NEW DELHI: A worrying change in the pattern of suicides among doctors and other healthcare professionals has prompted anaesthetists to call for tighter regulation of high-risk anaesthetic drugs, warning that unrestricted access to these medicines inside hospitals is emerging as a serious occupational hazard that requires urgent policy intervention.
The concern comes against the backdrop of repeated warnings by the Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA), which has for several years highlighted the growing mental health crisis among doctors. Following a series of suicides involving undergraduate students, resident doctors and practising physicians across the country, FAIMA had sought a national mechanism to document such deaths, establish confidential mental health support systems and address the intense workplace pressures faced by medical professionals.
The association has consistently maintained that doctor suicides represent an overlooked public health emergency requiring institutional, rather than individual, solutions.
While previous discussions largely focused on stress, burnout, long working hours, workplace violence, academic pressure and depression, anaesthetists now argue that another dimension deserves equal attention—the easy availability of highly potent anaesthetic drugs within hospitals.
They say the issue is no longer confined to mental health alone but also reflects a regulatory gap in the storage, monitoring and access to medicines capable of causing rapid death if misused.
According to doctors, more than 20 healthcare professionals are believed to have died by suicide in Kerala and other parts of the country in recent years. They caution that unsuccessful suicide attempts are likely to be far more common than documented deaths, pointing to the absence of a national surveillance system that captures the true scale of the problem.
Dr. S. Anzar, anaesthetist at Government Medical College, Pariyaram, said doctors and healthcare workers possess specialised knowledge of anaesthetic agents and have legitimate access to them as part of their clinical responsibilities, creating a unique occupational risk that has received little regulatory attention.
“These medicines are indispensable for patient care, but once they are available within hospitals, the present system does not adequately regulate access. This is no longer just a mental health issue; it is also about access, accountability and regulation,” he said.
Dr. Anzar observed that the pattern of suicides among medical professionals appears to have changed over the years. Earlier, most deaths involved methods commonly seen in the general population. Increasingly, however, recent cases appear to involve anaesthetic drugs available within healthcare institutions.
“This shift itself demands scientific investigation. We need evidence-based research to understand why this transition is occurring and what preventive measures are likely to be most effective,” he said.
Doctors have therefore called for a nationwide epidemiological study examining suicides among healthcare professionals, including occupational risk factors, methods employed, accessibility of lethal agents and institutional safeguards.
Experts believe that such research could guide policy reforms and help hospitals introduce preventive measures before more lives are lost.
Among the reforms proposed is bringing commonly used anaesthetic medicines under the stricter Schedule X category of the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules instead of the present Schedule H classification. Schedule X drugs are subject to tighter documentation, inventory management and dispensing controls, making diversion and unauthorised access more difficult.
Dr. Anzar has also recommended installing Automated Drug Dispensing Cabinets (ADCs) in operation theatres, intensive care units and emergency departments. These electronically controlled systems record every transaction, restrict access to authorised personnel and maintain a complete audit trail for high-risk medicines.
Dr. Harris Azees, an anaesthetist in the private sector, said the regulatory framework governing anaesthetic drugs has failed to keep pace with modern hospital practice.
“Most anaesthetic drugs continue to be classified under Schedule H, allowing them to be dispensed on the prescription of any registered medical practitioner. That framework no longer adequately reflects the risks associated with these medicines. It is time regulations were revisited and institutional oversight strengthened,” he said.
He added that several anaesthetic agents provide only a narrow window for successful medical intervention in cases of overdose, making prevention through secure storage and controlled access far more effective than emergency treatment.
Supporting the demand for regulatory reforms, senior anaesthetist Dr. Thomas Kurian recalled that during his early years in the profession, suicides involving anaesthetic drugs were virtually unheard of.
“Most cases then involved conventional methods. The change we are witnessing today should prompt serious introspection within the medical community and among policymakers,” he said.
Mental health experts have repeatedly emphasised that preventing suicides among healthcare workers requires a comprehensive strategy combining confidential psychological support, stigma-free counselling, reasonable working conditions, protection from workplace violence and systematic monitoring of occupational risks.
Anaesthetists now argue that safeguarding doctors must also include restricting access to potentially lethal medicines through stronger regulatory controls.
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