Dr. Nisar ul Hassan, an assistant professor at the Government Medical College in Srinagar, is still concerned about doctor harassment and violence. However, he maintains that patient attendants shouldn’t be held accountable for such occurrences. As the president of the Doctors Association of Kashmir, Dr. Nisar is opposed to any law that would allow the police to arrest nurses or other staff members in the event of a fight within a hospital. He is also against the deployment of police officers inside medical facilities.
He asserts that “I think such issues should be dealt with by the hospital administration itself.”
Dr. Nisar declares that he opposes any harassment or assault of physicians, but he thinks the problem extends beyond the conduct of irate staff members who assault doctors. “It doesn’t happen in a vacuum that all of the sudden angry attendants pounced on a doctor,” he asserts.
He claims that the lack of physicians and other medical professionals in hospitals, as well as, most importantly, the attitudes of physicians, are the core causes of the issue.
In health facilities in Jammu and Kashmir, a 2018 survey found 10,506 open posts for physicians and paramedics. Since then, no major hiring has occurred. For instance, there are 82 senior resident positions open at the Sheri Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences alone. According to a staff member at SKIMS Soura, there is just one nurse caring for the patients in the intensive care unit, several of whom are on ventilators. “I see attendants handling a variety of tasks, such as feeding patients and operating ventilators. In my opinion, attendants are essential to patient care. I believe that people will die in hospitals without attendants due to a lack of patient care, he continues.
Dr. Nisar concurs. He contends that putting police inside the hospital or passing tough rules won’t be able to fix these problems. He says, “Upgrade the system, hold people accountable, and require doctors to learn how to interact with attendants.”
The DAK president claims that hospital physicians’ attitudes have turned into a serious problem that often results in conflicts. Doctors often miscommunicate with patients’ attendants because they either feel they are undeserving of thorough explanations, assume they won’t understand, or believe it is unnecessary.
Dr. Nisar, who has 35 years of experience in the field, claims that the main source of conflict between attendants and physicians throughout the nation is a lack of communication between doctors and attendants. You are not caring for an automated device. You are assisting a relational, emotional being. You must explain to the attendant what problems he or she is experiencing, he continues.
The DAK president claims that while attendants often carry out responsibilities like obtaining blood samples and changing drips, even in the intensive care unit, they are routinely dismissed when they voice concerns about their patients. “Rather than physicians, it is the attendants who are afraid and unable to ask about the health of their loved ones. Every day, I see this anxiety among the attendants. They are afraid to question physicians about the health of their patients, he says.
They are afraid that the physicians would report them to security and put them in prison if they inquire about anything, he continues.
He said it is crazy how police officers are showing up more often at hospitals and pushing staff members out of the wards when physicians arrive to do rounds. He continues, “Doctors should make sure that at least one attendant stays in the ward to get updates on the patient’s health.
Dr. Nisar believes that relieving attendants of duties traditionally given to nurses is the only way to address this situation. “Hospitals should increase its staffing, with physicians, nurses, and paramedics on call 24 hours a day. And physicians must get training in effective patient engagement and communication techniques, he continues.