The jailing of the sleep-deprived man who caused the Selby rail crash has could affect the way junior doctors work, they claim.

Doctors at the British Medical Association's junior doctors conference in London on Friday were highlighting the exhaustion suffered at the end of a night shift.

In January, Gary Hart was jailed for five years for the manslaughter of 10 people who died when his Land Rover ended up in the path of an oncoming train.

At the trial, the court heard Hart had fallen asleep at the wheel of his car having not slept the night before.

From the patients point of view, they would rather be treated by a doctor who has had adequate rest

Dr Jo Hilborne, BMA junior doctors committee

Junior doctors say the government should admit that all doctors unfit to drive home after a period of prolonged duty must also have been unfit to treat patients towards the end of their shift.

They are calling for measures to be put in place to ensure patients, and doctors themselves are not put at risk.

The conference demanded hospitals provide rest areas for doctors to use at the end of their shift - and put in place to ensure doctors can travel home safely after work.

In addition, junior doctors want national and international working hours limits enforced in full.

Crash

In September last year, around a third of junior doctors in England were still working more than the 56 hours limit enshrined in the new deal.

Dr Peter Maguire, chairman of the Northern Ireland BMA junior doctors committee, who proposed the motion, told BBC News Online doctors who had been awake all night would perform worse in aptitude tests than people who had had a couple of pints.

He told how a colleague had crashed on his way home after a night-shift.

The doctor had gone off the road and found his car upside down in a ditch.

"In that instance, nobody was injured, but there's a real risk that this could happen to a tired doctor.

Dr Maguire added: "I think that patients are at a greater risk being treated by a tired doctor than they would be from a well-rested doctor."

Dr Jo Hilborne, who chaired the conference, said adrenaline kicked in when tired doctors were presented with an emergency.

But she added: "We are not talking about a risk to life, but from the patients point of view, they would rather be treated by a doctor who has had adequate rest."

The issue will now be debated at the BMA's annual representatives meeting in Harrogate in July.