Daily Times

Disturbing footage of a family assaulting a doctor in what could only be described as an act of frustration has, for the umpteenth time, raised a long line of questions on the safety of medical professionals. As the Young Doctors Association suspends medical services in protest and government spokespersons issue condemnations, one cannot help but wonder whether all this is yet another indicator of rife intolerance. There’s no denying the grief of those who had just lost a child dure to unforeseen circumstances, but their desperation to throw punches in all directions–with no regard for who stood at the receiving end–spoke more about their ability to stomach adversity than the tenacity of their loss.

What closure could they possibly gain from fracturing the arm of someone who could have otherwise saved a few other children standing on the sharp edge of a precipice?

That the caretaker health minister has shown a personal interest in the case and assured a due trial of the accused is a welcome development. In the past, such instances are quietly swept under the rug amid pressure on the aggrieved party to reach a settlement out of publicity concerns. The medical fraternity has been demanding the highest offices to intervene for the sake of their safety for quite some time now. The uproar across Sindh in 2021 when doctors were repeatedly attacked in Dadu, Ghotki and Karachi by the attendant had even prompted a much-televised press conference by members of the Pakistan Medical Association. It was to this end that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had similarly passed a landmark bill that sought the protection and security of healthcare workers and institutions.

While it would be a misstatement to argue that doctors in Pakistan are alone in experiencing verbal or physical violence at the workplace, the broad scope of the menace does not even begin to deem it tolerable. Violence can never be taken with a pinch of salt, no matter how high the stakes are. Regulatory bodies are bound by their mandate to ensure those standing in the line of fire to protect others are safe themselves. Worrying stories about violence in countries across the Middle East are routinely thrown around as one of the most important reasons behind emigrating doctors. Considering the never-before-seen scale of brain drain, the authorities should at least try to step in wherever they can to help slow down the process. *