Patna, Oct. 25: Emergency services at Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) were paralysed for two hours in the small hours today after attendants of a patient tried to attack doctors, holding them responsible for the man’s death.

Services at the emergency ward in the health hub were restored following the intervention of police officers and administrative officials.

Sources said trouble broke out after the heart patient from Jehanabad, admitted to the hospital in a critical condition late last night, died. He was in his 40s.

“His attendants accused the doctors and paramedics on duty in the emergency ward of not attending to him properly. They created ruckus in the ward and tried to attack the doctors following heated arguments,” said a source in the hospital.

The situation became so tensed that the doctors went into hiding for over two hours after the incident. “The doctors had to run for their lives as the agitators tried to beat them up. Some of them even hid under the beds to save themselves from the ire of the attendants. Administrative officials were alarmed, but they arrived much later,” the source said, adding that functioning in the emergency ward remained paralysed for a little over two hours.

Around 4am, police arrived at the spot and brought the situation under control.

Today’s incident has once again brought to the fore the lack of security for doctors on duty in hospital. The doctors rued that they were often targeted by attendants of patients. “The man from Jehanabad was prescribed some tests and medicines. Because of the lackadaisical attitude of nurses, he did not get medicines properly. His situation was critical and he could not survive. After he died, his parents got infuriated and started accusing the doctors of negligence,” a junior doctor, who was on duty in the emergency ward last night, said.

He added that the doctors also contemplated going on a strike following the incident, but later retracted in the larger interest of the patients.

“During the two hours of violence, many patients suffered. We decided not to call a strike because we do not want to create any sort of inconvenience to the patients,” the junior doctor said, stressing the need to implement the Medical Professional Protection Act in an effective way.