The police on Thursday filed an FIR against a 16-year-old girl who had allegedly slapped a nurse at the Bhabha hospital in Kurla. The incident sparked protests by healthcare workers at the BMC-run facility and also put the focus back on how the healthcare staff in public hospitals feel vulnerable.

Mohini Mhatre, the nurse, told the police that the patient’s relatives were asked to wait outside while the staff carried out sanitation work inside the women’s ward. However, the patient’s behaviour became aggressive and she started shouting and verbally abusing the nurse. “She got discharged against medical advice and then walked in with her relatives and slapped me,” Mhatre told the police.