WORKING hours for medics and teachers should be cut to prevent them becoming ill, former Olympic athlete turned Tory MSP Brian Whittle will tell the Scottish Parliament.

Whittle said his plan was aimed at easing the pressure on overworked health and teaching professionals.

He said excessive workloads was causing "poor health and wellbeing" among doctors, nurses and teachers, claiming that the health of some of Scotland's healthcare professionals was below the national average.

He warned this was having a knock-on effect on those they care for.

The former double European Athletics Championship gold medalist argued that the health of doctors, nurses and teachers was often neglected. He maintains that cutting their working hours would allow them to adopt healthier lifestyles, such as allowing more time for exercise.

Whittle denied it would place pressure the health service under strain and damage the quality of education. The South of Scotland MSP said the move could lead to a fall in sickness among NHS workers and teachers, reducing absenteeism.

He said: "We need to promote and make accessible an active, healthy lifestyle for all.

"I think what we are forgetting is those who we will charge with the delivery of this message – mainly our health care professionals, nursery staff, teachers and the third sector – and their health.

"It has been reported that the health and wellbeing of some of our health care professionals is below the average for the nation.

"I would maintain any long term sustainable drive for a healthier nation must start with ensuring that creating an environment allowing our health care professionals and teachers to have a healthier, more active lifestyle is paramount."

Whittle, who also competed in the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, also said NHS workers should be given proper rest breaks, with nightshift healthcare professionals given a hot meal cooked meal, which is not presently the norm.

His call came after a Royal College of Nursing survey of more than 3,300 nurses in Scotland showed that 51 per cent reported inadequate staffing on their last shift, with 53 per cent saying the situation had compromised patient care.

Whittle will set out his proposals at Holyrood in the coming weeks as part of an overall strategy aimed at improving public health.

Whittle said: "There are basic changes that I think we should bring to the table for discussion.

"I would also like to open a discussion on shift patterns and even number of hours worked to allow consistent time to commit to health and wellbeing. Shift patterns that allow exercise and down time on a routine basis would be a step in the right direction.

"Reducing hours may seem counter intuitive given the shortage of nursing and midwifery staff in our NHS. However, if the impact is to reduce absenteeism the reduced hours could be more than balanced."

The Scottish Government was also criticised over teachers’ workload during a fringe meeting hosted by Scotland’s largest teaching union, the EIS, at the SNP conference in Glasgow last week.

EIS national president Nicola Fisher claimed some surveys show that teachers are working 50 or 60 hour weeks on average.

In response to Whittle, a Scottish Government spokesperson said: “We’re committed to improving the working lives of our NHS workforce.

“We are also working closely with the EIS union, local authorities and other partners to reduce teachers’ workload to ensure they can focus on providing valuable learning experiences for young people.”