WHY DID WILLIAM WALLACE BOTHER?:

NHS in turmoil as doctors forced to break new laws: Health boards confess: we can’t obey rules to cut working hours (Liam McDougall, 8/01/04, Sunday Herald)

MORE than two thirds of Scotland’s health boards have failed to find enough doctors to comply with new laws governing working hours and face fines of more than £3 million.

Now fears are growing that the laws will throw the health service into chaos following a warning from the British Medical Association that it is ready to support overworked doctors who decide to take legal action.

A leaked report passed to the Sunday Herald reveals that doctors will be forced to work illegally in 11 of the 15 Scottish boards when the new EU laws come into effect today.