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There are fears patient safety could be compromised and operations cancelled due to reforms in medical training, a pressure group claims.
There are fears patient safety could be compromised and operations cancelled due to reforms in medical training, a pressure group claims.
More than 30,000 junior doctors will take up new training posts in England on Wednesday.
Under the old system, junior doctors started posts at different times of the year, but the number starting new jobs on one day is significantly higher this year.
RemedyUK, the pressure group set up to challenge the Government's reforms, carried out a survey of what is likely to happen during the handover.
From doctors' reports at 109 UK hospitals, 86% said there were theatre cancellations at their trust while 79% reported cancellation of clinics.
The British Medical Association (BMA) has been cautious in its view of what will happen on August 1, saying strategic health authorities (SHAs) have failed to confirm how they will manage the handover.
It said it also had evidence that some hospitals had cancelled planned operations for the day, which at the very least will inconvenience patients.
But the impact of the reform on patient care "is currently unknown", it said, adding that the changeover did not necessarily mean there would be a detrimental impact on patient safety.
NHS Employers, which represents NHS trusts on workforce issues, insists trusts are prepared for the handover day.
A Department of Health spokeswoman said: "NHS hospitals always carry out fewer outpatient appointments and fewer operations during August."
"It is because it is a quiet month that the junior doctor rotation happens during August in the first place."
"A new rotation of junior doctors starts in August every year and has done for decades."
"The numbers involved will be higher this year but NHS trusts are used to dealing with this issue and have plans in place to make sure services continue to run during August."
"We have asked the NHS to make sure that all junior doctors who applied through the Medical Training Application Service this year can continue to be employed as NHS doctors beyond August 1, until October 31."
"So tens of thousands of doctors will not only have job security right until the end of this year's recruitment process, but they will also be available to help run patient services as well."
Copyright - Press Association 2007
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