Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh
Press Release
Dr Rosemary Hollick, Chair, RCPE Trainees & Members’ Committee, said,
“Trainee doctors work under a lot of pressure. The implementation of the European Working Time Directive (EWTD), by which trainees’ working hours were reduced to 48hrs per week, has gone some way to reducing the pressure on trainees. However, working rotas have still been challenging and have often only been confirmed at unacceptably short notice.
“This has affected the attractiveness of medicine as a career and led to difficulties in recruiting trainee doctors. It has also created further pressure on hospital rotas.
“Today’s announcement from the Scottish Government to reduce pressure on trainees and to end the practice of rostering trainees on for 7 consecutive nights is very welcome and should improve patient safety [1]. We hope this signals further work on supporting trainee doctors and making their roles, particularly that of the medical registrar, more attractive to support recruitment”.
ENDS
Related media coverage
STV News, interview with Dr Rosemary Hollick, Chair, RCPE Trainees & Members’ Committee, 19 June 2014
http://news.stv.tv/politics/279733-junior-doctors-not-allowed-to-work-more-than-seven-days-in-a-row/
The Herald, article including comment from Dr Rosemary Hollick, Chair, RCPE Trainees & Members’ Committee, 20 June 2014
Contact: Graeme McAlister on 0131-247-3693 or 07733-263453
Notes to Editors
1. Scottish Government news release, 19 June 2014, http://news.scotland.gov.uk/News/Helping-junior-doctors-de1.aspx
