Stop or regulate 24-hour duty for govt. doctors, associations demand
Government doctors' associations in Tamil Nadu are demanding an end to 24-hour duty shifts following a public confrontation between an MLA and a doctor. They are calling for a regulated rotational system to ensure better working conditions and patient care.
Why it matters
This highlights the ongoing tension between public accountability and the working conditions of essential healthcare workers in government institutions.
After a video of a TVK MLA’s midnight inspection at Government Hospital (GH), Eral, went viral on social media, government doctors’ associations have responded sharply and have raised the need to do away with 24-hour duty or implement a rotational duty system for government doctors.
The Service Doctors and Post Graduates Association said that there is no Government Order issued by the Health Department on 24 hours duty. Doctors treat emergency cases during duty hours. Once a patient is received in the casualty, the staff nurse, male/female nursing assistant, alerts the duty doctor who will come and treat the patient. The association urged the Directorate of Medical and Rural Health Services to do away with the “inhuman, slow killing 24-hours duty” for government hospital doctors and bring shift system immediately.
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