The Union health ministry has directed all state governments, including Bihar, to provide adequate security to doctors on duty.

The instructions were issued following a spurt in attacks on doctors. The direction comes amid countrywide uproar by doctors over an incident at Dhule civil hospital in Maharashtra during Holi when an orthopaedic doctor, Rohan Mamorkar, was beaten up on duty by a patient's relatives over alleged medical negligence. The doctor lost his eyesight in the attack.

The letter written by the joint secretary, Union ministry of health and family welfare, Sudhir Kumar, on March 24 states: "While reviewing the situation in the aftermath of reported incidents of assault and violence against doctors..., the Union minister of health and family welfare J.P. Nadda has expressed grave concern in the matter and has desired that all the state governments may take appropriate measures to ensure safety and protection of the doctors on duty in hospitals."

The letter further reads: "Security of doctors and other medical staff is indeed a prime concern along with ensuring that services to patients are regularly made available."

Directions have been given to take appropriate action in this regard not only as a follow-up to this incident (Maharashtra) but in future as well.

The Medical Council of India (MCI) too will write to the Union health and home ministries about doctors' concerns and about providing them adequate security at work.

A senior doctor of Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences, Dr Harihar Dikshit, said on Saturday: "MCI, at its general body meeting in New Delhi on March 28, decided to write a letter to the Union health and home ministries on the issue of providing security to the doctors. The letter is being written and it will be sent soon."

Dikshit revealed that the MCI is going to ask both the ministries to make a stringent law in this regard which will act as a deterrent against violence on doctors as the Doctors' Protection Act, 2010, failed to deliver because despite having stringent provisions, the act has not been used widely by the police in cases of violence against doctors.

Though the Union health ministry has instructed the states to provide adequate security to the doctors, medicos in the state are apprehensive. They believe such instructions were issued in the past, too, but violence against doctors continues to rise.

The senior vice-president of Indian Medical Association (IMA), Bihar state branch, Dr Ajay Kumar, said: "We urge the police to provide direct contact numbers of all senior police officers to all hospitals and nursing homes. We also request the officials to start a separate helpline for doctors. Until a pro-active approach is taken, this issue cannot be resolved."

Dr Ajay further made an appeal to all branches of IMA, Bihar, and Bihar Health Services Association (BHSA) to have a sensitisation meeting of their members with interactions with the media on the issue on a regular basis.

The issue of doctors' security is also being deliberated at an IMA national meet underway in New Delhi on Saturday. The meet would continue tomorrow.