Highlighting the impact of gruelling shifts on resident doctors’ mental and physical health nationwide, the United Doctors Front (UDF) is calling for the urgent enforcement of regulated duty hours through a ‘Uniform Residency Scheme’, according to a Medical Dialogues report, today, Monday, March 17.

The association has formally written to the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, urging implementation of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) directives issued on June 5, 1992, which set standards for resident doctors’ schedules in medical colleges under the National Medical Commission (NMC). 

These guidelines are from a 1987 Supreme Court order mandating the scheme’s introduction by 1993 for postgraduate medical students.

The 1992 MoHFW directive, specifically Instruction No 13 titled ‘Hours of Work’, states that junior residents should work no more than 48 hours weekly and 12 hours consecutively. Yet, a recent UDF press release reveals that many medical institutions persist in overworking doctors, disregarding these limits, resulting in severe health tolls and risks to both practitioners and patients.

The association cited the 2024 National Task Force (NMC) report on resident doctors’ mental health and the tragic rape and murder of a female resident at RG Kar Medical College, Kolkata, after a 36-hour shift, as stark evidence of the crisis.

UDF demands immediate nationwide implementation of the 1992 guidelines, annual compliance affidavits from institutions to the NMC, mandatory public display of duty-hour rules, and strict penalties for violations.