JUNIOR DOCTORS' HOURS OF WORK

That this House welcomes the initiative of the Minister for Health, the honourable Member for Surrey South West, in setting up a working party to secure reductions in the appalling hours worked by junior hospital doctors; deplores the fact that two out of three junior hospital doctors are contracted to work over 77 hours a week, and calls upon the Government to allocate the necessary funding to enable changes in working patterns and to ensure that more direct patient care is provided by fully trained doctors.