Tens of thousands of NHS staff off work with Covid-19

New data, seen by The Independent, shows that tens of thousands of NHS staff are off sick or self-isolating because of coronavirus.

In some parts of northern England, more than 40 per cent of all staff absences are linked to coronavirus, adding pressure on already stretched hospitals trying to cope with a surge in virus patients.

Across England, more than 76,200 NHS staff were absent from work on 30 October – equivalent to more than six per cent of the total workforce. This included 25,293 nursing staff and 3,575 doctors. More than a third of that total, 27,136, were off work because they were either infected with coronavirus or forced to self-isolate. The issue has provoked further calls for wider testing of NHS staff from hospital leaders and nursing unions who warned safety was being put at risk because of short staffing on wards.

These absences come on top of an existing 100,000 vacancies for NHS roles, including almost 40,000 nurse vacancies before the pandemic.

Dame Donna Kinnair, chief executive of the Royal College of Nursing said: “As the beds fill up, we are deeply concerned about where the nursing staff to treat the patients will come from. Simply moving nurses from their regular roles to care for Covid-19 patients adds even greater pressure to a workforce that is already on its knees. This along with having to rely on cancelling operations means the reality is that patient safety could be put at risk.

“No one in the nursing profession wants to take time off due to ill health caused by work – they want to do their job and they must be supported to do so. We need regular testing where and when it is needed that is matched with a rapid delivery of results. There must now be accountability for safe levels of staffing so nursing staff can get back to work delivering the care patients need.”