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Staff absence due to Covid now a significant issue for the NHS.

Health leaders in England warn surge in Covid absences threatens patient care

But Dr Chaand Nagpaul, chair of the British Medical Association’s ruling council, suggested Boris Johnson, the prime minister, had ignored “the elephant in the room” of staff absence levels.

About 43 per cent of NHS absences in London were currently due to Covid, compared to about 16 per cent before the Omicron variant first appeared at the end of November, he said.

According to the most recent official data, on December 19 the number of staff absences within NHS acute trusts in England related to Covid-19 stood at 18,829, a rise of around 50 per cent in the course of a week.

Nagpaul warned that the data understated the severity of the situation as they did not take account of absences in general practice and community services.

Rota gaps due to Covid meant some appointments were being cancelled at short notice and, in some instances, blood tests delayed, he warned.

Some patients were also finding it harder to get through to a GP due to sickness among reception staff. “These are very real issues that are affecting the provision of care both in general practice and also in hospitals,” he said...

Chris Hopson, chief executive of NHS Providers, which represents hospital, ambulance, community and mental health trusts, suggested staff sickness may currently be a more serious threat to the health service than rising admissions from the highly transmissible new strain...

Later he told the FT that pressures in London were “particularly acute” and trusts were having to redeploy staff to maintain essential services.

Covid-related staff absences were “compounding an already extremely pressured system which is at full stretch”, he said.

https://www.ft.com/content/e1b48f47-...1-70e76f462d75