Tamil Nadu Govt doctors seek rotational shift system instead of 24-hour duty

Chennai: Government doctors’ associations in Tamil Nadu have demanded an end to 24-hour duty, seeking the introduction of a rotational shift system instead, after a video of a TVK MLA’s midnight inspection at Eral Government Hospital went viral on social media.

The controversy followed a late-night inspection by the elected representative along with party members. Videos of the inspection, which later circulated on social media, showed the group entering the hospital and a duty nurse being asked to wake a doctor who was resting in the duty room. 

The Service Doctors and Post Graduates Association defended the doctor, stating that a duty doctor resting in the designated room while remaining available to attend emergencies does not amount to negligence. It said that when a patient arrives in the casualty, the nursing and support staff alert the duty doctor, who then attends to the patient. The association also pointed to previous instances of theft at the premises and said the doctor was justified in keeping the room closed and bolted.

The association further said there was no Government Order from the Health Department specifically mandating 24-hour duty for government doctors. It urged the Directorate of Medical and Rural Health Services to replace the existing arrangement with a shift-based system, describing continuous 24-hour duty as an “inhuman, slow-killing” system, reports TNIE. 

The Tamil Nadu Medical Officers Association also condemned the incident, particularly the filming and public portrayal of a doctor while on duty. It said the circumstances of a doctor resting during a 24-hour shift should be considered before drawing conclusions about negligence.

The association called on the State Government to issue guidelines for a regulated rotational duty system with adequate rest for doctors working across the three health directorates. It also warned that any further incidents involving the targeting of doctors or healthcare workers could lead to protests, including a work boycott.

The incident has thus brought renewed attention to both the conduct of public representatives and political workers inside government healthcare facilities and the working conditions of doctors assigned prolonged overnight duties. The associations have maintained that doctors must remain available for emergencies while also being provided adequate rest during extended duty periods.