Denouncing the letter by five anonymous residents of Gandhi Medical College (GMC), Hamidia Hospital, Bhopal threatening mass suicide, the Junior Doctors’ Association (JDA) President of the college Dr Sanket Site said, “I condemn the letter because it is disrespectful to the college we are working in.”
“I sympathise with the allegation they made, but we should make sure nothing of this kind (mass suicide) will happen,” he added, saying that the college has initiated a one-on-one interaction with residents to understand their concerns.
All this is the outcome of a shocking letter sent by five anonymous residents of GMC Bhopal threatening to attempt mass suicide on May 31 if their complaints are not addressed.
A post regarding the same was sent to the Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA) Chairman Dr Rohan Krishnan on Monday, April 15. Sharing the letter on X (formerly known as Twitter), he wrote, “Dear Brothers / Sisters, pls keep note that suicide is not a solution. @FAIMA_INDIA_ stands with you.”
The letter highlighted the toxic and extensive work hours, lack of breaks between work schedules, lack of ethics, verbal abuse and others. The letter which started with "A toxic hello" read, "day and night every moment we are inhaling toxicity in the Gandhi Medical College, Bhopal."
"We are a part of this toxic culture from long time...," it added.
Meeting the dean
Meanwhile, Sanket Site told EdexLive that a meeting with the Dean of the college, Dr Salil Bhargava, was held on April 15 and it was decided that one-on-one meetings will be conducted to identify the concerns of the residents.
Following this, “Today, April 16, at around 11 am, several department heads had one-on-one direct conversations with the residents and seniors. However, so far, nothing has been reported about the concerns or complaints,” he added.
Mass suicide letter
Meanwhile, the letter has been gaining traction on social media with various medical associations raising concerns and other medicos sharing their experiences with toxicity in the medical field.
According to the letter EdexLive has access to, complaints mentioned by the residents are:
1. Working continuously for more than 24 hours without sleep, sometimes more than 36 hours
2. No holidays on Sunday, any holiday or even sick leaves
3. Verbal abuse by seniors and consultants
4. Threats of failing the exam and holding back the degrees
5. Lack of ethics, toxic culture and torture
6. Deteriorating health because only a 10-15 minute break is given in a day for food
“Doctor residents are not mentally healthy, due to the toxicity & torture, they are depressed, so how could you expect from them for 'No room for errors'”, the letter added, lamenting that after the suicide of two residents in 2023 and early 2024, they felt changes would be made to mitigate the existing toxic work culture. However, this was allegedly not done.
Therefore, the anonymous residents now demand immediate steps to be taken within two months to:
Halt the non-stop working hours, especially when it goes beyond 24 hours
Ensure a healthy working environment
Stop the toxicity and abuse
Failing to do so, the five residents threaten to launch a protest by attempting suicide on May 31, 2024.
Support pours in
Extending their support, FAIMA’s chairman tweeted, “@NMC_IND will also do everything possible to ease your situation. We will be resolving this issue within twenty four hours and do everything necessary to meet all three demands mentioned in the letter. A committee will be formed by today evening and visit will be done by our representatives.”
Speaking to EdexLive, the National Secretary Dr RishiRaj Sinha of FAIMA said, “Since the letter is by anonymous residents, we are trying to trace the writers of the letter and which department they belong to. And understand the authenticity of the allegations made.”
“Meanwhile, we spoke to the Personal Assistant (PA) of Madhya Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Rajendra Shukla on April 15. We urged the government to initiate an investigation into the letter,” he added, stressing, “Considering that we have seen two suicides in the recent past, we are not going to take the letter lightly.”
Past suicides at GMC
In January 2024, a 24-year-old junior doctor Dr Akansha Maheshwari died by suicide. She overdosed on anaesthesia and painkiller drugs through injection in her hostel room at GMC. In her suicide note, the PG student in Pediatrics first-year apologised to her parents and friends citing that she was not strong enough so she took the extreme step, as stated in a report by Times of India.
In July 2023, a 27-year-old pregnant PG resident doctor Dr Bala Saraswathi died by suicide. In her suicide note, she alleged that she took this extreme step due to harassment at the hands of her college faculty.
In a survey conducted by EdexLive earlier, it was learnt that 78% of medicos are facing toxicity at their workplaces.
To read the full report based on the survey, click here: https://www.edexlive.com/news/2024/Feb/10/54-pg-medicos-prefer-to-quit-continue-due-to-hefty-bond-penaltiesedexlivesurvey-40249.html
