Amid workload concerns, NHL medical college Ahmedabad reiterates resident doctors duty hour norms

Ahmedabad: Amid growing concern across the country regarding long duty hours and the well-being of resident doctors, NHL Municipal Medical College, Ahmedabad, issued a circular reiterating guidelines on duty hours of resident doctors, stating that continuous duty should not normally exceed 12 hours and total working hours should be around 48 hours per week.

In the notice dated April 2, 2026, the college asked all superintendents, heads of departments, and unit heads to ensure that duty schedules are aligned with these norms, while also maintaining patient care and academic responsibilities.

The circular further cited concerns being reported across the country regarding long working hours, working conditions, and the well-being of resident doctors.

"In view of recent concerns being reported across the country regarding duty hours, working conditions, and well-being of resident doctors, it is considered appropriate to reiterate the existing guidelines on the subject. As per the Residency Scheme formulated following the directions of the Hon’ble Supreme Court, duty hours are to be regulated such that continuous duty does not normally exceed 12 hours at a stretch and overall working hours are maintained around 48 hours per week, with provision for adequate rest and weekly off on rotation," the notice read.

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare implemented the Residency Scheme on June 5, 1992, following directions from the Supreme Court, which clearly limits resident doctors’ duty hours to a maximum of 12 hours per day and 48 hours per week.

The notice comes after serious allegations surfaced on social media regarding the working conditions at the NHL Municipal Medical College, following an alleged suicide attempt by a resident doctor.

According to a post shared on 'X' by a doctor, also a medico-social activist, the resident allegedly consumed around 30 clonazepam tablets and attempted suicide, reportedly due to extreme workload, harassment, and exploitation.

The medico-social activist claimed that while 13 residents were officially posted in the department, nearly half were assigned elsewhere, leaving the remaining residents to manage double the workload.

Further allegations include residents being forced to write reports in the names of senior doctors and being made to rewrite them multiple times as punishment for errors. The post also alleged that residents were made to run personal errands for seniors, including arranging daily meals, and were forced to work at a professor’s private imaging centre.

Questioning when the harassment and torture will end, the X user said, "And the lowest of lows - the professor allegedly asked him to produce a psychiatric certificate so THEY can shift the blame to “mental illness” instead of their brutality. If this doesn’t shake National Medical Commission and Gujarat authorities into action, then what will? How many more residents need to break before this system is held accountable?"

Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that Maharashtra directed all medical colleges to follow the Centre's 1992 Residency Scheme after it recently came to light that around 300 resident doctors leave their postgraduate seats in Maharashtra's government medical colleges every year, and at least 25 deaths by suicide have been reported in recent years, allegedly due to 26-36 long duty hours.

Also read- Maharashtra caps resident doctors' duty hours at 48 per week, enforces 1992 residency scheme