Community nursing and the working time laws

A tired healthcare practitioner may not be a happy one, and fatigue can cause accidents. In this article, the author looks at the reasons for which the European Union introduced a Directive in 1993 designed to limit working hours with a view to avoiding each of these concerns. The Directive also addresses continuous work periods, shifts, break time and minimum rest time in the working week. It appears that protection against fatigue experienced by health practitioners in the UK is still limited.

The UK finally adopted the Directive into the law in 1998 and amended the UK Working Time Regulations in 2003 to include certain categories of workers, which had for various reasons been excluded from the 1998 Regulations. In the matter of regulated working time, the UK has never been at the forefront of EU member states in espousing either the letter or the spirit of the EU Directive.

Accidents may or may not result from a faulty working regime, but they sometimes do. They are often one-offs, and serious instances can end a nurse's professional career. However, the number of hours worked can themselves affect the wellbeing of a practitioner, as well as that of their patient or client. Tired nurses may not be inefficient nurses, but fatigue is not the best route to the care they and their patients wish for.