I could propose as many pat, armchair solutions as the next HN reader :) However, it's clearly not a problem that's conducive to quick fixes, or it would have b

I could propose as many pat, armchair solutions as the next HN reader :) However, it's clearly not a problem that's conducive to quick fixes, or it would have been sorted. That said, the arguments for the status quo are laughable. There's no other field of human endeavour where people claim that 24 hour shifts are >safer< than 8 hour shifts. It's not like handoffs have even been eliminated: handouts are just done 3 times less, but by profoundly sleep-deprived people, who have to reiterate the last 24 hours to the incoming staff. When people defend behaviours of this nature, it's a 'culture smell': to a greater or lesser extent, the proponents have been indoctrinated to cling to a local maxima.