When treatment turns into trauma

At the best of times, hospital environments are intimidating for most patients, but it’s equally hard to work in one. Employees need to keep their emotions in check while staying empathetic towards their patients.

However, juggling the dual roles of a doctor and caregiver can sometimes take an ugly turn, as a recent case at Gandhi Hospital in Hyderabad shows. After an infant succumbed to his illness at the hospital, the bereaved parents attacked the junior doctor who was present at the scene.

In an emotionally-charged situation, who does one point their fingers at and ask for solutions from?

Junior doctors went on a strike on Wednesday, demanding more security measures and personnel to handle such situations. Dr Gundagani Srinivas, who is the advisor of the Telangana Junior Doctors Association says, “One of the major demands of the junior doctors is CCTV cameras and security personnel. It is imperative to have cameras in every ward emergency and regular wards.

Another issue that we have brought up is the need for an alarm system in case of any such attack.” Dr Vijayendra, president of a doctors’ association in Osmania General Hospital, explains the grim situation. “Our major demand has been for a safe working environment. Actually, this attack is multifactorial and that should be addressed. Apart from security measures in government hospitals, another issue that needs to be addressed is the lack of Primary Health Centres and Community Health Centres.

People should not have to come from remote areas like Nizamabad and Karimnagar to Hyderabad for treatment. Quacks end up treating these patients with no medical knowledge and aggravate the issue further,” he says, adding, “They have to recruit enough support staff paramedics and class 4 employees in government hospitals. Even the basic medications and drugs are not available.”

However, Dr Aarathi Selvan, a clinical psychologist explains from the point of view of the patients and their distressed families. “Our healthcare system, especially the public ones are not completely capable of handling the crisis situation of emotionally distressed patients. It is very important for health care employees to understand the need for informed consent.

Healthcare professionals often fail to keep the family in the loop and therefore, the assumptions are left to their imagination,” says Aarathi.

Resonating with a similar idea, psychologist Priyanka Padhi explains, “When patients fail to obtain timely treatment or do not survive critical illnesses or injuries, families take out their frustration on doctors. Their anger is a symptom of the deepening crisis that emotional pressure causes. Both the patient and their family go through ‘heightened anxiety’ about the situation, disease as well as their financial needs, which can in turn spark off violence when things go wrong.

A distress management team comprising of psychologists and psychiatrists can counsel the family and help them overcome the emotional distress of the situation rather than further aggravating it. They can calm the family members who are far from the patient during the treatment time.”