The new rule come into force in August 2004

From next year junior doctors will not be allowed to work for more than 58 hours per week after the European Court of Justice laid down tough ground rules on working practices in hospitals.

Time on call when doctors sleep in hospitals will be included in the new regulations.

However Scottish Euro MEP David Martin has warned that the rules may force cash-strapped health boards to employ extra doctors or close wards.

The rules, which will come into force in August 2004, will have to be obeyed in Scotland, where the NHS is already said to be facing a staffing crisis.

Although from this year junior doctors do not have to work more than 56 hours treating patients, they are also required to work an extra 16 hours on call.

The new ruling means the 16 hours has to be included in the 58 hour limit.

This could be the beginning of the end of bleary-eyed junior doctors working scandalously long hours to keep our hospitals functioning David Martin MEP

In many hospitals the working limit is regularly being breached, claimed Martin.

He said: "This ruling may have a significant impact in Scottish hospitals, where junior doctors were excluded from the first round of implementation of the working hours directive.

"When the directive was introduced here, junior doctors, some of whom had been working up to 80 hours a week and more, were excluded from the 48-hour limit - despite a plea from the STUC and others."

Mr Martin, senior vice president of the European Parliament, added: "This ruling means that our Health Boards are going to have to recruit more junior doctors and to find more money to pay them.

"As far as I am concerned, this is a good thing. The welfare of patients is paramount and this ruling from the European Court of Justice could be the beginning of the end of bleary-eyed junior doctors working scandalously long hours to keep our hospitals functioning."

'Be prepared'

Doctors' leaders said they have been warning of an impending crisis for months.

A spokesman for the British Medical Association said: "The ruling is no great surprise to us. We anticipated this happening quite some time ago.

"It just highlights the urgency of the situation and the need for the NHS to be fully prepared when the working time directive is implemented next year.

"We will need to take into account the impact it will have on manpower."