Half of junior doctors put on rotas that are short of staff

ALMOST half of all junior doctors are working on understaffed rotas according to one of the UK's leading medical bodies.

The introduction of the European Working Time Directive (EWTD) cut the number of hours doctors can work to 48 per week.

The British Medical Association (BMA), which carried out the survey of more than 1,500 junior doctors, said that hospitals are still struggling to cope six months after the EWTD came into force.

Dr Shree Datta, chair of the BMA's junior doctor committee, said: "It is clear that it is an everyday experience for junior doctors to be working on inadequately-staffed rotas.

"Given that inadequate staffing levels have been identified as a major factor in the delivery of substandard care, it is essential for patient safety that this problem is taken seriously."

Of the vacancies, four out of ten were for specialist trainees with at least five years of experience.

Overall, six out of ten doctors working in A&E said there were vacancies on their rotas.

Dr Datta said: "It is hugely alarming to find so many doctors are working in teams short of experienced doctors.

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