BMJ 2002;324:736 ( 23 March )

Letters

European working time directive for doctors in training

    Reduction in juniors' hours abolishes concept of continuity of care
    Profession needs to modernise surgical training

Reduction in juniors' hours abolishes concept of continuity of care

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITOR---The gloating editorial by Pickersgill, the chairperson of the BMA's Junior Doctors Committee, convinces me that the BMJ is now the magazine for the coffee table of the politically active lily-livered doctors who populate the NHS.1 The smile will be wiped off Pickersgill's face if ever he is unfortunate enough to need an operation.

The reduction in junior doctors' hours does not satisfy trainee surgeons' need for operative experience and abolishes the concept of continuity of care. All surgeons (trainees and consultants) understand that a patient deserves and requires continual care by the same firm for the duration of his or her admission. Pickersgill and others need to realise that trainee doctors' needs differ across the specialties and that many other professionals work long hours. It is time that the senate of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons said no to Europe's directives.

David Scott-Coombes, consultant endocrine surgeon. 
Department of Surgery, King's College Hospital, London SE5 9RS David.Scott-Coombes@kcl.ac.uk


1. Pickersgill T. The European working time directive for doctors in training. BMJ 2001; 323: 1266[Free Full Text]. (1 December.)

Profession needs to modernise surgical training

EDITOR---To ensure better surgical . . . [Full text of this article]
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Relevant Article

The European working time directive for doctors in training
Trevor Pickersgill
BMJ 2001 323: 1266. [Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]

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The EWTD and the MESB
Bruce Patrick Powell
bmj.com, 23 Mar 2002 [Full text]
Unlikely to have smile available for wiping
Chris J Smith
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