Doctor critical after Hamilton car crash was on nightshift
BMA Scotland[1] said it had been contacted by members on Tuesday morning flagging concerns. However, a family spokesman says there was “no issue with breaks” and that she had been “innocently caught up in the crash which was the fault of others”. Police investigations are ongoing.
The woman, who has not yet been named publicly, was rushed to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow following the collision on Monday morning. Her condition has been described as critical, and police have appealed for witnesses. Dr Chris Deighan, executive medical director at NHS Lanarkshire, said: “We were saddened and most concerned to hear the news that a member of our staff had been involved in a serious accident.
“Our thoughts and those of colleagues are with our member of staff and their family at this time. “In the interests of confidentiality, it would be inappropriate to offer any further comment until the full circumstances of the incident are known.” _______________________________________________________________________
The incident involving a white Mercedes van, a green Kia Picanto and a white Hyundai Kona occurred at 10.20am on the A725 in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire. The doctor, who was driving the Kia Picanto, sustained serious injuries, while the van driver was uninjured. The driver of the Hyundai Kona was taken to University Hospital Wishaw but later discharged.
Sergeant Andrew Coutts, of Police Scotland’s Road Policing Unit, has appealed to any motorists who may have dashcam footage of the collision to come forward. He said: “Whilst a number of people have come forward with information about the crash, we are still keen to hear from anyone else who witnessed what happened, or who may have dashcam footage of the incident. “Details can be passed to officers via 101.
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A source told the Herald that the medic “was driving home from a nightshift where proper breaks were not obtainable”.
Another source said that the case “very much echoes Lauren Connelly – a shift having been hard and not being able to take breaks”. Efforts have been made to improve working hours for junior doctors following Lauren Connelly’s fatal crash in 2011 (Image: PA) Dr Chris Smith, chair of the BMA’s Scottish Junior Doctor Committee, said: “This is a very upsetting situation for everyone involved and our thoughts are with the doctor involved in the crash and their loved ones.
“We are not yet aware of the full circumstances leading up to the accident – and these will have to be properly investigated – but members have contacted us about the situation, and we offer wellbeing support to all doctors in times of personal or professional distress. “It wouldn’t be right to go any further on this specific case until any investigation is done. “In the past the BMA in Scotland has been clear that doctors working long, exhausting night shifts need to get proper breaks and have post-night shift facilities available to them where they can put their head down before driving home.
“While we await further details on the case we would emphasise again just how crucial that is.” The trade union has lobbied to improve working hours and rest breaks for junior doctors following the case of 23-year-old Lauren Connelly, a junior doctor from East Kilbride who was just seven weeks into her medical training in September 2011 when she died while driving home after her fourth consecutive 12-hour nightshift at Inverclyde Royal Hospital in Greenock. Lauren Connelly was seven weeks into her training as a junior doctor when she died in 2011 (Image: PA)
It is thought that she may have fallen asleep at the wheel, causing her car to veer off the M8 motorway into an embankment near Bishopton. Her father, Brian Connelly, who has also campaigned for stricter working hour limits, said his daughter frequently worked exhausting 100-hour weeks and shift patterns of 12 consecutive days. Under current rules agreed between the Scottish Government and BMA, no junior doctor in Scotland should work more than five hours without a break.
Junior doctors working beyond nine hours and up to 13 hours should get a second 30-minute break, and a third if the shift is 13-14 hours.
The majority of rotas for junior doctors now follow a seven-day pattern of four day shifts and three night shifts, with a mandatory 46-hour rest before they are expected back in work.
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