Kerala Government Medical Officers’ Association (KGMOA) has condemned Pathanapuram MLA KB Ganesh Kumar’s statement in the Assembly that some doctors deserved to be beaten up. Speaking in the Assembly on March 14, Ganesh Kumar listed out cases of alleged medical negligence and said that there is a tendency these days to assault doctors. “However, some doctors need to be beaten up, in my opinion,” he said. Ganesh Kumar belongs to the Kerala Congress (B), an ally of the ruling LDF.
KGMOA called Ganesh Kumar's statement an insult to the society and a challenge to the legal system of doctors who work round the clock to protect the lives of their patients. KGMOA pointed out that patients can take systematic legal action against suspected medical malpractice, and said the MLA’s remarks are tantamount to urging anti-socials to take the law into their own hands.
The Indian Medical Association (IMA) had earlier called for a state-wide protest on March 17 against the attack on doctors. KGMOA noted that IMA’s protest is all the more relevant because of the MLA’s comment. “A civilized society would judge this as a reflection of the insecurity faced by healthcare workers in the workplace,” it stated. KGMOA also went on to state that as an MLA Ganesh Kumar is responsible for making strong laws to ensure doctors and healthcare workers can work safely without fear of attacks. KGMOA demanded he retract his remarks and apologise to the medical fraternity.
The reason Ganesh Kumar took up the issue in the Assembly is because a woman in his constituency had to undergo seven surgeries in a year because doctors botched up her uterine tumour removal. Doctors in Kerala are agitated because the attacks against them have increased in recent months. Six people attacked a senior doctor in Kozhikode recently.
Dr PK Asokan, a cardiologist at Fathima Hospital in Kozhikode, was beaten up by relatives of a woman patient alleging delay in her treatment. Dr Asokan had to be hospitalised after he sustained grievous injuries in the attack.