Junior doctors fear their training will suffer when European limits on working time are applied next year, two separate surveys by the BMA reveal. From 1 August 2009, the European Working Time Directive will restrict the time junior doctors can spend in hospital to 48 hours a week. The current limit is 56.
Dr Alan Robertson, chairman of the BMA’s Scottish Junior Doctors Committee, said: “Junior doctors are rightly concerned about the impact of this reduction in working hours on their training. If we are going to continue to produce the best quality of doctors, we need to look at the possibility of lengthening the amount of time it takes to train to become a consultant. “The 48-hour working limit is going to have a massive impact and the NHS is not prepared. In 16 months time, there will be a dramatic reduction in the availability of junior doctors to deliver patient care and that gap must be filled. In order to do this well, boards must develop plans in discussion with the profession.”
Two in five junior doctors (41%) reported they had already experienced a need to undertake training during their time off. However, only three in ten wanted the BMA to lobby for the 48-hour limit to be delayed, and most (66%) believed that doctors should be protected from working excessive hours. Three in five (60%) reported that their ability to provide safe medical care to patients had been compromised by pressures to work excessive hours.
Instead, they believe the BMA’s priority should be to campaign to ensure training is deliverable within a 48-hour week. Nearly in seven in ten (68%) said the number of years junior doctors spend training should be increased. The survey also shows widespread concern that the 48-hour week will, perversely, mean more antisocial working patterns while reducing pay. Respondents commented that “Pay will be reduced whilst we work bizarre and complex rotas” and “We will end up working extra hours but only be paid for 48.”
