Hospitals employing junior doctors working excessively long hours will now face financial sanctions on their budgets.

The doctors' union, the IMO said while some progress has been made in tackling 'dangerously long' shifts worked by many juniors, nearly one in three hospitals had not made sufficient progress on reducing hours.

Under the settlement terms of last October's junior doctor strike, financial sanctions will now be applied to these hospitals, who must not put doctors on shifts longer than 24 hours.

The decision to impose sanctions was made following a meeting on Friday of a verification group set up under the strike settlement terms.

The IMO said it was esential that those hospitals still employing doctors on excessively long shifts redouble their efforts to end unsafe working hours.