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Hospitals and ambulance services are struggling with a staff illness rate two to three times higher than usual, as a growing number of NHS workers fall ill or become isolated amid a large increase in infections by Covid.
Absenteeism rates in some hospitals are now between 8% and 12%, compared to the normal health service level of 4%, just when the NHS is under the most pressure in its history.
The large number of front-line staff outside of work is causing intensive care units to be understaffed and emergency departments having to force patients to wait outside in ambulances.
“Hospitals and other trusts are experiencing higher levels of staff absenteeism because they are not doing well with Covid or isolating themselves because of it,” said Saffron Cordery, deputy executive director of NHS Providers.
He added: “Staff absences can translate into longer waits for care and, as we are currently seeing, often not in ideal settings, such as ambulances, where they cannot deliver patients.”
In addition to Covid-related illness and isolation, mental ailments such as anxiety, stress, and post-traumatic stress disorder from treating patients during the pandemic are likely to also help explain the large number of front-line staff that he is not sick.
In a Midlands hospital trust, 8% of the workforce were not working on Wednesday. However, the actual rate of non-working staff was actually 14%, once 6% was included in annual leave, one executive said.
“We currently have twice as many sick staff as we normally would, perhaps not surprising at a time when we are seeing an increase in infections locally,” the official said. “Obviously this translates into increased pressure on a workforce that is already tired and working hard. We are doing all we can to support our staff, but these are incredibly challenging times. “
Some trusts have responded by restricting staff leave to help fill gaps in the workforce. The Royal Free Hospital in Camden, London, has a license limited to a maximum of 72 hours.
In a memo to staff on Tuesday, Royal Free explained that due to the enormous strain of treating 424 Covid patients, “all staff have canceled all study licenses and today the plan is to limit all licenses to just three. days, and if you can, cancel all reserved licenses in January. This is the application for all staff groups. “
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, hospitals have fewer banking, substitute and other temporary staff to call on to replace their own staff, Cordery added.
“This means that the staff working will be more stretched and when the demand is high and the patients are incredibly poor, this translates into enormous pressure.
He said that when a trust believed it no longer had the staff to safely administer services, it “would seek the support of others, including diverting ambulances and emergencies to other hospitals.”
Fast guide
Who in the UK will get the new Covid-19 vaccine first?
The UK has become the first Western country to authorize a Covid vaccine. On December 8, Margaret Keenan, 90, became the first patient in the world to receive it. The government’s joint committee on vaccination and immunization has published a list of groups of people who will be prioritized to receive a vaccine for Covid-19. The list is:
1 All those over 80 years of age and health and social assistance workers.
2 All those aged 75 or over.
3 All those 70 and over.
4 All those aged 65 or over.
5 Adults under 65 at high risk of severe illness and mortality from Covid-19.
6 Adults under 65 years of age at moderate risk of severe illness and mortality from Covid-19.
7 All those 60 and over.
8 Everyone 55 years or older.
9 All those 50 years of age or older.
10 Rest of the population.
The Oxford / AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine was approved for use on Wednesday. Hours later, in a move that will be welcomed by healthcare workers, the head of the NHS in England, Sir Simon Stevens, confirmed that the imminent deployment of the new jab from Monday meant that NHS staff could now get vaccinated. immediately.
Staff risk will be assessed to see who should get vaccinated first. Priority will be given to those “at high risk of infection, at high individual risk of developing serious illness, or at risk of transmitting the infection to multiple vulnerable individuals or other personnel in a healthcare setting,” Stevens said. In practice, this is likely to mean that emergency personnel, those who deal with Covid cases in wards or intensive care units, GPs and ambulance personnel are offered first. the vaccine.
Hospital heads, GP leaders and front-line staff had become increasingly vocal in recent weeks expressing concern that leaving NHS staff unvaccinated could expose them and patients to danger. . Staff groups argued that vaccinating front-line workers would reduce sick leave, decrease the risk of hospital-acquired Covid outbreaks, reduce the number of NHS staff treated in the ICU, or die after contracting the disease, and it would help keep overloaded services running.
In response to growing concern among NHS staff about their inability to receive the vaccine so far, Health Secretary Matt Hancock told MPs on Wednesday that as a result of the arrival of the Oxford vaccine, “we will be able to accelerate vaccination of the NHS staff ”, as well as the staff and residents of the residence.
The JCVI said that it did consider front-line health and care personnel to be at increased personal risk as they care for vulnerable people and are therefore given high priority for vaccination.
A JCVI source said: “Protecting them protects the medical and social care service and recognizes the risks they face in this service.”
