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Meeting the requirements of the European Working Time Directive (EWTD) is a great opportunity to modernise the Service and provide improved treatment for patients, a better patient experience and a better working environment for staff.
The EWTD is European law seeking to protect the health and safety of workers. It was enacted into UK law in 1998 as the Working Time Regulations. The Working Time Directive limits the number of hours that doctors are allowed to work over an average week.
The NHS has made excellent progress in implementing the European Working Time Directive. However, further support is available for those services still in the process of implementation. If you are the EWTD lead for your organisation, or a relevant member of staff you may be interested to understand the Department's perspective on the Directive by reading the implementation update below.
There will be a very small number of individual local services which for reasons beyond their control will require derogation from the Directive. The Department's proposals for this are also set out below.
This document provides clarity on the European Working Time Directive (EWTD) by giving guidance using the views of experts who have already considered most issues arising from the EWTD, implemented in the UK as the Working Time Directive Regulations 1998/the Working Time Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1998 and subsequent amendments. Where a definition already exists by statute or regulation, this is noted, but in other situations a consensus view is given.
Doctors in training should be working a 48-hour week from August 2009. It is important that employers start planning now to meet this challenging legal requirement. NWP were commissioned as the lead NHS team to oversee the WTD 2009 pilots.
Information on latest developments in Europe, publications, how to contact NHS lead organisation and other partners; key diary dates; recent speeches and frequently asked questions.
From 1 August 2004 the European Working Time Directive health and safety legislation extended to apply to doctors in training. This section provides guidance and good practice that was published to support 2004 implementation, as well as FAQs and pilot evaluations.
Hospital at Night, a model of shift patterns and staffing mix for the NHS to use in response to the European Working Time Directive has delivered improvements to patient care.
