 Mobile phones do have a place in hospitals, say doctors |
Doctors should have mobile phones instead of bleeps so they can make better use of their time, medics suggest. The British Medical Association's junior doctors' conference will discuss the proposal at their annual meeting in London on Saturday.
Doctors say plans to shorten training mean communication systems have to be improved so their time is not wasted.
They add mobiles would interfere less with equipment than porters' radios.
 |  It would be far better than the ancient system we have now, which is not doing anybody any good  |
The NHS uses a bleep system to contact doctors and other staff. It means a member of staff will see a number and may have to leave a patient to make the call, without knowing whether it is more important than the task they have interrupted.
The junior doctors say this wastes the time of both the member of staff who is bleeped, and the person waiting by a phone for them to call.
Shorter working weeks
At their conference, junior doctors will also discuss government plans to shorten the number of years they have to train to become a consultant. At the moment it can take up to seven years.
They warn some medical students are already applying for trainee posts without knowing what they will be learning or if their experience will count towards their future training.
In addition, the European Working Time Directive will mean their working week is reduced to 58 hours by August, then 48 by 2007.
Dr Simon Minkoff, chairman of the BMA's North Thames junior doctors committee, told BBC News Online this meant improving communication, so doctors did not waste time following up messages, was crucial.
He said: "Communicating and managing information efficiently will benefit patients.
"And it is integral to talking about how we are going to deliver a quality medical education within the confines of a 48 hour working week and a shorter training period."
He said doctors could use mobiles, intranets or palm pilots to communicate more effectively. Even having access to cordless, rather than desk-top phones would help, added Dr Minkoff.
And he said improving communication systems would be a good investment for the NHS.
"It would be far better than the ancient system we have now, which is not doing anybody any good."
Dr Minkoff said mobiles were 10 times less likely to interfere with hospital equipment than the radios carried by ambulance staff and other NHS personnel.
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