Most British hospitals, especially teaching hospitals, have a canteen or "mess" (a term borrowed from military slang) for junior doctors (AE: resident physicians ), who generally do not have their own offices. Most hospitals do not consider it a priority to maintain these canteens properly, and generally junior doctors are too busy to arrange the cleaning. Situations differ between hospitals, depending on the initiative of a "mess committee" or the benevolence of hospital administrators.

In many hospitals, the mess is situated adjacent to overnight rooms for staff who are on call during "out of hours".

Despite the often less-than-inspiring surroundings, many lasting relationships can develop in the "mess", including marriage and affairs. Due to the psychological effects of intensive medical training, conversations can assume a surrealistic nature.

In the words of a registrar (AE: resident):

The doctors' mess is a musty smelling room located deep in the bowels of most hospitals. It is commonly decorated with unwashed coffee cups and old newspapers. There is also usually an old couch and a 15 year-old television in the corner. The bookshelves tend to contain 20 year-old textbooks. There may be a pool table.