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The NHS is appointing a new layer of managers to ensure that doctors do not work too hard.
Hospitals say the bureaucrats are needed to ensure compliance with European legislation which says that, from August next year, no doctors will be allowed to work more than 48 hours a week. At the moment, junior doctors can work up to 56 hours.
Scarborough and North East Yorkshire Trust appointed a “working time directive project manager” in 2006-7.
Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust is advertising for one at a salary of up to £44,527. A spokeswoman said the purpose was to “redesign roles and rotas in preparation for compliance next year”.
Last week the European parliament voted to end Britain’s opt-out. Unless a compromise is reached in the European Union’s council of ministers, this will mean doctors cannot work longer hours even if they want to.
The Royal College of Surgeons has issued a warning that the NHS will not be able to cope when hours are cut next year.
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Bad for patients (because of the breakdown of handovers and the number of different doctors needed for the same patient and in the same team), bad for nurses (very poor communication with the ever shifting staff with noone taking charge) and bad for doctors (undermining training).
EWTD is a curse
dr charles soper, london, UK
andy in Sheffield (where I trained as a doctor) clearly has not the faintest notion that it takes a lot of experience to become the sort of doctor he would like to treat him. And experience means time. 48 hours a week is far too short to get good experience.
Alan Cox, Swanage, Dorset
In 'home-birth' times, our family doctor came unannounced at twelve midnight before he retired for the night BECAUSE HE FELT HE MIGHT BE NEEDED! He remained until 2am until the baby was born and without him, the baby might not have lived.
Doctors MUST be allowed to act by their instincts.
Anne, West Midlands, England
well done NHS.
More managers and less beds.
AK, birmingham, UK
Time stamping doesn't help because it's a post event process - you plan not record scheduling strategy. Designing compliance into schedule strategy is the easy bit. Managing NHS managers comfortable with seven figure solutions for a five figure scheduling problem is the hard bit.
Richard, London, UK
These managers have existed for decades in many companies. They're called time stamp machines!
Graham, St. Albans, uk
Are you actually saying jo frpm london you want to be treated by a Doctor who has done more than a 48 hours week as i certainly dont Sack the pen pushers and employ more Doctors but thats too obvious i guess
andy, sheffield, yorkshire
This is stupid on so many levels. Firstly, few doctors support this cut in hours. It compromises patient care as nurses replace doctors in the hospital at night, and continuity of care is reduced. Reducing hours reduces training. And the money should be used to increase patient care not managers.
Jo, London, UK