Exhausted Australian doctors have been told to drink up to six cups of coffee a day to stay awake during extended shifts, building pressure on Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to seize control of state-run hospitals.
A document on fatigue management released by health officials in Queensland state recommended doctors ingest 400mg of caffeine to stay awake on the job, or the equivalent of six cups of coffee,after warnings that patients were dying.
"For management to just say go and have a cup of coffee and get over tiredness, it cheapens the whole issue,"Australian Medical Association Vice President Steven Hambleton said.
"We are talking about serious issues here, and this is not just a serious suggestion at all. It can't be a weakness to say you're dog tired," he said.
The recommendation followed warnings from a doctors union that patients were dying because overworked medics were being forced to work up to 80 hours without a break. Australia's national centre-left government is under pressure to seize control of the nation's public hospital system.
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