Perplexing views on working time directive

doi:10.1136/bmj.a1588

Published 10 September 2008, doi:10.1136/bmj.a1588
Cite this as: BMJ 2008;337:a1588

Letters

European Working Time Directive

Perplexing views on working time directive

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

The editorial on the European Working Time Directive was onesided, inaccurate, and at odds with a similar article publishedin BMJ Career Focus two months previously.¹ ²

Doctors have always been paid a basic salary for a 40 hour weekor 10 sessions. In 2002 pay banding in the new contract showedthat most junior doctors were working many more hours than theircontracts. Only then did it become more costly for a trust toemploy doctors for long hours than to employ more doctors forshorter hours.

The consequent drop in the long hours worked in hospitals underthe directive did not lead to a worsening in the quality oflife. In general surgery partial shifts ensured that qualitytraining could take place because the trainee had at least 24hours at home every weekend, and did not operate or do outpatientclinics in the late afternoon after having . . . [Full text of this article]

Stephen M F Saunders, consultant general surgeon¹

¹ Barnet Hospital, Barnet EN5 3DJ

smfsaunders@nhs.net

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