By Doctor Andrew Thomson Deputy Chair of the Scottish Junior Doctors Committee

The 33-year-old is in his second stint as a junior doctor after deciding to become a GP and remembers the days of working way over his allotted hours.

And as deputy chair of the SJDC he knows how the new system will operate in helping medics to work within the limits defined by the New Deal.

Here, Dr Thomson gives an insight into the problems faced by junior doctors and the problems of being overworked on the wards.

Dr Andrew Thomson works as a junior doctor in Stracathro Hospital

I currently work on a rota that is compliant with the New Deal.

But I do remember the days when I was required to work in excess of 80 and 90 hours a week.

It was a while ago I was working on rotas that were so badly non-compliant.

If you were called to something that was an emergency then the adrenalin would normally keep you going and you wouldn't make any mistakes.

But it was on the more day-to-day duties and repetitive stuff where the tiredness would take hold and you would find yourself making mistakes or unable to take any information in.

This used to bring patient and also doctor safety into question, but thankfully the majority of rotas in Scotland are now compliant with the New Deal.

The latest figures show that about 87% are compliant with the regulations and that has to be welcomed.

The fact that most doctors no longer work such long hours means they now have a chance to have a social and a family life

But it still means that 13% are non-compliant and that is something that needs to be addressed because it ultimately puts a patient's health at risk.

The fact that most doctors no longer work such long hours means that they now have a chance to have a social and a family life and to do the background work that is needed in our positions.

As junior doctors, our positions are still ones where we are supposed to be in training and we still need time to learn things and work on what we have been told outside of normal working hours.

The work of the Implementation Support Group (ISG) cannot be ignored either.

It is the neutral group which has worked to help make so many rotas comply with the New Deal and since it has been in charge rates of compliance have gone up from 30% to nearly 90%.

The working relationships that the ISG has helped set up between the different sections involved in trying to comply with the New Deal have been very positive and its impact should not be ignored.

There has been talk of removing the group from its responsibilities within the near future and replacing it with a more decentralised body, but most doctors in my position feel this would represent a retrograde step.

All these moves are there to try and improve the quality of the NHS in Scotland and improve the level of medical expertise of the junior doctors that work within it

I would like to see the day when there is 100% compliance but realistically there are one, two or three rotas in the NHS in Scotland which realistically will never be able to become compliant with the New Deal rules.

That still means 99% could become compliant and so there is still room for improvement within the NHS.

The sanctions, which are to be introduced to try and achieve this, are there to help the NHS trusts achieve this sort of compliance but they are also there to support them and are not just there as a penalty.

Hopefully, in the future we can achieve a position where doctors work a 48-hour week in line with the European Working Time Directive.

All these moves are there to try and improve the quality of the NHS in Scotland and improve the level of medical expertise of the junior doctors who work within it.