Bengaluru hospitals appoint bouncers for staff safety

Hospitals in Bengaluru have started hiring bouncers to protect staff and infrastructure. Hospital administrations say relatives of patients become violent in certain situations.

Bengaluru: Due to the scare of the coronavirus pandemic, patients are rushing towards hospitals in the city. Due to this rush, some do not end up getting beds and other facilities. This has led to people squabbling with doctors and hospital staff. Therefore hospitals have started appointing bouncers to protect hospital staff and infrastructure.

Hospital Prakriya located in Nagasandra, Bengaluru has appointed bouncers for safety. It may look harsh to see bouncers in hospitals, by administration says it is needed for every hospital during the current pandemic.

Dr Srinivas Chirukuri, CEO of Prakriya Hospital told to ETV Bharat, that appointing of bouncers is necessary during this time. "Patients’ relatives become violent when we inform them that no beds are available for Covid patients. It is tough. Patients coming in the last stages, some with life support system do not survive. In such cases, patients’ families and other members fail to understand any medical explanation given by us and they try to destroy hospital infrastructure and assault us."

"Death of a patient does not mean we have not provided treatment. Patients’ families do not understand our efforts. This was in the context of an incident where a family sought a waiver of bills after the patient died. Hiring two bouncers in three shifts cost the hospital Rs 3 lakh a month and hence it could not afford them for long.

The government has been asked by the Private Hospitals and Nursing Homes’ Association to deploy two police officers at every hospital to take care of such situations.

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