Junior doctors raise time concerns

Nearly three in four trainee hospital doctors feel they do not have time to properly care for patients, a poll has found
6 August 2013

Almost three quarters of junior doctors feel that they are so rushed off their feet they do not have time to properly care for patients, a poll suggests.

Seventy-three per cent of trainee hospital doctors said that they did not have enough time to give patients the care they require.

The poll of 350 junior doctors, who are just completing their first year of training on hospital wards, found that a third are thinking of changing career due to their experience.

The Medical Protection Society (MPS) survey found that many of the medics had struggled with long working hours, had difficulty taking on heavy workloads and a third felt "isolated".

Dr Pallavi Bradshaw, medicolegal adviser at MPS, said: "It is encouraging to see that despite the struggles of their first year, 34% of respondents said that being a junior doctor was better than imagined and 32% were excited about their future career. It is a challenging yet rewarding time, but junior doctors must remember that they are not alone."

A Department of Health spokeswoman said: "Making sure junior doctors are effectively supported and guided is a key part of providing safe, high quality care in the NHS.

"This is why we introduced the shadowing programme for junior doctors last year to ensure that medical graduates are supported as they make the transition from university to their first full employment as doctors.

"We also set up Health Education England to look at the education and training of medical staff and have made clear the importance of providing high quality support and supervision."

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