By Arunima Rajan

How are India’s hospitals trying to take the load off their overworked doctors and healthcare workers?

Just four weeks ago, Dr Shirish Valsangkar, a neurosurgeon from Solapur, was added to the list of victims in India’s growing physician burnout crisis. His death by suicide on April 20, 2025, came amid mounting evidence that doctors across the country are struggling with heavy work load, fatigue and sleep deprivation. On May 19, World Family Doctor Day, the statistics paint a grim picture: 42 per cent of doctors report burnout. Thirty per cent battle depression. Fifteen per cent deal with anxiety. About 12–15 per cent turn to alcohol as a coping mechanism.

These numbers come from the aptly titled State of Our Health report, a 2024 study where the Indian Medical Association’s Goa branch and NGO Sangath surveyed 315 doctors. The findings paint a picture of a profession in crisis.

“Physician burnout in India is qualitatively different from other countries. Baseline working hours are higher for Indian doctors across sectors. Consumer attitudes and the unpleasant anticipation of violence make these hours stressful. Even when one escapes violence, litigation and criminal prosecution remain. Physicians in India are caught in a trap where there is neither economic nor professional satisfaction,” says Dr RV Asokan, President of the Indian Medical Association.

He adds that the reasons for burnout are certainly systemic. “I won’t say they are cultural. Systemic in nature, young doctors after graduation are caught in 70- to 100-hour schedules as residents while remaining slaves to a bond system. Those who move to the government sector are exploited with ad hoc jobs at contract rates. Government hospitals are overwhelmed due to lack of infrastructure and human resources. The corporate sector imposes targets and creates ethical conflicts. Doctors running small hospitals must follow over 50 regulations, treated as businesses but expected to function as a service. Young MBBS graduates prefer sitting in coaching centres for years instead of starting a basic practice. Doctors in India are stuck in a time warp they cannot escape. As for attitudes, the less said the better. The legal illiteracy of the police is a reality to reckon with.”

While Dr Asokan points to the systemic pressures mounting on India’s doctors, individual experiences reveal how these pressures manifest in daily life. For those in high-stakes specialisations, burnout is not an academic discussion, but a concrete reality.

Dr Chirag Panchal, Consultant in Neuro-Onco Surgery at HCG Aastha Cancer Centre in Ahmedabad, says: “Have I ever walked out of the hospital after a long shift and felt completely hollow or numb? Yes, absolutely,” says Panchal. “One time that stands out was after an extensive surgery on a young brain tumour patient where the outcome remained uncertain. Despite hours of meticulous effort, the weight of uncertainty lingered. Walking out that evening, there was a moment of numbness. But over time, you learn that these moments, while difficult, are part of the deeper journey we sign up for as doctors, where every effort matters, even when outcomes are beyond our control.”

He continues: “In highly specialised fields like neuro-onco surgery, juggling OPDs, long surgeries, and administrative responsibilities can feel overwhelming. The physical and mental toll is very real. But what keeps me going is the knowledge that we are making a meaningful difference to our patients’ lives. Over time, you learn that teamwork, setting boundaries, and prioritising self-care are not luxuries, they are essential. The challenges are intense, no doubt, but they are matched by a deep and driving sense of purpose. And that is what makes it all worth it.”

Dr Panchal is a strong advocate of structured emotional and mental health support for healthcare workers. Burnout is real and often suffered in silence. Having regular access to counselling, peer support programmes, and a culture that encourages emotional well-being would go a long way in sustaining the healthcare workforce.

Dr Sunil Chandy is the former director of Christian Medical College, Vellore

“The cardiac cath lab in a busy teaching hospital has a throughput which could occupy most of the day. One day, cardiac interventions started at 8 a.m. and stretched late into the night, with emergency cases piling on. My first assistant, a final-year resident, uncomplainingly kept pace with me. Cases were long, and we had no rest. Snacks between cases did not relieve the fatigue. By 9 p.m., everyone was exhausted. The nurses and technicians changed shifts, but not the medical team, which is mandated to be on call 24 hours a day. The fatigue was obvious on my assistant’s face, yet he never protested.

What could I do as a senior? There is no overtime compensation. No day off the next day. All I could do was put a hand on his shoulder and call him home to share my dinner. It worked. He was grateful. Rejuvenated, we did one last case. Sometimes, burnout is eased by a small act of kindness, a shared meal, a quiet moment,” adds Chandy.

A Share-the-Load Approach

While many institutions are still treating burnout like an individual problem rather than a systemic one, two major hospitals are taking different approaches.

Mumbai's Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital (KDAH) has restructured how doctors work. Instead of the lone-physician model, where a single doctor shoulders all the decision-making burden, it uses teams.

“Our full-time consultant model distributes both workload and decision-making,” explains Krishnaveni Nimmakayala Thalla, Chief Manager of Clinical Quality, KDAH.

Typically, three to four consultants per department share cases, and the psychological burden that comes with them.

What is particularly interesting is how the hospital handles scheduling. Instead of top-down rostering, KDAH consultants collaborate on their own schedules — a small shift in control, a big change in balance.

Apollo Hospitals Navi Mumbai has taken a different approach, digitising scheduling to reduce clinician load.

“We have found that addressing clinician workload improves care metrics,” says Dr Kiran Shingote, Apollo’s Unit Head. However, the hospital could not provide independently verified outcome data.

Dr Rituparna Ghosh, clinical psychologist at Apollo Hospitals, adds:“ The truth is, the culture we create at work is not just a ‘nice-to-have’. It is essential. A healthy, balanced, and compassionate workplace does not just prevent burnout. It helps people heal, grow, and feel purpose. When it turns toxic, it becomes a silent burden, one that slowly impacts not just our minds, but our bodies too.”

Tech Solutions That Actually Help

In healthcare, technology often creates more work, not less. Endless clicking, charting, and documentation eat up time better spent with patients.

But these hospitals are trying to flip that script.

KDAH’s platforms allow doctors to handle follow-ups remotely. Apollo has digitised many administrative tasks to cut down on paperwork. Both institutions provide physical spaces for decompression, including lounges, fitness rooms, and mental health access.

These are not revolutionary concepts. What is noteworthy is that they are actually happening in India’s healthcare system, where doctor wellness has long been an afterthought.

The Gap Between Private and Public Care

Here is the catch. These innovations are happening in private hospitals with significant resources. Replicating them in public facilities, where many of India’s doctors work under even greater stress, would require serious policy shifts and major investment.

A doctor who now runs her own clinic in Kerala after years at a government PHC says private hospitals are better equipped to handle such expenses, while government facilities, particularly PHCs, face tighter budgets and significantly fewer resources

What’s Working (And What We Still Don’t Know)

Some promising approaches are emerging:

Distributing decision fatigue through team-based care
Giving doctors agency via collaborative scheduling
Building community resilience through peer support groups
Reducing paperwork via digitised administrative systems

What is still missing is rigorous evaluation. Both hospitals report positive outcomes, but we do not yet know which interventions deliver the most impact, or how well they translate across different contexts.

The IMA has begun planning national-level interventions based on its Goa study, but system-wide solutions are still in development.

Beyond Band-Aid Solutions

On World Family Doctor Day, one thing is clear. Fixing physician burnout takes more than surface-level wellness perks such as meditation apps and gym memberships.

It requires rethinking how healthcare work is structured, distributed, and valued. It demands recognising that doctor wellness is not separate from patient care, it is inseparable. India’s doctor shortage is not just about numbers. It is about sustainability. A medical workforce that is burning out faster than it can be replaced is not sustainable, no matter what the ratios say. KDAH and Apollo offer a starting point, not a solution. But they recognise something essential. Caring for caregivers is not optional. It is essential infrastructure.

Got a story that Healthcare Executive should dig into? Shoot it over to arunima.rajan@hosmac.com—no PR fluff, just solid leads.

The Burnout Epidemic