'Resident doctors are not robots': AIIMS Bhubaneswar, AFMC Pune violate duty-hour guidelines, RTI confirms

Two top medical colleges — AIIMS Bhubaneswar and AFMC Pune — have been found violating the Uniform Residency Scheme and NMC PGMER guidelines for resident doctors. Dr Lakshya Mittal, chairperson and national president of the United Doctors Front (UDF), has written to the National Medical Commission (NMC), urging intervention and action

The UDF chairperson alleged that the junior resident doctors have been forced to work 30-36 hour shifts, violating both NMC’s residency scheme 1992 and Post-graduate Medical Education Regulations (PGMER) 2023.

The junior resident doctors in both these institutions are subjected to continuous duty hours ranging from 24 to 36 hours. This not only amounts to institutional negligence but also poses serious threats to the physical and mental health of resident doctors and compromises patient safety, Mittal said.

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What does the rule say?

As per the Uniform Residency Scheme of 1992 dated June 5: “...resident doctors should generally not exceed 12 hours of continuous active duty per day and 48 hours per week.”

The NMC-PGMER Guidelines, 2023, states: “All post-graduate students will work as full-time resident doctors. They will work for reasonable working hours and will be provided reasonable time for rest in a day.”

RTI confirms duty-hour violations

An RTI response also confirms the violation of duty-hours. “This is not a matter of isolated incidents but reflects a systemic disregard for national regulations governing medical residency,” Mittal said.

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Demands

“Exposed: Premium medical institutions violating national guidelines! AFMC Pune and AIIMS Bhubaneswar caught violating Uniform Residency Scheme 1992 & #NMC PGMER 2023 Guidelines,” the X post read.

Tagging the Directorate General of Health Services, NMC, Mittal demanded strict action and said, “Resident doctors are not Robots.”

The doctors’ group also requested the NMC to initiate a fact-finding investigation into the duty hour policies currently being followed at AIIMS.

Duty hour violation in top medical college. (Source: UDF/@drlakshyamittal)