New Delhi, June 17: "Death threat" from the attendant of a patient forces resident doctors at the All Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) to join the 24-hour protest called by the Indian Medical Association (IMA). The doctors have as the premier hospital have withdrawn from all non-emergency services from 12 noon to 6 am tomorrow.

According to a junior resident at the Emergency Department of Jai Prakash Narain Apex Trauma Centre (JPNATC) at AIIMS, a "drunk" attendant of a patient threatened to kill him last night. Doctors' Strike: Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Tomorrow an Urgent Plea Seeking Security For Govt Medical Staff

The accused wanted the doctor to attend to the patient first. However, since the patient was at "low risk", the doctor decided to first attend the emergency cases.

"The doctor was performing his rightful duty of giving preferential care to a critical patient," said the statement issued by the Resident Doctors' Association (RDA) at the AIIMS.

The incident erupted at 1:30am, which forced the authorities to register a police complaint in the wee hours of Monday.

“We remain dedicated to the primary reason of serving humanity to our fullest potential. The incident at Emergency Department, Trauma Centre, AIIMS where a junior resident was assaulted for performing his rightful duty of giving preferential care to a critical patient, was efficiently managed with the support of AIIMS administration in letter and spirit,” the RDA said.

“But this event made us rethink about the warfront- like conditions faced by our fellow medicos elsewhere, where they are usually left alone to fight for their lives while saving those of the sick and even where the basic security measures like CCTV surveillance and special security deployment at Emergency and ICU’s are nonexistent,” the RDA statement added.

The association said it has decided to continue active association with the “movement to ensure safety and security of doctors is essential for it to materialize into legal concrete results of bringing a ‘Central Act for Violence against Doctors’ by the Government of India, which includes invoking stringent penal actions against the culprits."

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 17, 2019 02:02 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).