Sleep-deprived doctors 'equal to over limit'

摘要

Hospital doctors continue to work long shifts, putting their wellbeing and patient safety at risk. The AMA conducted the third national survey of doctors' working hours in August last year. A total of 1,486 doctors took part in the online survey, which was conducted from 8-14 August 2011. Although the survey found the proportion of hospital doctors in the significant and higher-risk categories had fallen to 53 per cent, problems remained. During the survey's audit week, 21 per cent of doctors had no days free from work, the maximum number of hours worked per week rose from 113 in 2006 to 120, and the average hours worked for all hospital doctors was 55.1 hours.