NEARLY one in six of Scotland’s trainee doctors has yet to benefit from a deal that bars excessive working hours, according to figures issued yesterday.
But the figure is an improvement on January when nearly a fifth of doctors in training were not covered by the new deal. And in March last year the compliance rate was less than 58 per cent.
The latest figures, showing that 84.8 per cent of doctors in training had working hours complying with the new deal for junior doctors, were welcomed by the Executive as a sign of progress, but it acknowledged that more needed to be done.
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The new deal dates back to 1991 when junior doctors and the Government reached an agreement aimed at improving conditions under which junior doctors worked.
The deal limited the number and intensity of the hours worked, and offered other improvements in working conditions.
Yesterday’s provisional figure of an 84.8 per cent compliance rate in July compares with a compliance rate of
81.7 per cent in January, and 57.5 per cent in March last year. Rates varied widely between different grades of trainee doctors — the compliance rate for specialist registrars was 79.5 per cent, but for house officers it was 94.8 per cent.
A Scottish Executive spokesman said: “It is no longer acceptable for our doctors-in-training to work excessive hours and allow this to impact on effective, modern patient care and the health and safety of key clinical staff. NHS boards are making considerable efforts to achieve full compliance.
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“The move to full and sustainable new deal compliance is a major challenge for the NHS and good progress is being made.”
The spokesman said that different health boards faced different challenges, according to geography and specialities, adding “we are urging NHS Scotland to continue their efforts in order to achieve full compliance”.