Kasaragod: The doctors at Kasaragod General Hospital — now labelled Kasaragod Government Medical College Hospital  — have threatened to boycott outpatient consultation on Friday, if police fail to arrest the man who attacked a patient in the casualty section on Thursday.

A female doctor was injured, though she was not the target of the attack, said Dr Arun Ram, president of the General Hospital Staff Council. “We see it as a breach of workplace security,” he said.

The doctors held a token protest on Thursday. “There will be a one-hour OP boycott tomorrow morning, and if no arrest is made, the protest will be extended,” said Dr Arun Ram, who is also the taluk president of Kerala Government Medical Officers’ Association (KGMOA).

A final decision on the mode of protest will be taken at a meeting scheduled for Thursday night, he said.

The incident occurred when a group — a father, his sons and some relatives and friends — arrived at the hospital after a physical altercation at Anangoor in Kasaragod town.

One of the group’s members was being treated in the casualty ward when another relative was seated in the waiting area.

At one point, the waiting man informed a police officer who happened to be present that he was feeling dizzy, according to the Town Police Station House Officer, Inspector Nalinakshan P.

The officer relayed that information to the hospital staff. “The police officer did not realise at that time that the man was part of the same party that had come in after the fight,” said the SHO.

When the patient was brought into the casualty for treatment, he saw his relative — now on the opposite side of the warring team —  being attended to by a casualty doctor. “He walked up to him and kicked him from behind, and the patient fell on the doctor,”  said Dr Arun Ram.

She suffered a contusion but no fracture, he said. “She was trapped. There was a trolley on one side, and she could not move away,” he said.

The hospital staff immediately contacted the police. The SHO said town police, led by him, arrived at the scene, took statements from those present and launched inquiries. Officers have recorded the doctors’ statements, and the man who delivered the kick is being booked, the inspector said.

Initially, the doctors refused to treat the man who kicked the patient. But after the talks, they agreed to treat him. He was genuinely feeling dizzy but still went after his relative out of rage, said Nalinakshan.

The SHO said the hospital attack is being treated as a priority case.

Police said they expect cases and counter-cases to follow in connection with the family dispute. “But we are booking the person who attacked the patient in front of the doctor,” he said.