A doctor and nursing staff at a Maharashtra hospital were allegedly assaulted by a local corporator, exposing a disturbing irony. Reportedly, when confronted with arrest, the corporator complained of ill-health and was admitted to a hospital. He nevertheless expected timely medical care from the very healthcare system whose professionals he had allegedly assaulted. By contrast, had the assaulted doctor been practising in Singapore, the alleged assailant could have been denied non-emergency treatment under its Tripartite Framework for the Prevention of Abuse and Harassment in Healthcare, besides being permanently flagged in electronic medical records as an abusive individual.

Singapore treats violence against healthcare professionals as unacceptable conduct carrying life-long consequences. Violence against healthcare professionals has become alarmingly common across India. Doctors and nurses, already burdened by long hours, emotional strain and resource constraints, now work under the constant fear of intimidation, and physical assault. Recent studies highlight a severe crisis of workplace violence against Indian doctors. A multi-center study by Dr. S.N. Medical College in Jodhpur found a 60.9 per cent annual violence rate; half of these doctors choose not to report incidents . An Uttarakhand study published in ‘Frontiers in Public  Health’ found that 75 per cent of physicians experienced hostility, with 68 per cent of attacks coming from patient relatives or mobs, and only 18 per cent of cases ever reached the police.

Audits at Delhi  government hospital networks like Safdarjung show a 63.6 per cent violence rate during high-pressure shifts. The consequences extend far beyond individual incidents. Medicine is among the world’s most demanding professions, requiring years of rigorous education, financial investment and enormous personal sacrifice by students and their........

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