390 days, 7 hours, 9 minutes and counting ...
I have had the opportunity over the past few weeks to attend two national events that explored the implications of the implementation of the next stage of the European Working Time Directive (EWTD) when the maximum number of hours worked by doctors in training will be reduced from 56 h currently to 48 h. The previous reduction in junior doctors' hours in 2004 to 58 h/week was largely achieved by means of a number of initiatives that included employment of more doctors, radical rota design and service reconfiguration. However, the most significant issue from the point of view of doctors in training was the almost universal implementation of shifts. While this change in working pattern did enable compliance with the Directive, there were other consequences. The first of these was the sudden …