The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has directed its members to stop working more than 24 hours at a stretch from October 1, 2025.
NARD President, Dr. Mohammad Suleiman, told reporters that the decision was taken to protect doctors’ health and to ensure safer treatment for patients.
He explained that doctors have for too long been forced into very long call hours, which damage their health and affect service delivery.
“From today, Wednesday, October 1, our members will no longer do more than 24 hours of continuous call duty. Anything beyond that is unsafe, because doctors can make mistakes, collapse, or even die. After 24 hours, rest is necessary,” Suleiman said.
He urged resident doctors to reject rosters that put them on call for back-to-back 24-hour shifts, saying such schedules are unsafe and unsustainable.
According to him, doctors should only take one straight 24-hour call at a time, after which they must rest before being scheduled again. He appealed to the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare to provide clear guidelines on healthy call rosters.
Suleiman stressed that the directive was not about refusing to work but about ensuring limits. “We are not saying we won’t take calls. We will, because it is our job. But after 24 hours, doctors must rest, eat, see their families, refresh, and then return to duty,” he said.
He recalled the death of a young doctor in Rivers State who had been on call for three days in a row before being found dead in the call room.
“Even if that was not the direct cause of death, the workload was a major factor. Burnout is real, and that is why we are taking this stand,” Suleiman said.
He added that doctors’ stress is made worse because they still have to handle regular ward duties, clinics, and patient care alongside call hours.
