Breaks & Wellbeing
Breaks
Breaks are not optional. These are important for your health and patient safety.
• In a 12-hour shift, you are expected to take 2 x 30-minute breaks.
• In an 8-hour shift, you are expected to take 1 x 30-minute break.
Acute medicine can be a busy job, and often, there is no natural downtime where everyone can leave the ward. The team should coordinate breaks at the start of each shift. Also, please be on time to work so your colleagues can leave on time. We recognise that you may occasionally need to stay late due to clinical emergencies. This is anticipated by ensuring your average weekly working hours are several hours less than your banding permits.
AMU Breaks
• The early day shift starts at 09:00 and finishes at 16:00. The latest the day team should leave for a break is 14:00 pm. Therefore, when the late shift arrives at 13:00 pm, the day team should handover and go for a break.
• The latest the late team should leave for a break is 18:00. The late team finish at 21.30 and are not expected to stay beyond this to attend the handover.
• The night shift can be busy. For this reason, there is an additional FY1 to help. Plan your break at the start of the night. The night team should have gone for breaks by 2 am, with a second break a few hours later. We would recommend front bays (FB) FY1, the additional FY1 and back bays (BB) FY2+ go together. Then, BB FY1 and FB FY2+ together so the unit is covered.
Ward 207 & 208 Breaks
• The day shift starts at 09:00 and finishes at 17:00. The latest the day team should go for a break is 14:00.
• The late team finishes at 21.30. The latest for the late team to go for a second break is 18:00.
• At the weekends, there is fewer staff. Taking breaks can be difficult. At the start of the shift, plan your break time. We would suggest that the FY1 from one ward takes a break with the FY2+ on the other and vice versa so that the wards are always covered.
Boarders Team Breaks
• Your day starts at 09:00 and finishes at 17:00. The latest you should go for a break is 14:00.
Break Monitoring
All doctors in training should have their work patterns monitored twice a year to: Confirm New Deal compliance Confirm banding of rota
As a trainee doctors, your employer must ensure that you can work safely and in compliance with the New Deal and the European Working Time Directive.
Our rotas need to be safe for our staff and our patients. It is all of our responsibility to flag problems; please do not wait for rota monitoring to uncover it.
If a rota is felt to be non-compliant either due to hours worked or ability to take breaks then the service team need to be alerted as soon as the problem is identified.
More information on break monitoring process will be sent out at the time of the next monitoring period.