A resident doctor at KEM Hospital tried to kill himself by slitting his wrists twice last week, later telling officials that he was overworked and could not handle the stress.Dr Shivaji Patil, 23, underwent treatment in the intensive care unit for four days and was discharged on Monday. Dr Patil joined KEM’s orthopaedic department only two months ago after completing MBBS from a medical college in Akola.Like other resident doctors new to the job, he attended to 25 patients every day, getting only three to four hours of sleep, his friends claimed.KEM officials have begun an inquiry to assess the workload of resident doctors and identify measures to help them cope with the stress.Dr Patil’s parents, in the meantime, have taken him back to Akola. He was found unconscious by his roommate at the KEM hostel in the early hours of July 30. He was immediately rushed to the casualty ward before being shifted to the ICU. He later told doctors that he had slipped into depression as he could not handle the work pressure.“In the first year of residency, we have to put in long hours. We hardly get any time to eat properly or rest,” a resident doctor, who didn’t want to be named, said.KEM acting dean Dr Anil Gwalani said that the work pressure at government hospitals such as KEM was not new. “We all have to deal with the stress. In Dr Patil’s case, it seems he had never worked in such an environment before. He may have found it difficult to cope with the stress away from his home and family,” Dr Gwalani said.He added: “We suggested to Dr Patil’s parents to take him home for some time. I have also asked the orthopaedic department to find out what went wrong.”Dr Sagar Mundada, president of the Maharashtra Resident Doctors’ Association, said that according to the Supreme Court’s guidelines, resident doctors should not be made to work for more than 48 hours in a week. “But most junior doctors end up working for around 100 hours a week. This affects their health and makes them vulnerable to infectious disease such as tuberculosis,” Dr Mundada said.The apex court had issued the guidelines in 1987.