The Tamil Nadu Government Doctors’ Association has strongly condemned Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) MLA from Srivaikuntam, Saravanan, for allegedly waking up a doctor who was resting during a night shift at the Government Hospital in Eral, Thoothukudi district, as reported in OneIndia Tamil.
In a statement, the association questioned whether a doctor resting during a night shift could be subjected to such treatment and said doctors on night duty are permitted to rest in their designated rooms when there are no patients requiring attention.
According to the association, Saravanan, who conducted an inspection at the Eral Government Hospital, woke up the doctor who was resting and questioned him about his duties. The association alleged that the MLA had accused the doctor unnecessarily without understanding government procedures and said such incidents amounted to harassment of government doctors.
The association pointed out that doctors working night duty are generally assigned duty from 7.30 am to 7.30 am the following day and, unlike nurses and other hospital staff, do not have a shift-based system. It said doctors have repeatedly requested the Tamil Nadu government to introduce shift-based working arrangements but that their demand has not been accepted.
It further stated that doctors are required to remain available throughout their duty period and that resting in a designated room when there are no patients is not, by itself, a violation of duty. A doctor sleeping while patients are waiting for treatment would constitute a problem, it said, but resting when there are no patients or emergencies is permissible.
The association also highlighted the shortage of doctors in government hospitals, particularly in rural areas. It said some rural hospitals have only one doctor, making a shift-based system difficult to implement, and claimed that more than 5,000 doctor vacancies remain unfilled in the state.
According to the association, filling these vacancies would help address the workload faced by government doctors and prevent such accusations against medical personnel.
The controversy follows a midnight inspection conducted by Saravanan at the Eral Government Hospital, where he reportedly found a doctor sleeping in the designated room. The doctor was reportedly asked to come out through a call made using a nurse’s mobile phone. The MLA subsequently advised the doctor to ensure that patients were properly attended to before leaving.
#JustNow || இரவில் ஓய்வில் இருக்கும் மருத்துவரை துன்புறுத்தலாமா?…
ஸ்ரீவைகுண்டம் தவெக எம்.எல்.ஏ சரவணனுக்கு எதிர்ப்பு…#TVKMLA | #Doctor | #PolimerNews pic.twitter.com/KooOLpX3E9
— Polimer News (@polimernews) October 2, 2026
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