Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): More than 87% of resident doctors in Madhya Pradesh suffer from burnout and do not get adequate sleep, mirroring the national trend.
Most alarmingly, one in every two doctors has contemplated quitting residency, while around 17% admitted to having thoughts of self-harm due to work pressure.
The findings emerged in the nationwide survey titled Review Medical System (RMS 2.0) conducted by the Federation of All India Medical Associations (FAIMA).
According to the survey, about 61.8% of respondents reported working continuous shifts exceeding 36 hours, while 63.7% said they did not get adequate rest after long duty hours.
The survey also found that 46.7% of doctors work more than 80 hours a week, while 20.3% work over 100 hours weekly.
National FAIMA spokesman Dr Akash Soni said, "Long shifts, pressure from seniors, the behaviour of patients' families and continuous work lead to mental exhaustion among doctors, thereby impairing their performance.
Issues such as staff shortages, low stipends, a lack of mental health support, mandatory service bonds and escalating workloads are not only affecting doctors but are also impacting the quality of medical education and patient safety."
Dr Yashwant Singh Gurjar, vice-president of the Junior Doctors Association (JUDA), Madhya Pradesh, said, 400 postgraduate resident doctors from the state participated in the survey and the state's figures were in line with the national trend. Within clinical departments, the incidents of burnout and sleep deprivation reaches as high as 97% to 98%.
"Thirty-six-hour duty shifts have become an accepted part of the medical system's culture, even though the practice is entirely inhumane.
The survey finding that 17% of doctors admitted to having thoughts of self-harm is a deeply alarming signal that requires immediate rectification," he added.
