The BMA has uncovered Department of Health data that estimates that junior doctor staffing rotas in the UK were short by almost 3,000 doctors at the end of 2008.
The BMA fears this problem has got worse as a result of inadequate preparations prior to the implementation of the 48-hour week, which came into force for junior doctors in August. Dr Shree Datta, the newly elected leader of the BMA’s Junior Doctors Committee said: “Inadequate staffing is putting a huge strain on the NHS. A football manager would not start a match with 10 men. Yet many junior doctors work in understaffed teams every day. “The problem of understaffed rotas has worsened because the Government has mishandled changes to the immigration system leading to many overseas doctors, who used to fill the staffing shortfall, leaving the UK. Poor preparations for the working time directive are likely to have exacerbated the problem. “Inadequate staffing levels were a key factor in the appalling standard of care exposed at Mid Staffordshire Hospital. Doctors working on understaffed rotas have serious concerns about standards of patient care. For too long the NHS has relied on junior doctors working beyond their contracted hours, the time has come to stop papering over the cracks and deal with the issue. We cannot continue to rely on junior doctors working extra unpaid hours to prop up our healthcare system.” He added that hospitals unable to cope with the challenges of the working time directive need to take a closer look at how they organise staff rotas and suggested that greater use of nonresident doctors to work on-call could provide more flexibility.
