Wanted: Abuse shield for male docs

Hindustan Times

Soumyajit Pattnaik
Bhubaneswar, December 10, 2005

A gynaecologist in Orissa's Bhadrak town was arrested earlier this week for allegedly raping a patient. The doctor denied the charge.

A government doctor in Khurda was suspended a couple of months ago for allegedly molesting a female patient. The doctor alleged frame-up.

Healing has its pitfalls in Orissa. At least for men. Male doctors are crying for safety nets so that they can treat women without risking allegations of sexual harassment. A spate of arrests and suspensions of doctors in government hospitals has forced male doctors to demand written undertakings from the husbands and parents of women patients for treatment of "sensitive body parts".

In Bhubaneswar's Capital Hospital, doctors are referring women to lady doctors. Madhusudan Mishra, president of the Orissa Medical Service Association (OSMA), said, "Under the circumstances, the only solution is that either the lady doctors treat women or the government put checks in place to prevent allegations of sexual abuse."

Echoes Hadibandhu Rautray, secretary of the OMSA branch in Bhubaneswar's Capital Hospital, "Either the government posts adequate lady doctors or relatives sign bonds that if the treatment requires detailed examination, they would not object or women trust the doctors completely."

But trust is a scarce commodity. On Saturday, a woman came to the hospital for breast treatment. The male physician on duty tried to bundle her off to a lady doctor, but none was to be found. The harried doctor insisted that her husband and daughter be present during the check-up.

Rattled by the reports, health minister Bijoushree Rautray plans to convene a meeting of senior officials to look into the problem.