The NHS must take urgent steps to address excessive hours worked by junior doctors, according to healthcare recruiter PULSE’s chief executive.

Following a survey from the Association of Surgeons in Training, which showed that 90% of trainee surgeons questioned work in excess of 58 hours, Richard MacMillan says that due to the NHS suffering a severe skills shortage, NHS Trusts must ensure a change to working hours.

“Our experience of working with Trusts is that while they are getting better at workforce planning, there is still much work to be done.  Panic demands for locum doctors could be prevented if Trusts worked more closely with recruiters to forecast busy periods and identify the resources available to them in advance.

“The temporary workforce will have a vital role to play in tackling staff shortages and covering up-turns in demand when the directive takes effect.  The NHS must prove itself more adept at tapping into this vital pool of resource to ensure patient care doesn’t suffer.”