Update on Covid providing information on prevalence and hospital admissions for England and its regions. This post is best viewed using the browser or Substack app.
This is great stuff. Congratulations and thanks for persevering with Covid info when most have given up and government would prefer to tell us nothing.
Any thoughts on why NHS staff absences are still so high even though Covid cases in that group have apparently fallen vs last year? 🤔 For comparison I wonder what were the absence figures pre pandemic?
The average monthly staff absence rate for NHS England prior to Covid (January 2010 - February 2020) stood at 4.2%, and post-Covid, it has risen to 5.1%. This shows a notable increase in absences since the onset of Covid.
Comparing 2023 to 2019 shows a slightly smaller but still significant increase. The absence rate data for 2023, available up to November, indicates an average monthly sickness rate of 4.9%. In contrast, the corresponding rate for 2019 was 4.2%.
Anxiety, stress, depression, and other psychiatric illnesses are the most frequently cited reasons for sickness absence and have seen an increase post-Covid, likely contributing to the continued high rates despite a decrease in Covid cases. For instance, in November 2023, these issues accounted for approximately 586,600 full-time equivalent days lost, representing 26.2% of all reported sickness absences. In comparison, in November 2019, they accounted for around 425,400 full-time equivalent days lost, which was 25.2% of all reported sickness absences.
This is great stuff. Congratulations and thanks for persevering with Covid info when most have given up and government would prefer to tell us nothing.
Thank you so much, with less and less data available your information is needed!
Thank you for all the effort you put into preparing your reports.
Any thoughts on why NHS staff absences are still so high even though Covid cases in that group have apparently fallen vs last year? 🤔 For comparison I wonder what were the absence figures pre pandemic?
David,
The average monthly staff absence rate for NHS England prior to Covid (January 2010 - February 2020) stood at 4.2%, and post-Covid, it has risen to 5.1%. This shows a notable increase in absences since the onset of Covid.
Comparing 2023 to 2019 shows a slightly smaller but still significant increase. The absence rate data for 2023, available up to November, indicates an average monthly sickness rate of 4.9%. In contrast, the corresponding rate for 2019 was 4.2%.
Anxiety, stress, depression, and other psychiatric illnesses are the most frequently cited reasons for sickness absence and have seen an increase post-Covid, likely contributing to the continued high rates despite a decrease in Covid cases. For instance, in November 2023, these issues accounted for approximately 586,600 full-time equivalent days lost, representing 26.2% of all reported sickness absences. In comparison, in November 2019, they accounted for around 425,400 full-time equivalent days lost, which was 25.2% of all reported sickness absences.
Thanks for such clear info.