§ Mrs. Iris RobinsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what proportion of(a) junior house officers, (b) senior house officers and (c) other doctors have weekly workloads in breach of the EU working time directives. [151210]
§ Angela SmithFrom the latest monitoring of New Deal compliance, 91 per cent. of junior doctors (this includes Pre-Registration House Officers, Senior House Officers and Specialist Registrars) are already working and being trained in less than 56 hours per week and are thus meeting the requirements of the European Working Time Directive which will come into effect in August 2004. It is not possible, without disproportionate cost, to disaggregate the figures in the form requested.
The new consultant contract, which is being introduced from April 2004, aims to cap the average working week for consultants at 48 hours to ensure compliance with the Directive.