The suicide of a 27-year-old PG resident doctor in Tamil Nadu’s Kanyakumari has shaken the medical community. Dr Sugirtha Sivakumar, who died by suicide on October 7, wrote about alleged sexual and mental harassment by the Head of Department (HoD) Prof Paramasivan, as well as senior toxicity by other PG doctors.
Due to these serious allegations, the PG doctor’s death has become a subject of discussion among the medical fraternity, raising concerns about the well-being of medical professionals.
On October 11, the National Medical Commission (NMC) also issued a letter to the college seeking a detailed report in relation to the suicide case.
EdexLive got in touch with Dr Yogender Malik, member of the Ethics and Medical Registration Board (EMRB) and head of the media division at the NMC, to discuss the tragic incident and measures that NMC has taken to ensure the safety of young doctors. We also spoke about issues affecting the Foreign Medical Graduates (FMGs) in India.
Excerpts from our conversation:
NMC took a proactive step by intervening in the recent case of suicide by a PG resident doctor in Tamil Nadu’s medical college. What pushed the commission to take this step? Can you elaborate on the measures taken by NMC?
After the suicide case came to light, we decided to convene an emergency meeting to go into the depths of the case.
We have asked the college’s anti-ragging committee to submit a detailed report on the matter. We are unsure about the status of the report and will send a reminder to the college again if we don't receive the report within two days.
The deceased mentioned sexual harassment as well, which is a really serious matter. Every college is expected to constitute a sexual harassment committee and we are in touch with the college to see if there have been any previous complaints of sexual harassment. We want to see what the college authorities have to say about this. Moreover, we have also asked the Directorate of Medical Education (DME) to carry out an independent enquiry and publish a report within 15 days.
If something substantial is found against someone in this regard, we will surely take strict action.
The incident has led to an increased sense of alarm regarding PG resident doctors’ mental health. What guidelines or protocols are in place for medical colleges and hospitals to ensure the well-being of medical professionals?
We came out with an advisory regarding PG medical students including pointers like sanctioned leaves, working hours, mental health and more. We are very serious about the physical as well as mental health of PG medical students in India. Losing a young doctor is the loss of an asset of the nation, I believe and it is our duty to protect them.
About the working hours, I feel that when you are in the medical field, you have to get used to some pressure. This profession is bound to have stress, long working hours and you should be able to bear that. We cannot limit it by saying that one should only work for eight hours. If there is an emergency, one will have to attend as a doctor.
However, definitely no one should be overburdened. Doctors should be allowed to take breaks for meals, taking a shower and basic activities. If they have leaves pending, they should be allowed to take leaves.
The commission also held a virtual meeting with different state medical councils about FMGs. What issues were discussed? Was some significant decision taken during the meeting?
Foreign Medical Graduates in India are having lots of issues. Some are facing problems with the issuance of their certificates while others are confused about the duration of their internship.
From our end, NMC has been very clear with its guidelines and advisories for the FMGs. However, there are some discrepancies in the interpretation of the guidelines by different state medical councils leading to confusion.
That is why we convened a meeting with all state medical councils and tried to address these issues, resolution is expected soon.