Official NHS figures released today have revealed that over three
million sick days taken by NHS staff in England were lost to
mental ill health since the start of the pandemic.
The newly released figures showing staff absence rates during
September 2020, take the number of sick days lost due to mental
ill health since March to 3,281,880. Absence due to mental ill
health, is consistently the most reported reason for sickness
absence.
Dr , Labour’s Shadow Mental Health
Minister, said:
"Frontline NHS staff have been doing an incredible job throughout
this pandemic, but the added pressure this virus brings has had a
profound impact on their psychological wellbeing.
"The level of death our workforce has had to experience is
unimaginable.
"Without access to tailored mental health support, staff mental
health will continue to suffer. The Government refused to meet to
discuss Labour’s ‘Care for Carers’ package of support for all
health and care staff. The offer is still open should the
Government wish to extend mental health support to all carers and
support staff."
Ends
Notes to Editors
- Labour's ‘Care for Carers’ package announced Monday 29 June
2020 can be found here: http://labour.org.uk/careforcarers
Press release: (https://labour.org.uk/press/care-for-carers-package-needed-to-support-mental-health-of-3-million-nhs-and-care-staff/)
- Anxiety/stress/depression/other psychiatric illnesses is
consistently the most reported reason for sickness absence,
accounting for over 442,500 full time equivalent days lost and
28.6% of all sickness absence in September 2020. https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-sickness-absence-rates/july-2020-to-september-2020-provisional-statistics
- All previous monthly data sets can be found here: https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-sickness-absence-rates
- Labour's Care for Carer's package includes:
Stage 1: National hotline widely advertised and accessible to all
staff, open 24/7, operated by paid staff. It would have a low
threshold, would provide general advice and empathetic listening.
Then there would be an option for specialist assessment where
required, moving to stage 2.
Stage 2: Follow-up support, specialist assessments by mental
health professionals, referrals to psychological support and
unlimited telephone support. Option to move to stage 3.
Stage 3: Intervention and treatment, including fast access to
group or psychological therapies, including specialised PTSD
support. This could include psychotherapy, group therapy,
telephone therapies, case management and prescriptions. Option to
move to stage 4.
Stage 4: Follow up and sign-posted to external services, if
necessary, including alcohol and addiction services. A
centralised secure process ensures patient follow-up can be
enacted upon and can be directed to further assessment services.
