Stressed out staff are struggling to cope
A special Wishaw Press investigation has found that a total of 2142 people were absent from 2011-12 to 2016-17.
It means that at least one person is told to take time off by the GP every day at either Wishaw General, Monklands Hospital or Hairmyres Hospital.
And the figures have rocketed across the county by 30 per cent from 313 in 2011/12 to 408 in 2016/17.
More staff took time off with stress at Wishaw General last year – 180 compared to Monklands, 122 and 106 at Hairmyres Hospital.
And the number at Wishaw General has soared by 36 per cent over five years from 132 in 2011/12 to 180 in 2016/17.
Union leaders are blaming the issue on increasing demand, staffing crisis and the number of vacant posts unfilled.
Theresa Fyffe, Royal College of Nursing Scotland director, told the Wishaw Press: “The pressures on staff are huge - demand for health and care services is rocketing and the number of staff is just not keeping pace with the number of patients they’re expected to care for.
“This is frustrating and demoralising for nurses and other staff who are working flat out, yet still feel unable to provide the care they would like to as there’s just not enough of them to cope with the ever-increasing demands.
“The number of vacant nursing posts does not help, either, with existing staff having to fill in as posts remain vacant. All this means nurses are going to burn out as a result of stress and off sick.”
Labour Central Scotland MSP Richard Leonard said there is a real crisis in staffing levels in NHS Lanarkshire and he has hit out at operations being cancelled, low morale among NHS staff and patients waiting longer and longer at A&E. “These figures show there is a real problem in NHS staffing that the SNP Government needs to address,” he added “Behind these statistics are real people who simply want to do their jobs. “The fact they are under-resourced and are being expected to do more and more will not help. Indeed in many cases this will be the cause of their stress. “Last week the SNP voted to restrict pay increases in the NHS and this week the SNP Government dodged questions on the staffing crisis in the NHS. “People are fed up of warm words but little action from the SNP. It really is time for the SNP to focus on improving the NHS and investing in services. This also means investing in supporting those that deliver those services.”
Motherwell and Wishaw MSP Clare Adamson said: “The Scottish Government takes the issue of stress in the workplace incredibly seriously – and we are committed to improving mental health and mental health treatment across Scotland.
“We have recently put forward a new mental health strategy and will invest an additional £150 million to improve mental health services.
“And we have made Scotland’s NHS the best health service anywhere in the UK, benefitting our staff with higher wages and giving our patients the lowest A&E waiting times.
“These efforts are a crucial part of our programme to ensure the doctors and nurses working in our NHS are able to be in the best possible condition to help their patients.” Kenny Small, NHS Lanarkshire director of human resources, said: “Stress-related absence has seen an increase across the NHS in Scotland in recent years.
“NHS Lanarkshire is slightly below the national average when number of employees is taken into account and 86 per cent of those off work with stress-related absence are due to personal issues unrelated to their work.
“We are committed to supporting our staff to reduce stress and support them back to work whatever the cause. A mentor is available to support staff with non-work related issues such as debt and relationships.
“This has been shown to reduce anxiety by 58 per cent and depression by 64 per cent for staff participating. We also have a range of policies which are intended to have a positive impact on health, work and wellbeing.”