'A real risk' more NHS staff will be off work due to mental health

Nurses, doctors and other NHS staff have worked under incredible pressure for the last 2 years

Author: Karen LiuPublished 10th Jan 2022

We are hearing more NHS staff could be off sick due to the continuous pressure they are under impacting their mental health.

Since last week at all York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust sites, which includes Scarborough and Bridlington hospitals, 774 staff are off with 178 absences for Covid-related reasons like sickness or self-isolation.

Paul Wood from the Royal College of Nursing in Yorkshire and the Humber said:

"The longer term impact might be on their health, wellbeing and mental health. There are conversations now around post traumatic stress effecting staff who have been through absolutely horrendous experiences throughout the last 2 years.

"People will question why they're doing the job they're doing, if it's having that impact on them, at a time when staffing is so short, when they're not feeling valued and rewarded for what they do, so the immediate impact could be that we see a loss of staff."

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