Docs use secret codes,WhatsApp groups to tackle attacks

WhatsApp groups, neighbourhood teams and secret codes --- hospitals across the city have found their own mechanisms to fight the mob mentality.

‘Alert’ is one such initiative launched by a group that the resident doctors of Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute are constituting.

Through a WhatsApp group, which will also include representatives from other doctors’ association, these resident doctors hope to stay connected and jump to the rescue of their mates, in case of any adverse event.

The group will work peacefully and seek police intervention, if necessary. “The moment an attack is sensed, an alert is raised. If we feel a colleague needs support, we will all gather in good numbers. Sheer numbers could be the first deterrent for any attack,” a house surgeon said.

Dr B P Karunakara, an Indian Medical Association (IMA) official, said the doctors across the city have formed such groups. “In Yelahanka, IMA has constituted into a group. Even the police have been added to the same group. It has all allopathy doctors and dentists,” he said.

Meanwhile, some private hospitals also have codes to hint at possible assaults. “Like the National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers (NABH) has codes in hospitals for emergencies, there are codes at the hospitals if a doctor senses assault. It puts everyone on alert,” another doctor said.

Nagendra Swamy of the Private Hospitals and Nursing Homes Association (PHANA) said that doctors have been grouped into seven zones based on the jurisdiction of the police.
“Even DCPs of that particular area are part of the group. Each zone has a coordinator. All the neighbourhood hospitals are on the group,” he added.

PHANA has called these WhatsApp groups ‘Crisis Support Cells’ which attend to two cases a month. “The idea is that doctors need not wait for the attack. If they sense that someone is unhappy or trying to mobilise a mob, an alert is raised. Support teams rush to their help,” he explained. “Mob mentality is about numbers. If they see doctors in equal numbers as them, it will stop them from further actions,” he said.

“If we dial 100, only the police reach. In this case, by the time police intervention happens, we already have neighbours. Also, if a third party intervention is there, patients’ family can be taught to find the right solution or approach the police. The idea is not to keep them quiet but to encourage them to fight an issue legally,” he added.