Junior doctors' shifts and sleep deprivation

doi:10.1136/bmj.330.7505.1404

BMJ 2005;330:1404 (18 June), doi:10.1136/bmj.330.7505.1404

Editorial

Junior doctors' shifts and sleep deprivation

The European working time directive may put doctors' and patients'lives at risk

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

The European working time directive was implemented for doctorsin training in the UK NHS and elsewhere in Europe in August2004. Junior doctors' working hours are now limited to a shiftof no more than 13 hours followed by a break of at least 11hours.¹ As a result, the work pattern out of hours for mostjunior doctors at the front line of acute medicine has changedcompletely from providing on-call cover to working in shifts.²The directive aims to reduce working hours in order to improveworkers' health and safety, but the current NHS shift systemcould threaten doctors' and, moreover, patients' safety.

More than three quarters of medical senior house officers andnearly half of specialist registrars in NHS trusts were workingseven consecutive night shifts when surveyed in December 2004by the Royal College of Physicians.² Some 40% of acute hospitalshad introduced rotas . . . [Full text of this article]

Alice Murray, research assistant

Centre for Gastroenterology, Royal Free Hospital, London NW3 2QG

Roy Pounder, emeritus professor of medicine

Centre for Gastroenterology, Royal Free Hospital, London NW3 2QG
(roypounder@hotmail.co.uk)

Hugh Mather, consultant physician

Ealing Hospital, Southall, Middlesex UB1 3HW

Dame Carol Black, president

Royal College of Physicians, London NW1 4LE

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Cappuccio, F. P., Bakewell, A., Taggart, F. M., Ward, G., Ji, C., Sullivan, J. P., Edmunds, M., Pounder, R., Landrigan, C. P., Lockley, S. W., Peile, E., on behalf of the Warwick EWTD Working Group, (2009). Implementing a 48 h EWTD-compliant rota for junior doctors in the UK does not compromise patients' safety: assessor-blind pilot comparison. QJM 102: 271-282 [Abstract] [Full text]
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Lim, E., Tsui, S., on behalf of the Registrars and Consultant Cardiac, (2006). Impact of the European Working Time Directive on exposure to operative cardiac surgical training.. Eur. J. Cardiothorac. Surg. 30: 574-577 [Abstract] [Full text]
Akerman, N. (2005). Junior doctors' shifts and sleep deprivation: New on-call rotas do not work. BMJ 331: 514-514 [Full text]
Veiraiah, A. (2005). Junior doctors' shifts and sleep deprivation: "Weeks of nights" give the illusion of working fewer hours. BMJ 331: 515-515 [Full text]
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Rapid Responses:

Read all Rapid Responses

Some further thoughts: Arvindan Veiraiah
bmj.com, 17 Jun 2005 [Full text]
Rapid Erosion of Training: Leith A Williams
bmj.com, 17 Jun 2005 [Full text]
EWTD and doctors - boon or curse?: Dr Adil Y. Kadri
bmj.com, 17 Jun 2005 [Full text]
The counter argument: Malcolm Griffiths
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Don't Forget New Deal Protection: Gavin I Galasko
bmj.com, 18 Jun 2005 [Full text]
junior doctors shifts : the pendulum is still swinging: andrew short
bmj.com, 18 Jun 2005 [Full text]
Bonded slavery still bonded slavery: Vaishali Mona Verma
bmj.com, 18 Jun 2005 [Full text]
EWTD-No easy solution: Sashidhar Yeluri, et al.
bmj.com, 19 Jun 2005 [Full text]
The EWTD does not achieve its objective: Conor D Marron
bmj.com, 19 Jun 2005 [Full text]
Time for the 25 hour day: Adrian K Midgley
bmj.com, 19 Jun 2005 [Full text]
Doctor at night: George I. Varughese
bmj.com, 19 Jun 2005 [Full text]
Impact on Training and Social Life: Jahangir Rehman
bmj.com, 20 Jun 2005 [Full text]
Re: Time for the 25 hour day: Peter KK Au-Yeung
bmj.com, 20 Jun 2005 [Full text]
Triviality and Scaremongering: Jay Ilangaratne
bmj.com, 21 Jun 2005 [Full text]
A good solution but not perfect: Syed S Nasir
bmj.com, 21 Jun 2005 [Full text]
Silent Night and the European Working Time Directive: Robin Chung
bmj.com, 22 Jun 2005 [Full text]
misunderstood sleep effects: benjamin dean
bmj.com, 22 Jun 2005 [Full text]
As easy as child's play!: Nicholas Akerman
bmj.com, 22 Jun 2005 [Full text]
Night shift and sleep deprivation: is siesta the solution?: Javier Rodriguez-Vera, et al.
bmj.com, 22 Jun 2005 [Full text]
High quality rest needs high quality rest rooms: Georgette Oni
bmj.com, 23 Jun 2005 [Full text]
EWTD a good ideal, but doesn't work in practice: Bruce J Ella
bmj.com, 23 Jun 2005 [Full text]
EWTD is a misnomer: john j atkinson
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Re: A good solution but not perfect: Meghna Shah
bmj.com, 24 Jun 2005 [Full text]
Pay us for what we do and no one will complain!: Nicola S Wallace
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The importance of napping on nightshifts: Gwyneth A Davies, et al.
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Night Duty and Nurses: Chris Nicholson
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'shifting work' - not 'shift work': Tim Moriarty
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Re: Night Duty and Nurses: Jonathan R Hanson
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