Responding to today’s news that junior doctors have worked beyond their contracted terms and conditions more than 63,000 times since 2015, David Riding, Chair of the Trainee’s Committee at the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh said:
"Today’s HSJ report finds that 36,000 trainee doctors have filed exception reports since August 2016, meaning a substantial part of the medical workforce are working beyond their contracted hours and /or without breaks.
"This is extremely worrying as it not only shows the extent to which the health service is fundamentally dependent on trainees to provide vital services, but also the extent to which training is increasingly seen as disposable.
"Moreover, the report again highlights the disregard in which many trainees are held. We already know that trainees are encouraged not to report additional working hours, but this also shows how a substantial number are being leant on not to exception report contract breaches, with others told to log overtime as bank shifts.
"RCSEd takes these issues seriously. Our #letsremoveit campaign has highlighted the direct impact that poor working cultures have on patient care and the extent to which individuals can feel victimised and intimidated by colleagues. Further we are working with NHS bodies to persuade them to implement the recommendations of our plan for a safer working environment.
"However as we want to learn more of your experiences, we encourage UK trainees to contacting me via birmingham@rcsed.ac.uk should they wish to confidently raise their experiences of this issue."