“Hundreds of NHS keyworkers have died of COVID-19 during this pandemic and yet staff continue to show up every day – despite healthcare workers being 12 times more likely to test positive for the virus compared to the general public.
“It is now vital that the government put measures in place to support staff to continue to do their jobs or else rising levels of burnout will are inevitable. NHS staff are routinely demoralised by defamatory articles in the press and poor communication from our leadership.
“Pressure has been placed on our GP workforce to deliver the new COVID-19 vaccine, but with no logistical guidance from the government on the roll out. Meanwhile in hospitals, the backlog of routine work due to the cancellation of elective procedures is overwhelming and investment in staff and resources is essential.
“Strategies need to be implemented to help those staff who are well enough to work to do so, such as child care arrangements, working from home initiatives and access to rapid testing where appropriate to ensure a rapid return to the workforce.”
Dr Ellen Welch, DAUK
More than 4,000 doctors are currently off suck from the NHS in England, nearly half of them because of COVID-19, it has been revealed.
In total more than 82,000 NHS staff are off sick with 42% of them out of work directly because of the virus, according to NHS England data reported by The Independent.
Last week the government was celebrating record numbers of doctors in employment – but medical campaigners said the truth was that the NHS workforce is “on its knees.”
The Doctors Association called for more support for staff to help them through the coming months.
It warned of staff leaving “in their droves” because exhaustion, burnout and morale affected by media claims that they were avoiding patients.
Spokesperson Dr Ellen Welch said: “Hundreds of NHS keyworkers have died of COVID-19 during this pandemic and yet staff continue to show up every day – despite healthcare workers being 12 times more likely to test positive for the virus compared to the general public.
“It is now vital that the government put measures in place to support staff to continue to do their jobs or else rising levels of burnout will are inevitable. NHS staff are routinely demoralised by defamatory articles in the press and poor communication from our leadership.
“Pressure has been placed on our GP workforce to deliver the new COVID-19 vaccine, but with no logistical guidance from the government on the roll out. Meanwhile in hospitals, the backlog of routine work due to the cancellation of elective procedures is overwhelming and investment in staff and resources is essential.
“Strategies need to be implemented to help those staff who are well enough to work to do so, such as child care arrangements, working from home initiatives and access to rapid testing where appropriate to ensure a rapid return to the workforce.”
NHS Providers chief executive Chris Hopson said: “National statistics tell only part of the story. In reality the situation for trusts is much more difficult. Trust leaders understand only too well the impact of these restrictions on people’s livelihoods and liberties and on their mental health.
“Vaccines, therapeutic drugs and mass scale rapid turnaround testing offer a clear way out of this next spring.
“But there is an immediate need to get through winter, avoiding a damaging third surge in infections with the virus, and ensuring the NHS is able to provide appropriate high quality care for all patients, COVID and non-COVID.”
