Junior Doctors (Hansard, 8 July 1999)

§ The Prime Minister

We are committed to improving hours and working conditions of junior doctors, and are doing so. The number of junior doctors working more than 56 hours was 4,793, or fewer than one in six in September 1998, having fallen every six months since March 1997 when it stood at 6,485.

The numbers are likely to have fallen further since then, given the continuing action to improve working hours. The regional task force chairmen—who are responsible for providing support and advice to the NHS on reducing junior doctors hours—have confirmed that, keeping to a consistent definition of hours worked, they would have expected the numbers of junior doctors working more than 56 hours to have fallen further since September 1998, continuing the trend after March 1997.

However, in December 1998, with the support and agreement of the Junior Doctors Committee, we introduced new and tougher compliance criteria in order to safeguard the quality of rest periods for junior doctors. Although they would not in fact represent a change in actual hours worked, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State made clear on 19 May 1999, Official Report, column 1139, that any figures on this new basis could well be higher. As expected, around 8,500 posts were found not to be complying with this different and tougher measure, which for the first time included, for example, the number of rest hours while on call and at weekends, as well as actual hours worked. We are committed to reducing this number further.

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There is therefore no statistical basis for making the comparison requested between September 1998 and March 1999. Our best estimate is that the numbers working over 56 hours are likely to have continued to fall over that period.