IMA calls for regulated working hours, citing doctor and patient safety

The Indian Medical Association (IMA) demands regulated working hours for doctors, citing fatigue as a major safety risk. Comparing tired doctors to tired pilots, the IMA argues the current system is unsafe for both doctors and patients.

The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has called upon the Government of India, the National Medical Commission, and all healthcare institutions to take immediate action to protect both doctors and patients through fair, standardised, and enforceable working-hour regulations, IMA said in a press release.

'Unacceptable, Illogical, and Unsafe' Disparity

"The Indian Medical Association expressed deep concern over the continued absence of regulated working hours for doctors in India. In aviation, fatigue is formally recognised as a safety hazard, and strict duty-hour regulations exist because a tired pilot is a risk to human life. Yet, in healthcare, where decisions also determine life and death, fatigue is often dismissed as dedication, sacrifice, or professional expectation. This disparity is unacceptable, illogical, and unsafe," the release said.

Long Hours and Systemic Neglect

Doctors across the country, particularly residents and junior doctors, are routinely required to work extremely long, round-the-clock, uninterrupted shifts, often lasting 24-48 hours, IMA said in a press release.

"Recent events, including the widely discussed case at R.G. Kar Medical College, have highlighted issues of safety, long working hours, and systemic neglect of basic protection mechanisms for medical professionals. The incident triggered national concern and legal scrutiny, serving as a reminder of how vulnerable exhausted doctors can become physically, mentally, and socially when forced to work under unsafe conditions," the IMA said in the release.

Supreme Court Recommendations Ignored

It further emphasised that in spite of the Supreme Court's recommendations of 16 duty hours, CCTV Cameras, separate rest rooms for lady doctors, etc., nothing has been done so far.

Patient and Doctor Safety Are Interconnected

"The Indian Medical Association firmly believes that patient safety and doctor safety are interconnected. No healthcare system can function responsibly or ethically when its workforce is exhausted, unsupported, and deprived of humane working conditions. If regulated working hours are mandatory for pilots, to prevent fatigue-related errors, then India must ask: Why should the lives handled by doctors be treated differently?" IMA said in the release.

IMA's Key Demands for Reform

IMA demanded the implementation of nationally enforceable duty-hour limits for all medical trainees and practising doctors, mandatory rest periods between shifts and humane rotational schedules, adequate staffing to prevent dependency on excessive overtime and strong institutional and legal safeguards to ensure workplace safety for healthcare workers.

"Doctors are committed to saving lives, but they deserve dignity, rest, and safety while doing so. Fatigue cannot continue to be glorified as sacrifice. It is time to recognise it as a systemic flaw that needs urgent correction. The IMA calls upon the Government of India, the National Medical Commission, and all healthcare institutions to take immediate action to protect both doctors and patients through fair, standardised, and enforceable working-hour regulations," it said in the release. (ANI)

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