Sick days taken by NHS staff at an all time high
- Health staff took almost 17 million days off last year – a rise of 6% since 2012
- Places a greater burden on the NHS sickness bill which cost £2.4bn in 2015
- Anxiety and depression is a major cause of sickness absence, it is revealed
- Blamed on surge in demand, slashed funding, staff shortages and poor pay
- Comes as number of EU nurses registering to work in UK drops dramatically
- Stressed staff do ‘not help the NHS to provide safe care to patients,’ says RCN
Claudia Tanner For Mailonline
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NHS staff are taking more sick days than ever, costing the tax-payer several billions through almost 17 million lost days a year.
Since 2012, the number of absences due to illness has risen by 6 per cent, according to a House of Commons written answer from the health minister Philip Dunne.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) said nurses are increasingly feeling burnt out, blaming widespread staff shortages across the NHS and years of below-inflation pay rises.
Earlier this month, experts spoke of fears of an NHS staffing crisis looming as figures showed the numbers of EU nurses registering to work in the UK has plunged.
Mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression are a main reason for NHS staff taking time off, as well as back pain.
‘Losing so many days to illness, and especially to mental ill-health, is a real worry. Our NHS is at crisis point and we need to do much more to look after our staff,’ Norman Lamb, the Liberal Democrat shadow health secretary, told The Guardian.
NHS staff sick absence is the highest it has ever been, due to overstretching says the RCN (file)
In England in 2016, health service personnel took a total of 16,866,471 sick days off work – 895,979 more days than the 15,970,492 which the NHS lost in 2012.
The trend is likely to raise the NHS’s already hefty bill for staff sickness, which cost an estimated £2.4bn a year in 2015, or one pound for every £40 it spends.
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PATIENTS ARE BEING FAILED BY THE NHS
Patients are being ‘belittled’ and left ‘bewildered’ in struggling hospitals, a top doctor warns.
Mark Porter, chair of the British Medical Association, said that ‘too many’ patients are being failed by the NHS ‘too often’.
He accused the Government of forcing the health service to ‘run on fumes’ because it has run out of fuel – or cash.
His comments came as a survey showed the number of people unhappy with the NHS doubled in just a year.
In front of 500 doctors at the British Medical Association’s annual conference in Bournemouth, Dr Porter warned that the NHS is at ‘breaking point’.
He told delegates: ‘We have a Government trying to keep the health service running on nothing but fumes.
‘After years of underinvestment, with a growing, ageing population, and despite the extraordinary dedication of its staff, it is failing too many people, too often.
‘The lack of beds, the lack of doctors, and the queues for treatment that grow and grow are not inevitable. It doesn’t have to be this way. It is the result of an explicit political choice.’
Staff stress impacts patient care
The RCN said the current strain on the NHS is putting a huge amount of stress on individuals, which affects the quality of care.
Kim Sunley, a senior employment relations adviser said: ‘Too many feel unsupported by their manager, overstretched and burning out.
‘The sad consequence is an increase in stress-related illness, which is bad for the nurse and does not help the NHS to provide safe care to patients.’
NHS staffing crisis fears
Earlier this month, figures revealed applications for EU nurses registering to work in the UK had dropped dramatically.
Applications plummeted from 1,304 last July to just 46 in April this year, revealed the Nursing and Midwifery Council.
It furthers the ongoing recruitment crisis, with the NHS desperately battling to find more doctors and paramedics.
The NHS has long relied on foreign staff to fill gaps in rotas, with a large proportion of these coming from Europe.
But the sharp fall in registrants suggest a more sustainable approach is needed to recruit, train and keep hold of British staff.
Support promised
NHS England chief executive, Simon Stevens, announced a major £5 million drive in 2015 aimed at improving staff health and wellbeing.
This is focused on improving the quality of food in NHS premises, encouraging staff to be more physically active, reducing stress and introduce health checks.
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