Overwork, threats of Withholding stipend: DNB Residents in Chitradurga Allege Harassment by consultants, Doctors' body Files RTI

Chitradurga: The Diplomate of National Board (DNB) resident doctors at District Hospital, Chitradugra have alleged facing harassment and threats from the consultants of the hospital.

It has been alleged by the doctors that the consultants are threatening to withhold their stipends for declining duties beyond the requirements of the DNB curriculum.

Raising the issue, the United Doctors Front Association (UDFA) has filed Right to Information (RTI) applications before the National Medical Commission (NMC) and the Karnataka Government seeking the details of the posts sanctioned in the hospital, details of the appointment process, list of DNB and Diploma residents currently associated with the concerned hospital, copies of the complaints regarding any problems submitted by DNB and Diploma residents and the action taken report, details of duties allotted to DNB and Diploma residents in the last three months and the copies of the rules etc.

UDFA received a complaint from the DNB residents, who alleged that they were being harassed by the consultants to do their Casualty Medical Officer (CMO) duties. Allegedly, when the residents refuse to do so, the consultants threaten to withhold their stipend, not allow the residents in the OTs, and mentally harass and insult them in front of everyone. 

In the letter addressed to UDFA officials, the residents informed that when they raised the issues faced by them to the DNB coordinator, even he did not support the students. As per the letter, the students have also received threats of being suspended and not receiving their degrees.

The DNB residents from Chitradurga District Hospital also wrote to the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) and mentioned, "PG trainees are overworked and most of the time we are not getting any support from our consultant to handle critical cases. Here we are exploited by the name of work. We are forced to do casualty duty, jail duty, convoy duty and we are forced to see other department cases which is nowhere related to our DNB curriculum. Even we are forced to see critical cases without any guidance and without proper amenities to manage cases."

"We DNB PG trainees are facing mob attack and some attacks are provoked by consultants which is disheartening. PG trainees are even threatened by other association. So, we DNB PG trainees feel not safe to work in this toxic environment. We are scared for our lives. Kindly take necessary action," the letter added.

Raising the issue, UDFA filed an RTI application with the Karnataka Government and NMC and sought transparency on staffing, appointments, & the treatment of DNB & Diploma resident doctors.

The residents sought the details of all the posts sanctioned in the hospital including medical, non-medical, support staff, administratiove staff and the posts vacant. They also sought the details of the process for appointment on all such vacancies and the copy of the file for appointments, number of patients in OPD and IPD as well number of patients operated in last five years, list of DNB and Diploma residents presently associated with 'Chitradurga District Hospital', copies of the complaints regarding any problems submitted by DNB and Diploma resident doctors and the action taken report.

Further, the doctors have also sought the details of the duties allotted to the DNB and Diploma residents in the last three months and the copy of the rules for allotting work to the residents.

In the RTI application filed before NMC, the doctors referred to the NBE Manual for DNB Trainees 2022, Clause No 2.9 stating "During the DNB training, the trainees are posted to different areas of the specialty concerned as per the guidelines prescribed in the curriculum for that specialty."

Referring to this, the doctors urged NMC to provide information regarding compliance of this provision in this institute and the action taken report, if there are any irregularity in this regard.

Commenting on the matter, the National President of UDFA Dr. Lakshya Mittal told Medical Dialogues, "Despite filing multiple complaints through the NBEMS Communication Portal, these residents have yet to see any meaningful action taken to address their grievances. Additionally, the lack of a grievance redressal mechanism at the hospital has left them without a proper avenue for reporting these issues."

"The situation has escalated to the point where senior consultants have resorted to threats and public humiliation of the DNB residents, further aggravating the mental stress and emotional trauma these young doctors are enduring. There have even been instances where defamatory content has been circulated on social media without the residents' consent, a clear violation of their dignity and rights," he added.

Dr. Mittal, on behalf of UDFA, demanded an immediate investigation by the NBEMS and relevant authorities to address these issues and urged the hospital administration to take swift corrective action to ensure the safety, well-being, and fair treatment of the DNB residents.

Also Read: BHU female resident doctor allegedly abused, threatened, Doctors' association demand justice