Indian doctors were being punched, attacked with hockey sticks and mutilated with swords

Sep 10, 2012 11:23 GMT  ·  By

Patients at the Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital in New Delhi, India now have no choice but to wait in line at the emergency room. The hospital has hired bouncers to deal with angry family members looking for a quarrel.

The bouncers don't take action unless forced to, but are extremely selective about who they let through the door of the emergency room.

"We don't let anyone in unless they need to be there, and we know how to be polite about it," one of the bouncers said to NPR.

Only 21 doctors cover the emergency room at the aforementioned hospital. They work in 3 shifts and, if the fatigue doesn't get them, a punch from a grieving father might.

In April this year, a patient broke a doctor's nose at the Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital. He then attacked other members of the medical staff with hockey sticks, managing to break windows and destroy the furniture.

Other violent crimes of this nature happened in Indian hospitals. In Chennai, a doctor was decapitated in January after failing to save a man's pregnant wife during surgery. The attacker reportedly used a sword which he had previously managed to sneak into the hospital.

In April six doctors were beaten up in New Delhi. They were accused of sexual misconduct after attempting to resuscitate a woman by performing mouth-to-mouth.

In India, only private hospitals can afford bodyguards. These facilities also register the biggest number of incidents, as paying customers have very high expectations, and often feel cheated when a patient cannot be saved.

Those who attend to patients tend to be more violent than the patients' themselves, hospital reps say. Attendants of trauma patients or pregnant women are reportedly the most aggressive, often seeking retaliation if their friends or family cannot be saved.

The bouncer system seems to be working, however. Because of the muscles and the tattoos most people are afraid to even try talking back to the medical staff, and, so far, no incidents have been reported after hiring the action star-looking bodyguards.