Nurses of Jammu’s Government Medical College (GMC) hospital have threatened to protest if BJP Arvind Gupta does not apologise for the abusive and disrespectful language he allegedly used against them during a recent visit.
In a representation addressed to Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, 131 nurses also sought the withdrawal of the incident’s video from social media.
Further seeking the uploading of an apology by the Jammu West MLA on social media and action in the matter, the signatories said that if their demands are not met by May 18, they “may be compelled to proceed with protest/strike in support of the dignity, safety and protection of hospital employees’’.
Copies of the representation have also been sent to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary (both from the National Conference), and Leader of the Opposition Sunil Sharma, who is from the BJP, among others.
The incident, according to hospital staff, took place on Thursday, when a former corporator of the Jammu Municipal Corporation was brought by some people to the GMC’s emergency section with a leg fracture around 11 am. He was immediately attended to by the doctors and other medical staff on duty, who then restored the fractured bone to its original position, according to the staff.
Between 11.30 am and 12, Gupta, along with his supporters, arrived at the hospital, where medical superintendent Dr Virinder Trisal was also present.
Quoting a video reportedly shot by the MLA’s supporters and later uploaded on social media, the representation pointed out that nurses greeted Gupta “good morning’’. He, however, purportedly shot back, “Yeh morning, morning kya hota hai, yeh gappe marne ke liye thodi rakhi hui hai humney yahan pe’’ (What is this good morning? The nursing staff have not been kept by us here to gossip).”
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The MLA then pointed towards the chairs placed at the nursing station and said, “Yeh koi baithney ki jagah hai jahan pe, uthao kursian yahan se saari. Yeh dekh lena main spare nahi karunga. (Is this a place to sit? Remove all the chairs from here. See, I will not spare anybody).
The nurses took strong exception to the BJP MLA’s remarks made in the presence of senior officers, patients, their attendants, and other people as “extremely insulting, humiliating and demoralising for the nursing staff who continue to serve tirelessly and with utmost dedication’’.
“Such threatening language has caused fear of humiliation among the staff,’’ the representation read, adding that the “employees serving in the institution have earned their positions through hard work, merit and professional qualifications, and deserve to be treated with dignity and respect’’.
The MLA and supporters created unnecessary disturbance and panic within the hospital environment, the letter said, adding that the public representatives are expected to maintain decorum and uphold the dignity of public institutions.
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The representation also pointed out that photography and videography are totally prohibited in the emergency section.
The representation said the same emergency section and the same nursing staff had worked courageously and efficiently during the Covid pandemic, handling countless critical patients under extremely challenging circumstances.
They had also managed mass trauma cases and disaster situations, including incidents like cloudburst at Chishoti, Operation Sindoor, and many other emergencies with dedication and professionalism, it added.
MLA Arvind Gupta says he brought the patient
Gupta, who later withdrew the video from social media sites following persuasion by the hospital officials, said that he had brought the patient to the hospital.
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“When we were taking the patient to the emergency ward on a stretcher, I asked the nursing staff sitting there to attend to him, but they instead asked me to bring the file’’ the MLA said, asking whether the file or attending to the patient was more important.
“I cannot remain silent and will not compromise when it comes to patient welfare,’’ he said. “It is of no use to say morning to him. Instead, they should attend to the patient and perform their duty.”
