Almost three quarters of consultant surgeons who took part in a national survey work more than their contracted hours and seventy per cent report they are expected to undertake elective operations while they are supposed to be on call for emergencies. These are the headline statistics from the first ever comprehensive survey of the surgical workforce published today (Thursday 27th Jan) by the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS).


media release

Embargoed until: Thursday 27 January, 2011

Consultant surgeons go beyond contracts to provide 24 hour patient care, says consultant surgeon workforce survey

Almost three quarters of consultant surgeons who took part in a national survey work more than their contracted hours and seventy per cent report they are expected to undertake elective operations while they are supposed to be on call for emergencies. These are the headline statistics from the first ever comprehensive survey of the surgical workforce published today (Thursday 27th Jan) by the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS).

The Surgical Workforce Report 2010 is the first edition of what will become an annual survey of surgical consultants working practices and is intended to provide the NHS with accurate figures to inform long term planning of the numbers of surgeons required to serve the UK. The report breaks down figures for each of the nine surgical specialties and was produced in collaboration with each of their associations*:

· Almost three quarters of respondents work above the standard NHS 10 sessions a week recommended by NHS Employers (called “programmed activities” or PAs in the NHS). This entails working significantly longer than the 48 hour European working time limit – however just twenty per cent of consultants have formally opted-out of the Working Time Regulation.
· Nearly 9 in 10 consultant surgeons who responded to the survey work on call at weekends and evenings providing 24hr care – this compares favourably with other hospital medical disciplines who currently struggle to provide consultant cover out-of-hours. Most of these surgeons work in on call rotas between 1 in 4 and 1 in 8.
· Overall, a small minority (six per cent) report working even more intensive rotas of 1in 3 or less – however this figure is higher in some specialties (eg. rises to nineteen per cent of urologists).
· RCS guidelines state that time spent on call is intended to have a surgeon readily available to deal with emergencies – but seventy per cent of respondents report they are expected to undertake elective operating lists during on-call time. This is a significant barrier to improving emergency surgery in some specialties in the UK.
· A third of consultants who responded indicated a wish to work part-time at some point in their career...