Burnout Could Mean A Sixth Of NHS Staff Absent In 2022

Hospitals could see as many as one in six doctors and nurses off sick throughout 2022, according to modelling, as the Omicron wave of Covid fuels burnout, stress and anxiety among NHS staff. Days of record Covid numbers - with 119,789 positive tests reported on Christmas Eve have led to an increase in hospital admissions in recent weeks, while sickness has also increased among health workers, with NHS absences reaching 12 per cent last week.

- Rebecca Thomas

But analysis by London South Bank University shows that even after this Covid spike, the health service could be hampered by an absence rate of up to 17 per cent - almost three times greater than the highest level seen after previous waves - because of burnout and long Covid. This is on top of a significant number of vacancies in frontline roles.

Professor Alison Leary, whose team carried out the modelling on behalf of a number of NHS trusts, charities and professional organisations, said: “The impact of Covid is likely to impact the workforce and the ability to provide care in the longer term, not just during surges. We entered the pandemic with a workforce deficit, and we need to work to leverage supplementary workforce resources and deal with long-standing issues.”

Overall NHS staff absence rates during the pandemic have peaked after each wave, and reached their highest point in April 2020, standing at 6.2 per cent according to data up to July 2021. The pre-pandemic average was about 5 per cent. Data showed that the most common reason for staff absence was related to anxiety and stress, which drove 30 per cent of absences in July 2021.