Department of Health... and Sickness
Hunt’s besieged staff absent in huge numbers
JEREMY Hunt’s staff have taken twice as much sick leave as the average person, costing taxpayers millions of pounds.
More than 50,000 working days have been lost to sickness in three years at the Department of Health.
Insiders blamed staff stress and anxiety amid unprecedented cuts.
It emerged as tens of thousands of operations were axed after the Health Secretary failed to halt one of the worst NHS crises.
Lib Dem health spokeswoman Judith Jolly said: “It’s little wonder the NHS is in crisis when the DoH can’t even look after its own staff.”
Civil servants at the DoH took an average eight sick days each year between 2014 and 2016. The national average was four, according to the Office for National Statistics.
In total DoH staff called in sick 50,037 times, a Freedom of Information request found.
Experts said the average cost of one sick day is £107.85, putting the Department’s bill at £5.4million.
The FoI response also revealed the total number of staff had been slashed from around 2,000 to 1,650.
And a DoH source claimed: “Many staff felt they were bullied, or at least strongly encouraged, to accept voluntary severance. The alternative was to
apply for one of the remaining posts, but many staff were informally told that they would not be successful and so should accept early severance. This was very unsettling with management behaving very aggressively.”
The DoH last night said they had reduced sickness absence since 2014 through “improved support for those returning to work”.
A spokesman went on: “We take the health of staff very seriously and are committed to fostering a culture where they can take time off if needed.”
Meanwhile, pharmacists saw a 166% rise in flu vaccination sales last week as firms try to protect staff.
Mr Hunt reportedly persuaded PM Theresa May to let him stay on as Health Secretary after pleading “a captain does not abandon his ship”.
No wonder the NHS is in crisis if DoH can’t look after its own staff JUDITH JOLLY, LIB DEM HEALTH SPOKESWOMAN
NOBODY could scold NHS workers for taking so much time off sick when they work for lunatic Jeremy Hunt.
The Health Secretary is the physical embodiment of a sickly workplace in a sector where coughing germs over each other may be a matter of life or death for the wider public.
He is as welcome as a superbug in most hospitals and his inability to inspire is fatal for morale in the NHS. Staff and patients alike would cheer if Jeremy Hunt was off work permanently – he’s bad for our health.