Consultants' hours. A day in the life

Area of Science:

• Medical workforce management
• Healthcare operations research

Background:

• Many National Health Service (NHS) consultants work beyond their contracted hours, impacting well-being and potentially patient care.
• A study involving 32 consultants revealed an average workweek of 50 hours, highlighting a significant issue in consultant workload.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the impact of a pilot work pattern rescheduling scheme on consultant working hours.
• To evaluate the feasibility and acceptance of implementing rest days within consultant work schedules.

Main Methods:

• A pilot scheme was implemented in a haematology department, focusing on rescheduling work patterns to incorporate a rest day.
• Consultant working hours were monitored before and after the implementation of the new schedule.

Main Results:

• The implemented scheme successfully reduced the total number of hours worked by consultants.
• The pilot program was well-received and found to be popular among the participating consultants.

Conclusions:

• Rescheduling work patterns to include rest days is an effective strategy for reducing consultant working hours.
• This successful pilot scheme demonstrates potential for transferability to other NHS departments and teams to improve working conditions.