Published Apr 10, 2026 | 7:00 AM ⚊ Updated Apr 10, 2026 | 7:00 AM
They are not negligent or lacking in training. They are simply not performing at their best because of sheer exhaustion.
Synopsis: A parliamentary committee has found that severe staff shortages are forcing resident doctors in India’s public hospitals to work 24 to 36 hour shifts, raising the risk of medical errors. It said the long hours and lack of supervision are also worsening mental health among doctors, with rising rates of depression in a high-pressure, understaffed system.
Every night, across India’s busiest public hospitals, young doctors who have already been on their feet for up to 20 hours make decisions that often determine whether a patient lives or dies.
Sometimes, they make mistakes. They are not negligent or lacking in training. They are simply not performing at their best because of sheer exhaustion.
A recent report by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare underlines this crisis with stark numbers.
Junior and Senior Residents at premier institutions routinely work 24 to 36 hours at a stretch, a dangerous practice that puts patients’ lives at risk.
“The Department should implement a mandatory working-hour regulatory framework for Resident Doctors to minimise fatigue-induced clinical errors and to safeguard their mental and physical well-being, drawing an analogy from regulated working-hour norms in other critical sectors such as fatigue management protocols used for commercial pilots in civil aviation,” said the Committee in its report.
At the root of the problem, the committee found, is a severe and worsening shortage of medical staff.
At AIIMS New Delhi, faculty vacancies stand at 35 percent. The committee noted “serious concern” that 32 faculty members left in two years while none joined.
At Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, the Senior Resident vacancy rate has reached 47.4 percent.
“Such gaps, especially in clinical and frontline categories, are likely to adversely affect service delivery, patient safety, academic supervision, and overall institutional efficiency,” the committee said.
The report also highlights a lack of senior supervision during critical hours, with trainees often forced to make unsupervised decisions in high-risk cases.
“The requisite hand holding by the senior faculty members is absent,” the committee stated, adding that residents were gaining experience “by trial” rather than through structured mentorship.
The toll on doctors is now hard to ignore. The committee raised alarm over rising rates of depression and psychiatric illness among medical professionals, pointing to National Crime Records Bureau data showing that India records over 1.7 lakh suicides annually.
The high-pressure, understaffed environment, the panel said, is deepening the mental health crisis among those meant to care for others.
The committee’s most striking proposal draws on civil aviation. It has recommended that the government formulate and strictly enforce a “Clinical Duty Hours Regulation” policy for resident doctors, modelled on fatigue management protocols used for commercial pilots.
“Both professions are directly linked to life-saving responsibilities and require high levels of alertness,” the committee said, urging mandatory rest periods, monitored duty rosters, and transparent supervisory schedules that ensure senior faculty are present in wards and operating theatres during peak hours.
The proposal has already drawn strong backing from medical organisations.
Dr Lakshya Mittal, Chairperson of the United Doctors Front (UDF), wrote to Union Health Minister JP Nadda after the report’s release, calling for immediate implementation of the aviation-style framework.
“Structured duty hour regulations for pilots significantly reduce fatigue and enhance safety during flights,” Dr Mittal told South First.
“Similarly, enforcing duty hour limits for resident doctors will improve patient safety and reduce medical errors.”
Dr Mittal also said that the government’s own Uniform Residency Scheme, introduced in 1992, already mandates a maximum of 48 working hours per week and no more than 12 hours per shift.
“Most medical colleges continue to violate these norms,” he said, adding that the UDF has filed a Public Interest Litigation in the Supreme Court on the issue.
“It is unfortunate for the government to wait for judicial intervention to enforce its own regulations.”
Beyond duty hours, the committee laid out a broader agenda for reform.
It called for a “Total Support” model for doctors, offering accommodation, transport, and administrative assistance on a par with senior civil servants, so medical professionals can focus on clinical work rather than non-medical tasks.
The panel also recommended adopting AI- and ICT-based hospital management systems to ease administrative burdens, along with structured mentorship programmes and protected teaching time for trainees.
On staff wellbeing, the committee suggested integrating yoga and elements of the Indian Knowledge System into institutional wellness programmes to address rising rates of depression among medical students and staff.
It also called for urgent attention to patient infrastructure, recommending well-equipped attendant shelters near hospital buildings with sanitation, drinking water, and rest areas, along with round-the-clock electric shuttle services to connect facilities.
“Physical infrastructure alone cannot solve the congestion or the quality crisis,” the committee said.
“The Department must ensure that expanding infrastructure is matched with adequate human resources.”
(Edited by Dese Gowda)
