Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2010 Apr;10(2):134-7.
doi: 10.7861/clinmedicine.10-2-134.

Implementation of the European Working Time Directive in an NHS trust: impact on patient care and junior doctor welfare

Hugh F McIntyre  1 , Sarah Winfield, Hui Sen Te, David Crook
Affiliations

Implementation of the European Working Time Directive in an NHS trust: impact on patient care and junior doctor welfare

Hugh F McIntyre et al. Clin Med (Lond). 2010 Apr.

Abstract

To comply with the European Working Time Directive (EWTD), from 1 August 2009, junior doctors are required to work no more than 48 hours per week. In accordance with this, East Sussex Hospitals Trust introduced changes to working practice in August 2007. To assess the impact upon patient care and junior doctor welfare a retrospective observational survey comparing data from the year prior to and the year following August 2007 was conducted. No impact on the standard of patient care, as measured by length of stay, death during admission or readmission was found. However, there was a notable increase in episodes of sick leave among junior doctors. Implementation of the EWTD may maintain standards of patient care but may be detrimental to the welfare of doctors in training.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig 1.
Fig 1.
The total number of episodes of sick leave taken, by grade, for the period August 2006–July 2007 and August 2007–July 2008. HO ? house officer; REG ? registrar; SHO ? senior house officer.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

  • European working time directive.
    Medford AR. Medford AR. Clin Med (Lond). 2010 Oct;10(5):520-1; author reply 521-2. doi: 10.7861/clinmedicine.10-5-520. Clin Med (Lond). 2010. PMID: 21117395 Free PMC article. No abstract available.
  • European working time directive.
    Tucker P, Folkar S. Tucker P, et al. Clin Med (Lond). 2010 Oct;10(5):521; author reply 521-2. doi: 10.7861/clinmedicine.10-5-521. Clin Med (Lond). 2010. PMID: 21117396 Free PMC article. No abstract available.

References

    1. Council Directive 93/104/EC Official J. Euro Community 1993;L307:18–24
    1. Judgement of 12 November 1996: Case C-84/94 UK ν Council of the EU European Court Reports 1996;1–5755
    1. Department of Health The European Working Time Directive for trainee doctors – implementation update London: DH, 2009;www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPoli...
    1. Pounder R, et al. Junior doctor' working hours: ‘can 56 go into 48?’. Clin Med 2008;8:126–7 - PMC - PubMed
    1. Warns B, editor. European Working Time Directive – time is running out. Medical News Today. Scotland: MA; www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/131223.php.

MeSH terms