MMC medico found dead, hosp denies long working hours as cause
The hospital stated that his untimely death has left the doctors and management of Madras Medical College in grief.
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CHENNAI: Even as the anger among the medicos seems to have increased over the sudden death of a 30-year-old surgery resident doctor at Madras Medical College (MMC), the doctors across the State have pointed out the hectic duty schedules they are assigned.
Dr Maruthu Pandian, Mch Surgical Hepatobiliary and Liver Transplant Resident of Madras Medical College (MMC) was found dead in his flat. He was on a 36-hour duty on the previous day, and the exact cause of death is not yet known.
Stating that long hours of duty impact the physical and mental health of the doctors, the Doctor's Association for Social Equality has raised the demand for of abolition 24-hour duty assignments. Many other medicos have also shared their experience of the heavy workload on them.
Meanwhile, Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital has issued a clarification stating that Dr Maruthu Pandian studied postgraduate General Surgery during 2019-2022 at the Madras Medical College (MMC).
After passing the exam, he became an assistant Professor of Surgery in the Department of General Surgery. He joined as an M. ch student in the Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery on November 27, 2023.
"Being a new student in the department, Dr Maruthu Pandian was treated as a visiting staff to familiarise him with the functioning of the department.
Meanwhile, a liver transplant surgery was conducted in Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGGH) on December 8, 2023, on a liver failure patient with a liver donated from a brain-dead person.
"Keen to learn about the liver transplant procedure, Dr Maruthu Pandian himself came to the operating room to be a surgical observer. He was not given any responsibility in the operation or post-treatment monitoring of the patient," a statement from the hospital said.
The hospital stated that his untimely death has left the doctors and management of Madras Medical College in grief.
The exact cause of his death will be known only after the completion of formal post-mortem examinations.
"We state that rumours that he died due to workload and that he was on duty for 36 consecutive hours are absolutely false," a statement from the hospital stated.
