Unfilled shifts lead to overworked doctors - union

The BMA has claimed unfilled shifts are have a detrimental effect on the workforce

A doctor's union has said the number of unfilled shifts across London trusts is having a "detrimental impact" on medics who are working "increasingly understaffed and challenging shifts".

The British Medical Association (BMA) said its investigation found more than 32,000 doctors' shifts unfilled in hospitals in London over a six-month period last year.

The union has also claimed these shifts are not taken up by doctors as extra work as NHS trusts are "colluding" to keep rates of pay for extra shifts universally low across all hospitals.

A spokesperson for NHS England said on average around 90% of shifts are filled in London's NHS hospitals.

'Patients deserve better'

Freedom of Information (FOI) requests by the BMA revealed that across 23 London trusts at least 32,576 shifts have been offered to doctors, but have not been filled.

Co-chair of the BMA North Thames Regional Resident Doctors' Committee, Dr Shivam Sharma, said the information backs up "what doctors in London already know: we are untenably short staffed".

He added: "Every single one of those 32,000 unfilled shifts meant overworked doctors were left trying to do the work of multiple medics.

"Patients in London deserve doctors who can give them the time and energy they need."

Dr Sharma said it is "only common sense that if trusts abandoned the medical rate cap and paid these shifts more competitively, as trusts in other parts of the country can do, we would see fewer rota gaps and better-staffed hospitals".

An NHS spokesperson said its top priority is "patient safety"

An NHS England spokesperson said its "top priority is patient safety, and we work closely with trusts and systems cross the capital to support best practice".

They said while 90% of shifts are filled in London, there could be "a variety of reasons" why the remaining shifts are not covered.

It did not comment on the BMA's claim that shifts were being left unfilled because of low pay rates.

Kevin O'Kane, chair of the BMA London regional council, said it is "unacceptable" that doctors in the capital are being asked to work for rates that they have not been able to negotiate.

He said: "When doctors take on extra work and sacrifice their already limited free time they deserve to be paid fairly, and in a way that reflects the increased costs that come from living in London.

"The London medical rate cap is unjust, and we must find a way to ensure doctors are fairly paid for the extra shifts they do.

"This is also in the interests of hospital trusts in the capital and the patients we all serve; by agreeing a London-wide set of rates, we create stability for trust managers and deliver a reliable supply of doctors to provide the care patients need."