed abusive and vulgar language towards female nurses (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-52151141). Some physicians and their families have also been ostracised by their neighbours because of their exposure to patients infected with Covid19. There was another shocking report of an ASI from Punjab receiving grievous hand injuries while performing his duty.
We must remember that doctors and policemen are putting their lives at risk to serve us at this hour. While doctors are living away from their families, working for unlimited hours only to provide relief to the pandemic victims, policemen are out on roads and lanes, often transporting food and essentials to the needy. At this hour of uncertainty, they are doing a commendable work and it is our responsibility to cooperate with the medical staff and the police, and various other frontline workers, even if we cannot physically assist them in fighting the Corona battle.
However, while reflecting upon the recent incidents across the country I have realized that although policemen right now are doing a tough job maintaining strong surveillance to keep us all safe, it is unfortunate that many a times police is forgetting that this pandemic is a public health issue. Every patient is a victim, and every person out there – for whatever reasons – is a potential victim. Also, when the family members of a deceased person are grieving, they need as much sympathy as your imposing strict measures in tracing contacts. It is my earnest request for policemen on duty to not see it from a law and order point of view unless there is trouble.
Having observed reports of police hitting the public badly while some are just doing everyday chores, I have to say that I have seen police personnel hitting people with a lathi, where the use of force was not required at all. Where a gentle explanation or a warning could solve the issue, why use force? I have also seen some policemen in uniform singing songs to spread awareness against the deadly coronavirus. Some have been relentlessly at the service of the vulnerable by distributing essentials and feeding the hungry. Those were beautiful gestures. At such an hour of distress where mental health becomes of utmost importance, I believe the police can use that softer side ensuring a better response. There are a lot of misgivings and rumours about people being mistreated in quarantine facilities. For example, the news reports of an alleged rape in Bihar’s Gaya Medical College in the Corona isolation ward has caused unease among people.
While it is taxing to hear such news on social media at this time, I believe the police can, instead of using brute force, take influential local people into confidence like a Mukhiya, Pradhan or Chaudhry who could get their messages across from the local level better than them as strangers. It is also crucial that family members are kept together or at least nearby in isolation facilities. Female patients should not be kept alone where there is an apprehension of someone taking advantage of them as has been alleged in the shameful Gaya incident.
While action should undoubtedly be taken against those who attacked ambulance & healthcare professionals, I am concerned about rebuilding trust to avoid such unfortunate incidents again. As an informed citizen, I know how the peddlers of fake news have finally got something real to shame the whole community, and sadly this time they will find resonance within a wider society who were getting fed up with their fakery by now. Responsibility for giving them this chance lies squarely with those who committed this grave sin of attacking the healthcare staff.
While the battle is predicted to last long, we can, from the confines of our homes, pray for the speedy recovery of the victims, the injured, the attacked, and several others among the weaker sections of society. Together we can pledge to see no repeat of such shameful incidents again.
(Dr Nadeem Jilani is a Senior Consultant in Paediatric Emergency Medicine, Doha Qatar and Ex Paediatric Consultant in NHS England)