Doctors' Working Lives News
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Thursday, September 02, 2004
Overnight power naps - the debate continues
The issue of "power naps" or "anchor sleeps" at night has resurfaced, this time at Barnet & Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust, who have removed on call rooms from full shift doctors. The anaesthetics doctors and the BMA have objected to this on the grounds of patient safety; BMA JDC deputy chair David Macklin described it as "a short-term, short-sighted method to create office space". The Trust (of course) disagree; they believe that doctors on full shift shouldn't be sleeping on duty.
You may remember that this hit the front page of Hospital Doctor last year. Back then, anaesthetics registrars at St George's complained about having to sleep on chairs overnight after their on call rooms were removed. Simon Eccles has also argued for on call rooms for full shift doctors.
One significant problem that isn't being addressed in this debate is - what about other staff groups who have to work overnight? For instance, nurses can be sacked and/or struck off the register if they're found sleeping on duty, even on a rest break. Yes, there's certainly research evidence that power naps at night can help people work better and more safely (though there's also the problem of sleep inertia when doctors are called to an emergency). But equity for different staff groups also needs to be addressed - or if doctors are a "special case", that special case needs to be made.
What do you think? Is it important for doctors to power-nap overnight and are they a "special case"? Please post in the comments below or email me at admin@idwl.info. I'll update on this when I can.
0 Comments:
You may remember that this hit the front page of Hospital Doctor last year. Back then, anaesthetics registrars at St George's complained about having to sleep on chairs overnight after their on call rooms were removed. Simon Eccles has also argued for on call rooms for full shift doctors.
One significant problem that isn't being addressed in this debate is - what about other staff groups who have to work overnight? For instance, nurses can be sacked and/or struck off the register if they're found sleeping on duty, even on a rest break. Yes, there's certainly research evidence that power naps at night can help people work better and more safely (though there's also the problem of sleep inertia when doctors are called to an emergency). But equity for different staff groups also needs to be addressed - or if doctors are a "special case", that special case needs to be made.
What do you think? Is it important for doctors to power-nap overnight and are they a "special case"? Please post in the comments below or email me at admin@idwl.info. I'll update on this when I can.
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