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The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has expressed serious concern over the working hours of doctors. The IMA has urged the Government of India, the National Medical Commission, and all healthcare institutions to take immediate action to protect both doctors and patients through fair working hour regulations.
IMA President Dilip Bhanushali stated that just as fatigue is considered a major risk in aviation, doctors’ fatigue should also be taken seriously. The association has strongly raised this issue. He questioned why, if fatigue is a threat to passenger safety in an airplane, the same logic doesn’t apply to operating theaters and emergency wards.
‘Doctors Forced to Work 24-48 Hour Shifts’
The association stated that in healthcare, where decisions determine life and death, fatigue is often dismissed as dedication, sacrifice, or professional expectation. This disparity is unacceptable, illogical, and unsafe. The IMA said that doctors across the country, especially resident and junior doctors, are forced to work continuous shifts of 24-48 hours. The IMA stated that doctors across the country, particularly resident and junior doctors, are routinely required to work extremely long, round-the-clock, uninterrupted shifts, often lasting 24-48 hours.
Supreme Court Order Not Implemented
IMA President Dilip Bhanushali said that the incident at RG Kar Medical College has raised questions about the safety of doctors and their long working hours. He said that this incident has sparked national concern and legal scrutiny, and serves as a reminder of how vulnerable tired doctors can be physically, mentally, and socially when forced to work in unsafe conditions.
He also emphasized that the Supreme Court had given recommendations such as 16-hour duty shifts, CCTV cameras, and separate rest rooms for female doctors, but these have not yet been implemented. The IMA said that a fatigued doctor is a danger to both patients and themselves. Doctors need humane and safe working conditions, and fatigue should stop being glorified as a sacrifice. They said that hospitals operate on a system based on excessive workload. There is a persistent shortage of staff. Duty hours are excessively long. This system considers fatigue a sign of commitment rather than a risk.
The IMA argues that this harms both doctors and patients. A sleep-deprived surgeon makes mistakes. A doctor who cannot think clearly makes errors in treatment. Fatigue does not improve treatment; it compromises it.
IMA’s Demands to the Government:
Nationwide limits on duty hours for doctors
Mandatory rest periods between shifts
Sufficient staff to reduce the burden of overtime
Strong legal and institutional mechanisms for the safety of doctors
IMA’s Appeal:
The IMA appealed to the central government, the NMC, and hospitals for immediate action. The IMA stated that no healthcare system can function responsibly and ethically if its staff are exhausted, unsupported, and deprived of humane working conditions.
The IMA said that while doctors have a duty to save lives, they also have the right to dignity, rest, and safety. The IMA stated that glorifying fatigue as a sacrifice is no longer acceptable. It needs to be recognized as a systemic flaw that requires immediate correction. The IMA urged the Government of India, the National Medical Commission, and all healthcare institutions to take immediate action to protect both doctors and patients through fair, standardized, and enforceable working-hour regulations.
