24-Hour Duty Limit, Mandatory Weekly Off for PG Medicos in AP

Postgraduate medical students in Andhra Pradesh’s government medical colleges and teaching hospitals will no longer be assigned duties extending beyond 24 consecutive hours, under fresh directions issued by Director of Medical Education (DME) Dr Vishnuvardhan.

The DME directed all government medical colleges and teaching hospitals to strictly follow existing rules on duty schedules, working hours, leave and the welfare of PG medical students. No student should be assigned more than 74 hours of duty a week, while every PG student must receive one full weekly off. Institutions have also been asked to implement National Medical Commission (NMC) guidelines and task force recommendations concerning the health and welfare of postgraduate medical students.

A PG medical student who completes a night shift must be given leave the following day, with the off-duty period clearly reflected in the duty roster. Hospitals may prepare rosters based on operational requirements, using either 24-hour duties or 10-hour shifts. Students must receive at least a 30-minute lunch break on regular working days and a 30-minute dinner break during night duty, with the break time excluded from duty hours.

Duty rosters should also ensure that every PG student has an opportunity to get seven to eight hours of sleep a day. Medical colleges were instructed to regularly organise programmes on counselling, time management and stress management. Each student is entitled to 20 days of paid casual leave, five days of academic leave and 52 weekly off-days annually, and weekly offs cannot be adjusted against other leave.

Every department must appoint an associate professor or senior official as PG Registrar, while duty schedules should be prepared jointly by the HOD, PG Registrar, faculty members, senior residents and junior residents. Each college must appoint a nodal officer and submit its monthly compliance report to the DME’s office by the 10th of the following month. Monthly review meetings must also be held to address student grievances.

Dr Vishnuvardhan warned that action could be taken against principals, superintendents and HODs if review meetings are not conducted or compliance reports are not submitted.

The orders also require institutions to provide drinking water facilities within a month in areas where junior doctors work and ensure continuous water supply in washrooms. Funds may be drawn from CSR, HDS and CDS sources. The DME said the directives followed representations from the Junior Doctors Association, while Health Secretary G. Veerapandian had warned of action against institutions failing to provide the facilities on time.

In a separate development, the Andhra Pradesh Medical Council said it would investigate the death of a woman following an alleged unauthorised abortion procedure in Yerragondapalem, Prakasam district. Council Chairman Dr Garlapati Nanda Kishore said the Anti-Quackery Committee would examine the facts, including reports that a doctor gave instructions over the phone while staff conducted the procedure, before appropriate action is taken under the council’s powers.