According to the latest report by the British Medical Association, medics who work in adhoc shifts patterns face more danger of health risks and sleep deprivation, thereby posing a serious concern about the safety of the patient.

In the wake of the report, the NHS employers were advised to develop safer working rotas for the doctors. Further the BMA has urged the employers to encourage more rest breaks during night shifts for the doctors. All these measures would help in safeguarding the safety of the patients and the public.

The report that was released by the BMA's Scottish Junior Doctors Committee (SJDC) highlighted that many junior doctors work in night shifts for a week and then the next week is followed by late shifts with a day or two off in between.

According to them, the combination of such shift patterns poses a serious threat to the lives of the patients.

The report says that, "It has become evident that poor rota design of working time regulations (WTR)-compliant shift patterns may also result in a shift structure predisposed to high-intensity work that may lead to fatigue and may carry unacceptable burdens of risk to doctors and patients”.

Though the shift pattern complies with the European Working Time Directive (WTD), however, the report puts forth an argument that the long periods of unsociable hours could lead to serious implications for the health and wellbeing of not only the doctors but also for the patients.

To deal with the situation the report recommends making the shift lengths as short as practicable. It also recommends that all the doctors should be encouraged to rest during the night shifts as much as possible.