Two young doctors in Chennai died within 48 hours after their 24-hour-long shifts. It is said to be due to a heavy workload and long working hours.
Among the two doctors, Dr. Maruthupandian was a 30-year-old doctor from Madras Medical College; he was doing his PG in gastrointestinal surgery, and Dr. Solaisamy was from ESI Hospital in Ayanavaram.
Dr. Maruthupandian was found dead on December 10 in his residence, while Dr. Solaisamy was found dead on December 11. Based on these incidents, the doctor’s association has raised concerns about the deaths of these doctors due to their workload and wants the government to take measures to reduce their workload.
Dr. Maruthupandian, on December 8, was involved in the organ retrieval process from a brain-dead patient at Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital.
The Chennai police have filed a case under Section 174 of the CRPC.
The Madras Medical College told the media that the report about Dr. Maruthupandian's death was due to working for 36 hours, which led to his death as a result of a heavy workload, is a false statement, and the accurate cause of his death can be found only after his autopsy.
Dr. Ravindranath mentioned in his Facebook post that Dr. Maruthupandian might have had a heart attack due to his heavy workload, and an honest investigation should be made to examine his cause of death. He also said that a heavy workload affects the physical and mental health of many young doctors. He demands the Tamil Nadu government provide compensation to the family of Dr. Maruthupandian of Rs 1 crore.
Dr. Shanthi AR, Secretary of the Doctors Association for Social Equity, said that the two young doctors had heart attacks due to extreme stress caused by overwork. She also said that many doctors are overworking because hospitals are understaffed. She came to know that Dr. Maruthupandian was made to do data entry work at Madras Medical College as the college is understaffed.
Many young doctors were found dead this month. Dr. Mayank Garg, a 25-year-old final-year student, died on the Metro train on December 9, and Dr. Suneha Jyothi Keswani was found dead on December 5 in her hostel room at Khairpur Medical College, which is suspected to be due to cardiac arrest.
(Input from various media sources)
(Rehash/Rohini Devi)
