Pressure mounts on NHS as number of staff off with Covid doubles in a week

There are growing concerns about mounting pressure on the NHS as new figures show the number of staff who were off sick with Covid-19 or self isolating in Yorkshire and the North East more than doubled in a week.

It comes as the military said it could offer assistance to more hospitals around the UK which are dealing with the surge of Omicron cases, after around 200 personnel were drafted in to help the NHS in London and 150 were stepped up to support North West Ambulance Service.

NHS national medical director Professor Stephen Powis said rising cases were “piling even more pressure” on hospital trust workers as figures revealed the number of hospital staff in England absent for Covid-related reasons had risen by 59 per cent in a week, to 39,142.

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NHS figures state 8,788 staff in Yorkshire and the North East were off with Covid or self-isolating on January 2, up from 4,179 the previous week.

The military has been called in to support the NHS in London and North West Ambulance Service amid a surge in Covid casesThe military has been called in to support the NHS in London and North West Ambulance Service amid a surge in Covid cases
The military has been called in to support the NHS in London and North West Ambulance Service amid a surge in Covid cases

The overall number of absences, for all sickness reasons, at NHS trusts in the region increased by 39 per cent over that week, from 12,880 to 17,910. That is the largest increase in the country.

According to the data, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (1,805) and Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (983) recorded the highest number of Covid-related absences on January 2, while every other trust in Yorkshire and the North East saw the number of absences more than double.

Brian McGregor, chair of the British Medical Association’s Yorkshire branch, said NHS services are at risk of being overwhelmed as exhausted staff deal with high levels of absence, a surge in Covid patients and the usual winter pressures.

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“Large numbers off ill means a higher likelihood of gaps, more elective work postponed, and greater logistical problems for those running the service to try and maintain cover, all the while placing even more pressure on the remaining, depleted workforce,” he said.

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Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said it has “more than double the number of staff off that we would normally expect”, but it disputes the NHS figures, claiming it has recorded a significantly lower number of Covid-related absences.

The trust said it has far fewer patients needing critical care than it did at the same time last year, as people who are vaccinate tend to suffer less severe symptoms, and it prepared for a difficult winter period by creating extra capacity for Covid patients and running a recruitment drive which secured 300 new nurses.

Dr Phil Wood, chief medical officer, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, said staff “continue to work extremely hard under challenging circumstances” and a recent rise in staff absences and growing demand “means all services are extremely busy”.

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The latest Government figures show there were 18,454 patients in hospital with Covid on Thursday. On the same date in 2021, that figure stood at 31,946.

Professor Powis said: “Omicron means more patients to treat and fewer staff to treat them.

"In fact, around 10,000 more colleagues across the NHS were absent each day last week compared with the previous seven days and almost half of all absences are now down to Covid.

“While we don’t know the full scale of the potential impact this new strain will have, it’s clear it spreads more easily and, as a result, Covid cases in hospitals are the highest they’ve been since February last year – piling even more pressure on hard working staff.

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“Those staff are stepping up as they always do; answering a quarter more 111 calls last week than the week before, dealing with an increasing number of ambulance call-outs, and working closely with colleagues in social care to get people out of hospital safely.”