After a video of a TVK MLA’s midnight inspection at Government Hospital (GH), Eral, went viral on social media, government doctors’ associations have responded sharply and have raised the need to do away with 24-hour duty or implement a rotational duty system for government doctors.
The Service Doctors and Post Graduates Association said that there is no Government Order issued by the Health Department on 24 hours duty. Doctors treat emergency cases during duty hours. Once a patient is received in the casualty, the staff nurse, male/female nursing assistant, alerts the duty doctor who will come and treat the patient. The association urged the Directorate of Medical and Rural Health Services to do away with the “inhuman, slow killing 24-hours duty” for government hospital doctors and bring shift system immediately.
In a statement, the Tamil Nadu Medical Officers Association strongly condemned the incident in which the elected representative publicly portrayed and blamed a doctor on 24-hour duty at the Eral GH without taking into account the circumstances. It condemned the MLA for his act including that of filming the doctor.
A duty doctor resting in the designated staff room, while being available to attend to emergencies immediately does not amount to negligence, the association said. It urged the TVK-led State government to issue appropriate guidelines for implementing a regulated rotational duty system, with adequate rest, for doctors on 24-hour shifts in the three health directorates.
It warned that if any further incident targeting a doctor or healthcare worker occurs, it may be compelled to launch immediate protests, including boycott of work, a statement said.
Published – October 02, 2026 09:47 pm IST
