Non-medical tasks take up junior doctors’ time

UP to 17% of tasks carried out by junior doctors involve “finding stuff and paperwork” and 15% are either non-medical or could be done by a less-skilled hospital worker, a survey has found.

A study of junior doctors’ working patterns at nine hospitals around the country found less than half their time on duty (48%) comprised patient care, and 35% was spent interacting with others.

It said the five tasks that took up more than half their time (56%) were: