Excerpt from a letter received from Dr Mark Taylor, Medical Director at Cuedoc (now known as CHOC) on 10th January 2006 sent to all Trainers and GP Registrars.

Registrars who are just starting solo shifts should avoid Saturday and Sunday AM and early PM shifts at Carlisle and Whitehaven. We also felt they should not do Saturday AM shifts at Penrith and Wigton, which can now be very busy as workload is shared across the area.

Registrars need to be able to manage busy shifts by the end of their training and at their Trainer's discretion and, after discussing the matter with Rita, could take these shifts if the Trainer is confident they can cope. The failsafe here is the Trainer cover should Registrars encounter problems. I would strongly advise Registrars who find the work becoming unmanageable on a shift to speak to the supervisor at control immediately and let their Trainer, who is covering them, know. Simple measures taken quickly can often defuse the situation.

Dr Mark Taylor
Medical Director