NURSES ON THE BRINK

TOUGH WINTER AHEAD FOR NHS AS STAFF SICKNESS RATES SOAR BY NEARLY A FIFTH

STAFF sickness rates on hospital wards and at GP surgeries are surging amid the pandemic – and there are fears it will have a major impact on patient care this winter.

Nurses and health visitors took 73,209 more sick days in May this year than in the same month in 2019 – an 18 per cent rise – a report shows.

And staff absences for mental health reasons rocketed by 31.4 per cent, from 102,491 to 134,669, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) found.

Days lost due to chest and respiratory problems soared by 52.5 per cent, from 10,949 to 16,696. And absences caused by headaches or migraines rose by 51.9 per cent, from 9,105 to 13,833.

Anxiety, stress, or depression remain the most common reasons for staff sickness, the trade union said.

As a proportion of all days lost, these have increased by 3.3 per cent during the pandemic, from 25.5 per cent in 2020 to 28.8 per cent in 2021.

NHS England has been struggling to fill widespread nursing vacancies, the RCN said.

And it warned staff face a difficult winter – treating a backlog of patients, working on the Covid booster vaccine programme and dealing with the usual seasonal pressures, including an expected surge in flu patients.

At least one in 20 nurses and health visitors has been absent through illness in January for the past five years – but this year almost seven per cent called in sick.

The RCN wants ministers to be legally accountable for assessing the workforce requirements for the NHS and social care, and for workforce planning and supply.

Its council chair Carol Popplestone urged: ‘Even in a climate of widespread staff shortages, which governments have refused to acknowledge, there cannot be a stigma against nurses needing time to take stock.

‘Without challenging it, we don’t just lose nursing staff for a few days, we lose them forever.

‘There will be immense pressure on health and care services this winter and services can’t afford to lose safetycritical professionals to avoidable illnesses on top of tens of thousands of nursing vacancies.’

She added: ‘ The risk to our patients is too high to do nothing.

‘We want employers to work with us to make sure staff can get the vaccines they’re eligible for, are rested and have breaks, and look after themselves so they can look after patients better.’