HC issues notices to govt, NMC on PG doctors’ working hours

Vijayawada: Andhra Pradesh high court on Wednesday issued notices to the state and central govts, the National Medical Council (NMC), and others in a petition filed seeking directions to limit the working hours of postgraduate resident doctors to eight hours a day except in emergency situations. The court asked the respondents to file counter affidavits with all details.Dr Ala Venkateswarlu from Guntur moved a public interest litigation (PIL) in the high court, contending that PG resident doctors in govt hospitals and medical colleges are working for 36 hours continuously, and are not being given weekly off or allowed to take sufficient rest. Arguing on behalf of the petitioner, Tagore Yadav told the court that as per NMC guidelines, working hours per shift should not exceed 12 hours, which can be extended up to 24 hours only in exceptional and emergency situations.Yadav further said that if a doctor is made to work for 24 hours, leave should be granted the next day. However, the PG resident doctors in govt hospitals are being made to work for 36 hours without any leave or weekly off, he stated.Responding to the claims, T V Sridevi, the standing counsel for NTR Health University, said a petition is pending before the Supreme Court on the same issue. Considering the submissions, the HC bench headed by Chief Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur and Justice Challa Gunaranjan issued notices to the respondents with a direction to file counters and posted the matter for further hearing to June 17.