Thousands of nursing shifts lost due to stress and anxiety
Posted 26 January 2024 - 09:00
Unsafe working conditions pinpointed as union warns of dangerous cycle of burnout and mental health concerns
Unsafe working conditions are becoming ‘normalised’ in the NHS with thousands of nursing shifts lost to anxiety, stress and other mental health concerns, a nursing union has warned.
Latest data from NHS Digital published on 25 January show 569,838 full-time equivalent nurse and health visitor days were lost to illness in September 2023. Anxiety, stress, depression and other related psychiatric illness made up a quarter (24.3%) of all absences with 138,700 days lost.
The RCN said the figures show a ‘dangerous cycle’ for nurses’ mental health as demand for services increases and nursing vacancies in England remain stubbornly high at 42,306.
RCN director for England Patricia Marquis said: ‘Nursing and care staff are burning out – with high rates of depression, stress and anxiety. Staff sickness has shown little sign of improvement over the past decade. Today a staggering twice as many are grappling with mental health issues than calling in sick due to colds or flu.
Understaffed wards putting increasing pressure on nurses, says RCN
‘It’s a dangerous cycle. Understaffed wards put increasing pressure on hard-pressed nurses, who are in turn more likely to get sick, creating more gaps in the rota.
‘The government has normalised unsafe working conditions in England’s NHS and put patient care at risk. Ministers must start providing support now – by setting out how they will invest in the nursing workforce and radically overhauling nursing pay.’
Cough, colds and flu were the next most common cause of illness, with 57,571 nurse and health visitor days lost in September 2023. The data also shows high absence rates for musculoskeletal problems with 51,318 days lost, along with 41,379 days lost to gastrointestinal illness among the same staff group.
UK risks becoming ‘burnout nation’ unless workforce gets better support, says report
The figures were issued as charity Mental Health UK published its annual Burnout Report, which found 35% of workers in the UK had experienced high or extreme levels of pressure at work, with 20% requiring time off due to poor mental health caused by stress in the past year.
The survey of 2,060 adults also found 35% of people were not comfortable voicing concerns about pressure and stress to line managers, with 31% saying bullying and intimidation by colleagues had been the cause of their stress in the past year.
They joined calls for the government to better support the workforce or risk the UK becoming ‘a burnout nation.’
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has been contacted for a response.
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