CHANDIGARH — A violent confrontation at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGI) in Chandigarh has triggered a major disruption in hospital services, leaving patients without access to emergency care for several hours and resulting in at least one fatality. The incident began when a woman, who had come to the hospital with a sick patient, got into a physical altercation with a woman doctor on duty. According to reports, the aggressive behavior escalated rapidly, with the woman involved physically attacking the doctor inside the facility.
Following the assault, doctors in the emergency department expressed their outrage by staging a sit-in protest, bringing all emergency services to a complete standstill. Medical staff refused to treat incoming patients until their concerns were addressed and security measures were strengthened. The work stoppage meant that critical patients requiring immediate attention were left waiting, with no doctors available to attend to them.
In a tragic turn of events, a woman patient admitted to the emergency ward died due to the delay in receiving medical care. Hospital sources confirmed that the patient did not receive timely treatment because the emergency unit was not functioning during the protest. Her death has intensified public anger and drawn sharp criticism toward the incident.
PGI Chandigarh, one of India's premier medical institutions, is renowned for providing specialized tertiary care to patients across northern India. Routine operations in the emergency department continued to be affected for several hours after the protest began. Senior hospital administrators have since intervened to restore normal functioning, and preliminary inquiries are reportedly underway to determine the circumstances surrounding both the assault and the patient's death.
The episode has reignited long-standing concerns about workplace violence against healthcare professionals in India and the safety of medical staff in high-stress hospital environments.
