The report headlined, 'Lack of sleep as dangerous as alcohol' (South China Morning Post, September 20), refers to research findings published in a journal brought out by the British Medical Association (BMA).
It seems that people deprived of sleep for about 18 hours suffer symptoms similar to those imbibing alcohol above the legal driving limit. Furthermore, people who do shift work are even worse off.
The author says, 'The goal should be 'to ensure that people who have had 18 hours or longer without sleep are kept from at-risk behaviour such as driving, piloting aircraft or operating machinery' '. One wonders why ' . . . and doctors' was not added - unless the BMA believes that a medical degree immunises people against these effects.
These research results suggest that hospitals which employ doctors, with this antiquated idea that they must work very long hours, are putting patients at risk to an extent which is clearly defined in the drink/driving laws.
The reason for the laws is not so much the drinking of alcohol, but the effect on the person. With drink-driving, it is the driver who authorises himself to drink and thus behave that way. In the case of a hospital it is the management who create the equivalent behaviour.
Is there not an equal case for legal action against them? If not, it suggests that the law relating to behavioural risk should be amended to identify it with the physiological effect itself and not single out alcohol as the only cause.
