The southern Indian state of Kerala has approved new legislation to provide stronger protection for doctors and healthcare workers after state-wide protests over the murder of Vandana Das, a 22 year old house surgeon who worked at the Kottarakkara taluk hospital. In the early hours of 10 May Das was stabbed four times by a patient she was trying to treat, sustaining deep and fatal wounds. Local news reports indicated that the patient was a drug user who was in therapy for addiction at the time of the attack. Das’s death comes just two months after 60 year old cardiologist PK Ashokan sustained injuries after a glass counter was smashed at Kerala’s Fathima hospital by relatives of a pregnant …
Language: en
", language="en", issn="0959-535X", doi="10.1136/bmj.p1174", url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmj.p1174" }