NHS reliance on junior doctors hinders their training

Too many junior doctors are missing out on vital training and being left unsupervised, while consultants need to take more direct responsibility for "24/7 care", says a new report by Professor Sir John Temple.

Professor Temple's report, Time for Training - a review of the impact of the European Working Time Directive (EWTD) on the quality of training doctors, dentists, pharmacists and healthcare scientists - was commissioned by the former Labour government.

The review reveals that, despite an increase of more than 60% in consultant numbers over the past 10 years, hospitals remain too reliant on junior doctors to provide out-of-hours services. It found that young doctors could still receive high-quality teaching in a 48-hour week, but not if they continued to provide so much out-of-hours care.

Sir John recommended that the service needed to be redesigned so consultants worked more flexibly and were more "directly responsible" for patient care around the clock, leading to better quality of diagnosis, better decision making, and better patient outcomes and safety...

Source: Personnel Today