MANY UK hospitals will from today be liable to hefty fines for failing to ensure junior doctors work less than 58 hours a week. Under the new European Working Time Directive doctors in training will have legal backing to stop the sweat-shop conditions they have been forced to endure for so long. However, even 58 hours a week appears somewhat inhumane even if part of it is spent "on-call". Not only should the hours be cut drastically as a matter of human decency but also, in an age when hospitals are increasingly punished for mistakes by way of lengthy and costly litigation and compensation pay-outs, it would seem common sense to employ medics who are not likely to err through tiredness. The NHS now has five years to reduce the hours further to a maximum of 49 in a week. The onus should be on the government to make sure the resources and staff are available to implement this much faster to ensure patients' health is not placed in the hands of exhausted doctors, who need the bed nearly as much as they do. Let's hope the festival leaves lasting legacy ATTENDANCES were up yesterday at the National Eisteddfod as visitors soaked up the sunshine and a heavy dose of Welsh culture. Organisers can only take heart from the thousands that passed through the gates in Newport - traditionally such an Anglicised corner of Wales - breaking last year's Sunday figure for Meifod, which would be considered a more Welsh area. The hope is that the Welsh brand of excitement and entertainment the National Eisteddfod has to offer will leave a lasting legacy in Newport. While local businesses will benefit enormously in the short term, the long-term gains to the Welsh culture in Gwent may be harder to assess. But hopefully "local" visitors will be encouraged to embrace Welshness in a positive and constructive way for years to come. | 
