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CANBERRA: 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 400 milligrams 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 told Reuters.

"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 union representing Queensland doctors this week that public hospital patients were dying because dangerously tired medics were being forced to work up to 80 hours without a break.

Australia's national center-left government is under pressure to seize control of the nation's ailing public hospital system, currently managed by state governments with federal funding support, in a $20.5 billion takeover.

With fresh elections a year away, repairing the health system was a key promise that helped underpin the 2007 victory by Labor over rival conservatives, with Rudd campaigning tirelessly on health and promising to fix public hospitals.

Rudd last month delayed a decision by six months, but said the option of a "full monty" takeover was still on the cards.

Salaried Doctors Queensland, representing medicos, countered that pumping doctors full of caffeine was not an effective way to deal with fatigue and doctor shortages, often filled in Australia through recruitment overseas.

Queensland Labor Health Minister Paul Lucas said the state was aiming to train more doctors and cap hospital work shifts at 12 hours over the next two years, but had no immediate solution to fatigue and staff shortages.

Questions:

1. Up to how many cups of coffee have health officials recommended for doctors to drink in a day?

2. Up to how many hours per week have some medics been forced to work?

3. What is the name of the Australian Prime Minister?

Answers:

1. 6.

2. 80 hours without a break.

3. Kevin Rudd.

（英語點津 Helen 編輯）

About the broadcaster:

Chantal Anderson is a multimedia journalist at the China Daily Web site. Originally from Seattle, Washington she has found her way around the world doing photo essays in Greece, Mexico and Thailand. She is currently completing a double degree in Journalism and International Studies from the University of Washington.