Nearly 100,000 NHS staff take a month off with stress

More than 91,000 NHS employees have taken at least a month off work to deal with stress in the last three years.

The number of staff taking long-term stress leave increased by 19 per cent between 2014 and 2016.

Figures released by 170 trusts across Britain showed a total of 204,573 employees took time off to deal with stress, anxiety, or another mental health-related issue, while 91,364 were off for a month or more.

Nurses were the most stressed group, with at least 46,341 taking time off in the three years.

It comes at a time when the NHS is facing a staffing crisis, as an estimated 40,000 nursing posts are currently vacant.

Out of the 96 trusts that provided staff breakdowns, nurses made up 37 per cent of those who took time off.

Figures released by 170 trusts across Britain showed a total of 204,573 employees took time off to deal with stress, anxiety, or another mental health-related issue

But while under-pressure nurses were the most absent staff group, doctors made up less than two per cent of those who took stress leave.

Just 2,147 doctors took time off to deal with stress, a fraction of the number of nurses who took leave.

The total number of absences increased by 20 per cent in the three years, from 62,245 in 2014 to 74,563 in 2016, Freedom of Information requests revealed.

Those taking more than a month off also increased steadily, from 26,714 in 2014 to 31,917 in 2016.

Sheffield Teaching Hospitals had one of largest numbers of staff absences, with 3,820 employees taking time off over the three years.

A total of 2,448 employees took stress leave at University Hospitals of North Midlands, while 2,281 were absent from Tees, Esk and Wear Trust.

Birmingham Women’s Foundation Trust had the most employees who took long-term stress leave in England, with 1,942 employees taking at least a month off.

Danny Mortimer, chief executive of NHS Employers, said: ‘Many NHS staff undertake emotionally demanding roles, helping others through moments of extreme need. 

‘Addressing mental health issues in NHS workplaces, including stress, is therefore essential.

The number of NHS staff taking long-term stress leave increased by 19 per cent between 2014 and 2016, according to figures

The number of NHS staff taking long-term stress leave increased by 19 per cent between 2014 and 2016, according to figures

‘The NHS provides a variety of support to staff who may be suffering from mental health problems. Support will come in a range of forms across trusts, but could include, for example, rapid access to treatment schemes, maintaining contact if an employee needs to take time off, and support for returning to work.’

Marjorie Wallace, chief executive of mental health charity SANE, said: ‘We are not surprised at the rise in the number of NHS staff taking time off for stress, anxiety and other conditions.

‘Many are fighting against the odds to provide care in increasingly intolerable situations.

SICK DAYS COSTING MORE THAN EVER 

NHS staff are taking more sick days than ever, costing the tax-payer several billions through almost 17 million lost days a year, it was reported in June.

Since 2012, the number of absences due to illness has risen by six per cent, according to a House of Commons written answer from the health minister Philip Dunne.

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) said nurses are increasingly feeling burnt out, blaming widespread staff shortages across the NHS and years of below-inflation pay rises.

Earlier that month, experts spoke of fears of an NHS staffing crisis looming as figures showed the numbers of EU nurses registering to work in the UK has plunged.

Mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression are a main reason for NHS staff taking time off, as well as back pain.

‘In psychiatric services for example, the number of inpatient beds has almost halved since 2000, so that it is now only the very acutely ill who are admitted to often understaffed wards. 

‘Community mental health teams are equally overloaded looking after people who are often too ill to be cared for at home.’

It comes as it is claimed an estimated 40,000 nursing posts are vacant – one in nine.

This month a Health Education England (HEE) study revealed the NHS will need an extra 190,000 staff by 2027, but it expects only 72,000 will join in the next decade.

Research found an average of 15 per cent of nurses were leaving NHS trusts each year, while 8.7 per cent of nurses left the NHS entirely between 2016 and 2017.

Over half of NHS staff surveyed said they worked some unpaid overtime every week and a significant minority said they were unable to deliver the level of care they aspired to.

HEE also announced it would be running a commission into the mental health and well-being of staff and students in the NHS.

The study, which will be led by HEE chair Sir Keith Pearson, will aim to tackle issues such as depression, people leaving the service or course, and suicide.

In November it was revealed the NHS is hiring up to 5,500 ‘rolling’ nurses from India and the Philippines in an attempt to fill understaffed wards.

They will work in the UK for two to three years, gaining specialist experience and skills before returning home.

The ‘earn, learn and return’ scheme aims to ease the NHS’s staffing crisis, but the plans were labelled a ‘sticking plaster’ that would do little to help in the long term. 



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