Junior doctors working at St George and Sutherland hospitals will be protected by a new policy from 2018 – keeping shifts to a maximum of 14 hours.
There are currently 450 junior doctors working at St George and Sutherland public hospitals, also known as junior medical officers (JMOs).
A junior doctor is someone in the first two years of work after graduating from medical school as well as doctors training to become a specialist.
NSW Health currently has no policy for a maximum shift length or minimum break between shifts for junior doctors. That decision is left up to hospitals.
That will change in February, 2018.
“We have met JMO calls for rostered shift periods totalling no more than 14 consecutive hours (inclusive of meal breaks and handover) similar to other states,” NSW Health secretary Elizabeth Koff said.
“In addition, rosters must be arranged so there is a break of at least 10 hours from when a junior doctor finishes work, to when they start a rostered shift again.”
Those changes are part of a $3 million JMO wellbeing and support plan, announced this month, which will be implemented over the next 18 months.
The plan was drafted after a number of doctors in training in NSW took their own lives.
In August, Fairfax Media reported on the Hospital Health Check Survey which included feedback from junior doctors working in NSW public hospitals. The survey revealed some sobering reports.
One junior doctor reported: "There have only been four days in the last 12 weeks that I have not worked.”
Another reported: “There were times when I had to work over 24 hour shifts.”
The South Eastern Sydney Local Health District (SESLHD) oversees St George and Sutherland public hospitals.
A SESLHD spokesperson said they had good systems in place to protect their junior doctors but currently had no limit for the length of a shift.
“While the district has no written policy on shift length and breaks, the district follows careful rostering practice which is consistent with the new policy requirement,” the spokesperson said.
“SESLHD welcomes the introduction of the NSW Health multi-million dollar wellbeing and support plan. The plan was developed with the state’s junior doctors to better support their health and wellbeing.
“From next year, no rostered shift will be longer than 14 hours in line with the [plan]. However, Health Minister Brad Hazzard is encouraging the health system to work towards rostered shifts of 12 hours over the next few years.”
The spokesperson said the standard rostered shift length at the two hospitals was eight hours.
