A 26-year-old postgraduate medical student died after 2 days of continuous duty due to myocardial infarction.
Dr. Thamizh Azhagan was a postgraduate student in the Department of Pediatrics at Thanjavur Medical College, Tamil Nadu. Last Saturday, he took a break from his duties due to a severe headache and retired to his room at 3 p.m. On the following Sunday morning, he was discovered dead.
The Thanjavur Medical College faced many allegations regarding Dr. Tamizh Azhagan’s death due to an excessive workload. But the hospital denied such complaints and said that it was a false statement.
Dr. Shanthi, a member of the Doctor’s Association for Social Equality, stated that the Tamil Nadu government should end the long working hours. She said that doctors and postgraduates should be ensured to work only for eight hours, and the medical staff, nurses, and doctors should be appointed based on the number of patients.
While speaking with the TNIE, Dr. Ravindranath, General Secretary of the Doctor’s Association for Social Equality, stated that the government should take action to increase the doctor-patient ratio. As the doctors and house surgeons are working 24 to 36 hours continuously, it would lead to mental stress among doctors.
Dr. Keerthy Varman, former president of the Tamil Nadu Medical Students Association, stated that, in 2023, MBBS students and post-graduate doctors died due to suicide or other health hazards due to stress. Since this is a serious issue, she said that the health department should take steps to prevent such deaths and should form the Doctors Welfare Board and offer counseling. She also stated that many doctors suffer stress due to heavy workloads.
The Doctor’s Association for Social Equality urged the government to provide compensation of Rs. 50 lakhs to the families of doctors who died during their working hours. The association also appealed to the National Medical Commission to prevent similar incidents of death in the future by regulating the working hours of doctors.
(Input from various media sources)
(Rehash/Rohini Devi)