OGH Caps Junior Doctors' And Interns' Duty At 48 Hours A Week

HYDERABAD: In a first of its kind move to safeguard the mental and physical health of junior doctors and interns, the Osmania General Hospital (OGH) superintendent has issued a circular directing all departments to restrict their duty hours to 48 hours a week and introduce structured shifts.

The circular, dated October 27, asks all heads of departments (HODs) to strictly implement and monitor the 48-hour weekly duty schedule for junior residents and interns.

As per the new duty pattern, doctors will be assigned two shifts of 12 hours each a week, while duty on the remaining four working days will be restricted to six hours a day. Every junior resident and intern must also be given one full, uninterrupted day off every week.

Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, OGH superintendent Dr Rakesh Sahay said there was no uniformity in workload and duty hours across departments. Junior doctors and their parents had submitted representations seeking regulation of working hours.

“Some departments have heavy workloads while others have less work. It is better to have a rational and uniform system in which work is divided among everyone,” he said.

The decision follows concerns over long working hours among postgraduate medical students and a suicide reported four months ago, said N. Chandrakanth, president of the OGH Junior Doctors Association.

“The unwritten practice was to make junior doctors work for up to 72 hours. In departments such as orthopaedics, junior residents sometimes work for more than 72 hours, with no clear schedule for rest or sleep. The new system will help departments plan shifts and distribute work," he said.

The circular directs HODs to review and submit revised monthly duty rosters to the superintendent's office by the 28th of every month. Attendance must be monitored by the unit chief or a faculty representative.

The association has urged all departments to implement the norms and called on other government hospitals to adopt a similar system.

Telangana Medical Council member, G. Srinivas said, “A commendable initiative by the superintendent of OGH to implement the 48-hour weekly duty schedule for junior residents and interns, in accordance with the relevant National Medical Commission PG medical education regulations and Government of India guidelines.”

N. Karthik of HRDA welcomed the decision, saying it was a highly appreciable and progressive decision.

This is a much-needed step towards safeguarding doctors’ physical and mental well-being, preventing burnout, and ensuring better patient care. We sincerely appreciate this initiative and hope that similar duty-hour regulations will be implemented across all government medical colleges and hospitals in Telangana, he added.