The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) issued a notice laying down guidelines for the working hours of resident doctors at the Institute.

This update follows orders from the Supreme Court of India to the Union Government and the National Medical Commission (NMC) to respond to a petition challenging the “inhumane working conditions” of resident doctors.

In its notice issued last Thursday, August 21, AIIMS re-emphasised the following guidelines:

• Resident doctors are not to have more than 12 hours of continuous active duty, including call duty, per day

• They will be allowed one weekly holiday by rotation

• Junior resident doctors should normally work for 48 hours a week, and not more than 12 hours in a stretch

The notice also instructs all Chiefs of Centres (COCs) and Heads of Departments (HODs) to ensure that these timings are followed.

The Supreme Court is currently hearing a petition by the United Doctors’ Front (UDF), which challenges the “exploitative and unconstitutional working conditions imposed on resident doctors across the country.”

The petition asks the Court to direct all government and private medical institutions to follow the 1992 directive on duty hours (which prescribes a maximum of 12 hours a day and 48 hours a week), create rosters that account for human psychological and physical limitations, and establish enforcement mechanisms to ensure regulatory compliance.