Scottish doctors forced to work longer hours
November 18, 2009
New restrictions that came into effect in August meant that junior doctors working for the NHS in Scotland would no longer have to work long hours. The European Working Time Directive was put into force as a measure to ensure the safety of patients who would no longer be treated by medical staff suffering from fatigue. However in a new move the Scottish Parliament has managed to make some accident and emergency wards exempt from the safety measures. This means that junior doctors at the hospitals may now be forced to work longer than the forty-eight hour maximum originally imposed by the E.U.
The move has caused outrage amongst critics who say that patient’s lives could now be put in danger. MSP for Mid-Scotland and Fife, Dr. Richard Simpson points out that accident and emergency wards are already extremely busy places and could become dangerous if junior doctors are forced to work in an exhausted state. Chairwoman of the Patients’ Association Scotland, Margaret Watt agreed with Dr. Simpson calling the move shocking. She said that the Working Time Directive had specifically been put into place to prevent patients being put at risk by over-tired medical staff.
The Scottish Government has played down the complaints and said that most health boards would still be complying with the Working Time Directive. It went on to point out the Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon had decided to relax the rules in a few hospitals after a panel of experts had thoroughly looked into all of the proposals.
Related Posts
Comments
Advertisement
