Surat Doctor Slapped 12 Times Inside Hospital: Shocking CCTV Video Goes Viral

A doctor at KSB Olympia Dream Children Hospital in Pandesara, Surat, sustained a violent assault after he referred a critically ill child to another hospital because the facility lacked ICU support on September 13, 2025. The doctor was slapped twelve times by a relative who accompanied them. The doctor has filed a First Information Report (FIR) with the hospital's help, and police have begun investigating. The family had left initially, but the bystander came back to assault the doctor after 20 minutes. The entire incident was captured on CCTV and is currently viral on social media.

The video was shared in X by Dr. B L Bairwa MS, FACS, general surgeon.

This incident is one among many recent episodes across India, highlighting a growing safety concern for healthcare workers.

Recent Incidents Across India

• In Machalpur Hospital, Rajgarh district, a doctor named Dr. Payal Patidar faced assault after a patient died during referral. Relatives returned with the patient’s body, accused the doctor of negligence, and attacked her, including tearing her clothes. Hospital premises were also vandalized.

• In Kadiri, Andhra Pradesh, a group of intoxicated men stormed a government hospital and assaulted doctors and staff. The violence was triggered after an injured person arrived for treatment; frustrated bystanders attacked staff in multiple hospital areas.

• In Kerala, the murder of Dr. Vandana Das in 2023 marked one of the most extreme attacks on a doctor. She was stabbed while on duty at a taluk hospital. The event triggered protests by medical associations and demands for stronger protection laws.

Data and Surveys

Recent studies provide data confirming that such incidents are not isolated:

• A survey in Kerala found that 65.6% of doctors reported experiencing violence at work. Most cases (nearly 90%) involved verbal abuse; physical assault was less common but still significant. The majority of perpetrators were patient relatives or bystanders. Only about 13.5% of incidents resulted in preventive measures. ¹

• Another study covering doctors in Jodhpur showed that more than 60% experienced abuse in the past year; about 3.9% reported physical assault. High risk settings included emergency rooms, ICUs, and operating theatres. ²

Legal and Institutional Context

• Many states in India have passed laws aimed at protecting medical personnel. These laws often make assaulting doctors a non-bailable offence with punitive measures. However, enforcement remains inconsistent.

• In 2019, the Government proposed the Healthcare Service Personnel and Clinical Establishments (Prohibition of Violence and Damage to Property) Bill, aiming to impose significant penalties, but the Ministry of Home Affairs declined to pursue it, suggesting existing laws under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) were sufficient.

• A Supreme Court bench recently noted that state laws are not enough without improvement in hospital safety, adequate resting facilities, security personnel, and separate duty rooms for male and female staff are among the gaps.

• Violence against doctors leads to psychological stress, burnout, and may cause senior and younger doctors to avoid high-risk postings or emergency duties.

The assault on the Surat doctor is part of a pattern across India where healthcare workers face increasing threats for doing their jobs. With multiple incidents reported across states, surveys confirming unsafe conditions, and legal protections lagging enforcement, many doctors feel insecure.

References:

1. Jayadevan, Rajeev, Deepa Augustine, T. S., et al. “Workplace Violence Faced by Medical Doctors in Kerala, India: A Cross-Sectional Survey.” Journal of Profession(s) 2023; PMID:38111455. PMCID: PMC10726099. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38111455/.

2. Singh, Amandeep, Piyush Ranjan, Ramesh Agrawal, Tanveer Kaur, Ashish D. Upadhyay, Jamshed Nayer, Biswaroop Chakrawarty, Siddharth Sarkar, Mohit Joshi, Tarang P. Kaur, Ajay Mohan, Avinash Chakrawarty, and K. Raju Kumar. “Workplace Violence in Healthcare Settings: A Cross-Sectional Survey among Healthcare Workers of North India.” Indian Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine 27, no. 4 (October-December 2023): 303-309. https://doi.org/10.4103/ijoem.ijoem_267_22.

(Rh/Eth/TL/MSM)