HC Deb 20 March 1969 vol 780 cc152-3W
Mr. Geoffrey Lloyd

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what steps he has taken to limit the hours of duty of hospital medical staff where pressure on individual doctors may affect their standard of work.

Mr. Grossman

In 1967 my Department notified hospital authorities of the minimum periods of assured time off duty which should be made available to all staff in the medical assistant and senior registrar grades and below and gave advice on ways of improving organisation in circumstances where it was difficult to introduce these off-duty periods without disrupting the continuity of patient care. Implementation of this is a matter for local hospital management. The Department, after consultation with the profession, is also carrying out a factual study of the organisation of the work of junior hospital doctors.