The case of a nurse, a former care home manager, who was suspended from the Nursing and Midwifery Council register over management failures raises a question about nurses’ working hours and how they affect patient safety. The manager worked an average 20 hours over her contracted 35-hour week. Nurses cannot be forced to work more than a 48-hour week, but unlike those in other safety-critical occupations, they can opt out of that limit, with employer agreement. We ask our readers’ panellists whether it is time to impose a non-negotiable maximum for the number of hours nurses can work in one week.