The NHS workers had more sick days than average workers, even before the pandemic. Official figures reveal that stress, anxiety, and depression were responsible for three-quarters of all absentees.
Health service data shows there were 17.7million days of leave taken between April 2018 and March 2019 – the equivalent of around 14 days per worker – mainly for mental health problems or muscle and back pain.
According to the Office for National Statistics, the average Briton flew for 4.2 days in the same time period.
At the outbreak of the pandemic, England’s NHS was absent at its peak. The number of sick days in England rose to the top among support staff. Doctors were far behind. One in ten NHS employees are now sick or isolated – some hospitals however have higher rates.
MailOnline can also reveal that staff working at the NHS trusts currently cancelling all non-urgent operations and appointments due to Omicron are still allowing employees to go on holiday while on a ‘war footing’, according to Boris Johnson.
Both the Great Western NHS Foundation Trust Trust and United Lincolnshire NHS Trust admit that there is no ban on annual leaves, despite declaring “critical incidents”.
Two days prior to the Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Trust declaring a critical incident on Boxing Day 2018, only four staff members of their 7,400 were recorded as being off sick with Covid, or self-isolating. This is according to NHS England’s most recent data. But a further 312 staff were not at work due with other illnesses such as common winter bugs and stress.
One in 137 hospitals trusts across England has declared “critical incidents” in recent days. It means that the hospital may not be able to offer vital care in coming weeks due to so many medical staff being away isolating. 17 hospitals within Greater Manchester also have begun shelving.
The number of Covid infected patients admitted to hospital is also on the rise.
With the peak in the outbreak, the NHS workers took three times the time to get sick than office workers. This is a difference that hasn’t been seen since.
MailOnline also revealed that Omicron is allowing NHS staff to travel while they cancel all other non-urgent procedures and appointments.
After back and muscle problems, mental illness was the leading cause of death.
The NHS Digital data suggests that there are approximately 1.2 million staff who work for England’s health system. In the 12 months to March 2020 they took off 19.6 million days, and there were 21.2million missing days in the twelve months to March 2021.
Separate statistics show around 1.4million people currently work for the health service, suggesting the average number of sick days would be slightly lower – but still much higher than the national average.
Nearly a third of missed days among health staff in the most recent year were down to mental health problems — including anxiety, stress and depression.
NHS chiefs warned staff that the back-to-back Covid waves put pressure on them and could cause harm to their health.
Around nine percent of the days were lost due to musculoskeletal issues, including nerve, joint, and muscle pain.
One out of 16 absences was due to stomach issues, with infectious diseases, back problems, colds, and flu all accounting for around 5%.
They include clinical personnel such as physicians, nurses, ambulance staff and support staff. These figures also encompass non-working days.
At least 7 trusts managing more than one dozen hospitals in the country have been declared critical. But their own sickness data indicates that most of their workers who are absent for Christmas have not contracted Covid-related illnesses.
NHS England data show that the majority of nurses, doctors and other staff in the UK do not have coronavirus.
Boxing Day 2021 was a day when 68.082 NHS workers in England went home sick. But 24,632 people were absent because of a positive Covid or need to self-isolate.
But on the same day in 2020, 80,592 NHS staff in England were off sick – with 32,613 of those people off with Covid-related absence.
Even worse was the predicament at the outbreak of the pandemic. 105,000 NHS staff are already sick. 81,000 NHS workers have been forced or co-opted into quarantine.
One-tenth of NHS staff is off sick, or are self-isolating. Although some hospitals may have lower rates than others, it is estimated that Covid accounts for five out of ten absentees.
Bosses claim the shortages are making it ‘almost impossible’ to maintain basic patient care.
Yesterday an ambulance trust requested that patients suffering from heart attacks or strokes be given a lift to hospital. The Trust did not have sufficient paramedics.
The North East Ambulance Service Foundation Trust said call handlers should ‘consider asking the patient to be transported by friends or family’.
A message to staff said they were also having to ferry patients to hospital in taxis due to ‘unprecedented demand’.
Hospital trusts have declared ‘critical incidents’, which means routine patient care is suffering and staff are being redeployed.
Plymouth’s Derriford Hospital had nearly 500 staff absent due to Covid. Morecambe bay NHS Trust in Lancashire has declared an emergency because of the high number of coronavirus-positive staff.
Dr Sakthi Karunanithi, public health director for the region, said: ‘We are bracing ourselves for a tsunami of Omicron cases in Lancashire.’
Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said the staffing situation meant it was ‘becoming almost impossible’ to deal with ‘the most urgent and pressing needs’.
He told Times Radio that ‘the most pressing element of all’ is the number of staff who are absent due to the virus, rather than the number of Covid patients needing treatment.
Staff at the NHS have stated that they are unable to obtain lateral flow tests. This is despite some staff being unable to work, despite having not tested positive for covid. It was disclosed today that hospitals routinely cancel appointments due to Omicron.
Royal College of Nursing, British Medical Association, and Royal College of Nursing urged government officials to place health workers at the top of the list for fast tests in order to alleviate staffing shortages.
One in ten NHS staff is currently sick or isolating. Individual hospitals have higher absent rates. But, the NHS cannot break down absence by reason. This means that many might be suffering from other ailments, such as stress.
The Government has taken down the website of LFTs today. This means that at least half of England’s NHS trusts have said they may not be in a position to offer vital care. Nurses and doctors say they are trying to find tests online because it is easier than for millions of Britons.
Due to the shortages of supplies over Christmas, pharmacies claim it may take up to two weeks to get replacement kits. This is because the pharmacy that was responsible for distribution has been shut down for the holiday period for only four days.
Doctors at hospitals, doctors and nurses caring for patients with cancer have said that their patient has covid. But they can’t get enough lateral flow test to confirm if the other person is infected.
The problem has been made worse by the inaccessibility of PCR testing, which is not available to NHS staff.
LFTs can be obtained from doctors and nurses at work, provided they have the necessary documentation. However, some trusts may require on-site testing. But all UK citizens must follow the same procedure.
One medic tweeted last night: ‘9 hospitals have now declared critical incidents and NHS staff are still wearing surgical masks and can’t get hold of lateral flow tests. It’s a perfect storm. A s**t storm’. Another tweeted: ‘Current policy in my trust is if you have been near someone who has tested positive, you must lateral flow for 10 days & isolate from other staff on breaks. There are 7 available lateral flow tests, but none nearby. Boris Johnson, can you help?’.
One GP said: @sajidjavid Education secretary has 31 million lateral flow testing for schools. I’m a GP. Our staff and I can’t get any. If we can’t test we can’t work safely. Staff of the NHS need immediate access to supplies for lateral flow tests.
The pharmacies that have exhausted their testing resources say they may not be able to get more for weeks.
Today’s lateral flow tests were not available online by the Government. This is a problem that NHS staff must also use.
Doctors, nurses, and NHS staff claim that they are unable to obtain the necessary tests.
Boris Johnson, the Government’s chief service provider, promised 100,000 workers that they would send lateral flow tests every day to ensure key services are protected. But not to his 1million plus NHS staff.
Next week, the samples will be sent to food processing personnel, border force officers, and air traffic controllers.
Boris Johnson said the Government was ‘acting to protect critical national services, keep supply chains open and fortify our NHS to withstand the pressures ahead’.
‘We’ve identified 100,000 critical workers in areas from food processing to transport to our border force,’ the Prime Minister said. ‘And from January 10 we’ll be rolling out lateral flow testing for all these workers.’
Ministers believe the tests will prevent workers from self-isolating and help to stop outbreaks.
The Daily Telegraph reports that the rules for covid testing will be relaxed in order to reduce isolation times.
People with lateral flows that are positive but do not show symptoms may be advised they don’t require a followup PCR test. The self-isolation time can therefore be shorter by a few days.
The abuse is coming from angry customers, who have not been able to access free lateral flow test kits for their pharmacies. A health chief said that this has led to a surge in harassment of pharmacy staff.
Some Britons say they were unable to obtain lateral flow testing at their local pharmacy for as long as ‘two weeks’ because of a shortage.
This issue is thought to have arisen from distribution issues in the Government’s Free Testing Programme. People can no longer order their tests online at different points.
Some pharmacies are also required to display signs warning that there will be no free test.
Employers are being warned by pharmacy managers that supplies are still ‘patchy’. Customers who cannot pick up test kits are also being advised to avoid abusive and unfair behavior.
MailOnline spoke with Dr Leyla Hanbeck, chief executive of the Association of Independent Multiple Pharmacies. She said that until yesterday there was still a patchy supply of medicines. In the last few days, this situation hasn’t improved.
Due to this unfair circumstance, ‘Pharmacies must endure much abuse from members of the general public and other aggressive behaviors.
“The demand for testing is very high because of the government guidelines which put emphasis on self-isolation. So naturally Omicron cases high, people rely on tests to continue with their daily lives.
Hannbeck maintains, however, that pharmacists still have the right place to provide lateral flow testing.