Non-acceptance of thesis could be possible reason for GMC Patiala Anaesthesia Medico suicide, Resident Doctors demand fair probe

Patiala: Following the suicide of final year PG anaesthesia medico due to alleged duty stress and academic workload, the resident doctors of Government Medical College and Rajindra Hospital, Patiala, have urged the college authorities to conduct a fair investigation and demanded the inclusion of their members in the internal fact-finding committee to ensure transparency.

In a memorandum handed over to the acting director principal of the medical college hospital Dr. Ashwani Kumar by the delegation led by Dr Akshay Seth and Dr Nrip Jindal, the Residents Doctors Association (RDA) called for immediate action and a fair and transparent investigation into the doctor's death case.

Also read- Duty Stress, Academic Workload: GMC Patiala MD Anaesthesia Medico Commits Suicide

"Given the seriousness of these concerns, we urge you to reconsider our request and include members from the resident doctors’ association in the inquiry committee. Failing to do so will compel us to escalate the matter further," mentioned the memorandum as reported by The Tribune. 

Medical Dialogues team had previously reported that a final year PG anaesthesia medico at Government Medical College (GMC) Patiala allegedly committed suicide by injecting an unidentified harmful substance in her hostel room. According to the police, the doctor was struggling with depression and was under extreme academic stress over her thesis leading her to take the extreme step of administering something “poisonous” with an injection into her body.

The 29-year-old student from Chennai, Tamil Nadu was receiving treatment for stress related to her academic and professional work pressure. She was finding it challenging to manage her academic workload and had requested a break to concentrate on finishing her thesis as she was also overwhelmed by her work duties.

In response to the incident, the RDA expressed concerns about the current investigation process, citing reports that resident doctors were being discouraged from providing statements. 

In a communique, the association stated, “There are reports that some resident doctors are being discouraged from providing statements regarding this case (suicide), which raises concern about transparency and fairness.”

In a letter to the college administration, the RDA expressed concerns about the current investigation process, citing reports that resident doctors were being discouraged from providing statements. "This raises significant concerns about the transparency and fairness of the investigation," the communique stated.

Earlier, the police investigating the case stated that the victim was preparing her thesis for her postgraduate studies. However, she was upset that her thesis was not accepted because the computer on which she had saved the file for her thesis crashed, and she had to make the thesis all over again. The police discovered during the preliminary investigation that the thesis was supposed to be submitted by July 15. Unfortunately, she had to redo it, leading to its rejection and causing her distress.

Also read- NIMS Anaesthesia Professor Ends Life By Injecting Self With Drug