Doctors' night shift nap ban 'puts patients at risk' (From Times Series)

Doctors' night shift nap ban 'puts patients at risk'

6:17pm Wednesday 1st September 2004

• Print
• Email
• Share

Junior doctors at Barnet Hospital say that patients' health is being put at risk because they are being locked out of rooms where they can 'power nap' during 12-hour night shifts.

Traditionally, on-call rooms with beds have been available to doctors on notoriously gruelling night-shifts. But Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust insists that they are no longer necessary following the introduction of the EU working time directive which has reduced junior doctors' working hours from 72 to 58 hours a week.

But many doctors are unhappy about the decision and believe that working without the facilities will damage patient care.

"It's a major problem," said Dr David Macklin, deputy chair of the British Medical Association (BMA) junior doctor's committee. "Doctors need places to rest - especially when working a 12-hour night shift, which is completely different to working in the day. A 20-30 minute power nap can leave you refreshed and more able to concentrate. It maintains patient safety."

In a letter to the trust's chief executive Averil Dongworth, Barnet Hospital's anaesthetic department trainees shared Dr Macklin's view. They wrote: "It is our belief that the removal of on-call accommodation for anaesthetists represents a threat to patient safety."

Nick Samuels, director of communications for the trust, said doctors should have no difficulty doing their job properly.

"Doctors will no longer be working for three days in a row and have set shifts so there is no need for these rooms at all," he said. "There were changes made at the beginning of August which mean they are no longer necessary.

"If a doctor is working a 9am to 9pm shift it's the same as any other profession, there are areas where they can relax and take a break, but the on-call rooms are not required. Look at it this way - after you have finished working your shift would you expect your boss to put you up in a hotel?

"Just because you are employed to work the entirety of a night it doesn't mean you can't do your job properly.

"If they do live a long distance away and are worried about driving back then there is on-site accommodation provided for them."

The trust says it will make some on-call rooms available to doctors on a first-come, first-served basis at a cost of £15 per night, but admits there are not enough to go around. The charges amount to a large chunk of junior doctors' salaries which start at around £25,000 a year, but the trust says it can make better use of the rooms.

"It's a short-term, short-sighted method to create office space," said Dr Macklin. "Doctors are looking after patients, they are looking after the community, and they are being charged if they want to sleep during long night shifts. It's extremely ill-advised."

Members of the trust were due to meet with the BMA on Thursday to discuss the future plans for the on-call rooms.

• Print
• Email
• Share