Kolkata, Dec 2 (IANS): Physical harassment and assaults on doctors, nurses and other hospital staff by close relations or associates of the patients are reaching alarming proportions in the state, West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose, said on Saturday.

“This menace is becoming a trend in West Bengal. Sometimes there are political reasons behind such events,” the Governor said while addressing the national conference of dental surgeons in Kolkata on Saturday.

The Governor said that this trend of attacks on doctors, nurses and other hospital staff by aggrieved friends and relations of the patients should be checked at any cost.

“People should remember that the doctors, nurses and medical staff often work beyond their limit to provide health services to the common people,” the Governor said.

In the recent past there had been a series of incidents of such attacks on the doctors and medical staff in different state-run and private hospitals in the state.

At times the matters also reached the Calcutta High Court, where the latter had to ask the police to ensure the safety of the healthcare workers. And now the matter has got a new dimension with the Governor speaking on it and describing it as a growing and alarming trend in West Bengal.