Hospital in danger? Here's a support group

A support group has come into existence to help hospitals facing threats of violence.

The Private Hospitals and Nursing Homes Association, abbreviated to PHANA, runs a crisis support cell.

It has divided hospitals into seven zones, to match the police divisions in Bengaluru, and uses a Whatsapp group for each.

When an attack is imminent, members from hospitals in the vicinity rush to the spot.
Simultaneously, the jurisdictional police are alerted.

“The idea is to match the numbers of the attackers, because often it is not just relatives. Local goons also join the mob. When we get there, we don’t take the hospital’s side. We just tell people not to attack, and to approach the right authorities,” said Dr Nagendra Swamy, former president of PHANA. The association took the initiative of informing the police about the 2009 Act, as most had no clue about it.

“In the past two years since its formation, the cell has managed to defuse at least 20 attacks in the city,” Dr Nagendra  Swamy said.

The association has about 350 members in the city and they are working to create a similar system in other parts of the state.