Cuts in working hours could be “disastrous” for patients

03 Feb 2009

Hospitals could run out of surgeons when the European Working Time Directive is enforced in August.

The Directive will limit surgeons to working 48 hours a week. The Association of Surgeons in Training (ASiT) surveyed over 1,000 trainee surgeons and found that 90% were working more than 58 hours a week.

The survey also found that more than half of trainee surgeons felt under pressure to lie about the number of hours they’ve worked.

The Royal College of Surgeons has warned that compliance with the directive could lead to staff levels being low.

John Black, president of the Royal College of Surgeons said: “The immediate effects on patient care in the NHS are potentially disastrous.

“There are simply not the surgeons in the UK to fill the gaps when every doctor’s hours are cut to a 48 hours per week maximum.”

Guy Forster, a medical law solicitor for Patientlawyers.com, said: “This is not just a question of whether there will be sufficient consultant-level cover in hospital departments but also whether those consultants have gained sufficient experience in working through the ranks. Whilst in many sectors limits to working hours will be beneficial, a detrimental impact on patient care was surely not what the legislators envisaged.”

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