[Interruptions of physicians' work at hospitals. A threat to quality?]

When the working hours of junior doctors at a medical clinic were reduced from 44 to 40.7 hours per week a questionnaire was distributed to the doctors themselves and to the different categories of nurses to find out how this change had affected the schedule for investigation and treatment of the patient, care of the patient, discharge from hospital, and collaboration with other health professionals. In the opinion of doctors and nurses alike, the reduced working hours had led to delays in investigation of patients, poorer care, problems in connection with discharge from hospital, and poorer collaboration with other professional groups. It could well be difficult to achieve normal working hours for junior doctors in hospitals with patients under continuous treatment without this having av decided negative effect on continuity of treatment.