An experienced doctor was caught on camera  twice viciously beating a heart patient as he lay tied to an intensive care bed.

The defenceless patient died soon afterwards  and the medic, Andrey Votyakov, blamed his frenzied attack on exhaustion after a  busy 24-hour shift.

Police are now probing the Russian doctor –  who previous had an unblemished record – for his cruel assault on the  middle-aged man soon after he underwent surgery at a hospital in Perm, in the  Urals.

Shocking: Police are now probing the Russian doctor –  who previous had an unblemished record – for his cruel assault on the  middle-aged man soon after he underwent surgery at a hospital in Perm, in the  Urals

The shocking 30-second video clearly shows a  verbal argument between a doctor and the tethered patient at the Federal  Cardo-Surgery Centre in the industrial city.

Then the doctor hits out, striking the  patient first on the head and soon afterwards in the area of his heart.

He was evidently unaware that his brutal  attack – which has now cost him his job – was being filmed on a camera focused  on the patient’s bed.

‘It was a hard day after a 24 hour shift,’  claimed Votyakov, chief of the prestigious hospital’s anaesthesiology and  intensive care department, after the footage went viral on the Russian  web.

Caught on camera: The shocking 30-second video clearly  shows a verbal argument between a doctor and the tethered patient at the Federal  Cardo-Surgery Centre in the industrial city

‘As soon as I came into the room with my team  he started to call me various derogative names.  And I just got blown away  by it.

‘Hard day’: The medic, Andrey Votyakov, blamed his  frenzied attack on exhaustion after a 24-hour shift

‘We had spent so much time with his very  complicated case to help him recover and he said not a single word of gratitude.

‘And then the chronic tiredness added to it.  I got carried away, and I punched him several times at the presence of my  colleagues.’

The camera does not show any other doctors or  nurses seeking to intervene.

‘We continued the treatment after the  incident, but sadly the patient died.

‘I am very sorry for what happened and I want  to apologise first of all to the patient himself and his family.’

The incident was in February this year but  the footage was only recently made public.

The patient was a man aged ‘over 45’ from  Kirov region. There has been no comment so far from the patient’s family.

Votyakov’s boss, Sergey Sukhanov, announced  today that he was firing the violent medic.

A police spokesman in Perm said: ‘We saw the  video which went on Youtube. We are investigating it and checking the details of  what happened.’

It is understood senior investigators have  already visited the hospital and quizzed staff, seeking to understand if the  beatings were the direct cause of death.

Filmed: The doctor was evidently unaware that his brutal  attack – which has now cost him his job – was being filmed on a camera focused  on the patient’s bed

‘We aim to take all relevant documents and  question all members of medical team,’ said a police spokesman.

Investigators were also ‘checking if the medical help  after the attack was given on the highest level’, said a police spokesman.

‘I watched the video on Youtube and  immediately reported  it,’ said the chief of public affairs at the Russian  Interior Ministry in Perm region, Artur Gainanov.

There were predictions that the doctor would  face jail and ruin over his attack, though it is so far unclear what charges he  may face.

Read more: DailyMail