Most of the 300 doctors in training rotas exempted from the 48 hour limit on working time imposed by the European Working Time Directive (EWTD) are now compliant.

Reducing doctors' working hours from over 80 a week does not seem to have adversely affected patient safety and has had limited impact on postgraduate training in the United States.

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.

By KIRSTY WALKER THE Health Service will be 8,000 junior doctors short within three years, it was revealed last night. Opposition MPs warned that vital services will have to be cut as the staffing crisis hits.

CHANGES to shift working systems in hospitals may be putting patients' lives at risk, doctors warned yesterday.