For generations, Britain's junior doctors were synonymous with exploitation and overwork. To deliver its services, the National Health Service relied on them working up to 100 hours a week. It is self-evident that this put both doctors and their patients at risk. In 1998, most British employees, including hospital consultants, became subject to the European Working Time Directive, restricting working hours. It was a measure intended to create minimum rights for all workers. Cognisant that imposing the legislation on junior doctors immediately would be catastrophic for the health service, the government permitted gradual implementation with the 48-hours-a-week limit deferred to August 2009.
For generations, Britain's junior doctors were synonymous with exploitation and overwork. To deliver its services, the National Health Service relied on them working up to 100 hours a week. It is self-evident that this put both doctors and their patients at risk.
