05 March 2004
NHS hospitals are ill-prepared for the biggest change in junior doctors' working hours in the past ten years, the British Medical Association warned this week.
In August, the European Working Time Directive will be implemented for junior doctors, at first limiting the amount of time they can spend in hospital to 58 hours a week. In 2009, this will be reduced to 48 hours a week.
The BMA said this was the equivalent of losing 213,000 hours a week (or 3,700 junior doctors) in August and up to 476,638 hours (9,900 doctors) in 2009.
'It seems that the government has only just grasped the potential impact of the changes,' said BMA chair James Johnson.
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