EU Working Time Directive (NHS) Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department of Health and Social Care
Matt Hancock
Main Page: Matt Hancock (Conservative - West Suffolk)Department Debates - View all Matt Hancock's debates with the Department of Health and Social Care
EU Working Time Directive (NHS)
Matt Hancock Excerpts(12 years, 2 months ago)
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Charlotte Leslie
I suspect that that is a problem in hospitals in colleagues’ constituencies, and I look forward to hearing about those. It is not just politicians in the Houses of Parliament who say these things, but, crucially, clinicians on the ground, whose prime concern is looking after patients. I certainly agree with my hon. Friend’s point.
One area in which the restrictions of the working time directive become apparent is in the case of a flu pandemic. The guide to the implications of the European working time directive for doctors in training makes it clear that even in a flu pandemic there are no exemptions from, and there is no flexibility about, the 48-hour rule. It is true that individuals can opt out of the directive, but they are still limited by the previous Government’s new deal to working 56 hours a week. However, there is no mechanism to compel doctors to opt out of the 48-hour working time directive.
Matthew Hancock (West Suffolk) (Con)
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for making such a powerful case. Can she explain why this is an EU issue at all, since the directive is meant to engender a single market, but the NHS is a British-only institution?
Charlotte Leslie
My hon. Friend makes an extremely good point. That issue was contested to some extent when the directive was first introduced, but the previous Government saw it as a health and safety issue, and therefore the NHS was included in it. There are many reasons why we need not be in this position. There are many aspects of the negotiation that are deeply regrettable, and I agree with my hon. Friend. Although this is going over old ground, it is vital to look at that to find out how to get out of our current situation and secure patient care.