One in seven Royal Free staff absences are stress-related

There were 15,300 days lost due to staff absences at the main hospital trust serving Barnet in February, reports Sonja Tutty, Data Reporter

New figures show that one in seven sick days for staff at the main hospital serving Barnet was due to stress-related reasons.

The King’s Fund, a health think tank, said the high level of stress-related absences was a “wake-up call” for the NHS to tackle excessive staff workloads.

The latest NHS Digital figures show there were 15,300 days lost due to staff absences in the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust in February.

Of the lost days, 2,100 were due to anxiety, stress, depression or other psychiatric illnesses. It accounted for 14% of staff sick days.

It was up slightly from 13% in February the previous year and was up from 11% in 2019, before the pandemic.

In Anxiety, anxiety, stress, depression and other mental illnesses accounted for more than 545,100 lost days and 26% of all sickness absence in February.

It was up from 25% the previous year and a jump from 23% in 2019.

Alex Baylis, deputy director of policy at the King’s Fund, said: “This is just another wake-up call for the NHS, because we see exactly the same kind of trends when you look at the reasons why people leave the NHS.”

He said the normalization of staff’s “chronically excessive workloads” was the main factor behind the high levels of stress-related medical absence.

He added: “So what we think is important is not just to focus on supporting individuals, but to look at what these systemic factors are, which are underlying these levels of stress and burnout.

“That means really listening to staff and being prepared to implement fundamental changes where needed to address this, rather than normalizing it and continuing with these constant warning signs that we’re getting.”

The figures also show that the overall sickness absence rate for England was 5%. At the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, the absenteeism rate was 4%.

The Nuffield Trust said high sickness absence was damaging to staff and patient care.

Billy Palmer, senior fellow at the Nuffield Trust, said: “The NHS has a duty of care to its workforce and this high level of stress among staff also points to some future retention issues.

“With high levels of sickness absence and poor retention both causing and being caused by increased pressure on services, the NHS risks being stuck in a vicious cycle.”

He added that absenteeism rates relate to factors including job satisfaction, workload and socioeconomic status, so multiple solutions will be needed to address sickness absence levels.

An NHS spokesman said mental health support was available to staff, including access to 24/7 confidential support services, coaching and flexible working options.

They added that “there is more to do” to ensure NHS staff feel comfortable asking for help.

“That’s why the NHS is strengthening its occupational health services and reviewing our mental health offer for staff to ensure everyone working in the NHS has the right support they need,” they said.

Independent news outlets like ours – which report for the community without wealthy backers – are under threat of closure, turning Britain’s cities into news deserts.

The public they serve know less, understand less, and can do less.

If our coverage has helped you understand our community a little better, please consider supporting us with a monthly, annual or one-time donation.

Choose the news. Don’t miss the news.

Direct monthly debit

Annual direct debit

£5 a month backers get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else, £10 a month backers get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else and a print copy posted each month. Annual £50 backers get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else. Annual £84 backers get a hard copy by post and a digital copy of each month before anyone else.

More information about supporting us monthly

More information about donations