High NHS sickness rates are work-related, claim unions

20 Aug 09
Public sector unions have condemned the findings of an interim review of NHS staff health and sickness, warning that it should not used as a ‘stick to beat hard-working NHS staff’
By Helen Mooney

20 August 2009

Public sector unions have condemned the findings of an interim review of NHS staff health and sickness, warning that it should not used as a ‘stick to beat hard-working NHS staff’.

Unison head of health Karen Jennings said: ‘You cannot compare sickness rates in the NHS with those in the general population – it’s like trying to compare apples and oranges.

‘You must look at the underlying causes for absence. Almost 56,000 NHS workers were physically assaulted, in England alone, last year.
‘Working in the NHS is physically and mentally demanding, and back injuries, needle-stick injuries and cross-infections all take a toll on workers’ health,’ she said.

Jennings also called on NHS trusts to provide their employees with ‘decent canteens with good nourishing food’.

Royal College of Nursing chief executive Dr Peter Carter called for a ‘step change’ in the way the NHS manages staff health and wellbeing. ‘With over 10 million working days lost due to sickness each year, and staff working when they are not well enough to do so, the quality of patient care is bound to suffer.’

Carter said that the NHS had a ‘legal and moral duty’ to ensure that staff were protected from work-related causes of ill-health and given opportunities to improve their own health.

The review, the first national audit of the health, welfare and habits of NHS staff, found that sickness rates among NHS staff were 50% higher than those in the private sector. More than 45,000 NHS workers called in sick every day and there were high rates of obesity, smoking, absenteeism and poor mental health.
  
The review, led by Dr Steve Boorman, a former GP and currently chief medical advisor to Royal Mail, found that the most common illnesses suffered by NHS staff were stress, musculo-skeletal problems and mental health issues.

Responding to the findings, NHS chief executive David Nicholson said: ‘There are opportunities to improve both the quality of care and the productivity of NHS organisations by investing in the health of our staff.’

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