Fewer mental health-related sick days at Sheffield Children's Hospital during first Covid wave

Staff absence due to stress, anxiety and other mental health-related problems was lower than last year at Sheffield Children's Hospital during the first coronavirus wave.
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NHS Digital data shows 8,355 full-time equivalent days were lost due to sickness at Sheffield Children's NHS Foundation Trust between April and June. Of these, 2,931 (35 per cent) were because of stress, anxiety, depression, or other psychiatric illnesses. That was down seven per cent compared to the same period last year, when 3,162 days were lost for this reason.

However the NHS cautioned that while lower sickness absence figures generally indicate fewer sick days, it can also "indicate under reporting of sickness absence".

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Fewer people were off with mental health-related sicknessFewer people were off with mental health-related sickness
Fewer people were off with mental health-related sickness
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Nick Parker, Director of People and Organisational Development at Sheffield Children's, said: "Colleagues working at Sheffield Children’s, like colleagues across the NHS, have responded incredibly to the pandemic and ensured children and young people continue to receive high quality care.

"We know colleagues across the Trust have faced significant challenges, both during the first wave and the intervening months. That is why we've supplemented our normal range of support for colleagues to help them cope with the stress, anxiety and uncertainty caused by the pandemic - including wellbeing tools, mental health first aiders, hotlines and psychological support - and are regularly reviewing our offer to make sure we've doing everything we can for our colleagues. We need to care for them, so they in turn can care for children and their families."

Across England, the number of mental health sick days among NHS staff rose to nearly 1.5 million, up from 1.1m .

Susan Masters from the Royal College of Nursing, said a rise in the levels of staff needing to take time off for stress and anxiety during the pandemic "should come as no surprise" and investment is needed to "grow a depleted workforce" and avoid a further increase in stress and sickness levels.

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Stress, anxiety and depression was the most common reason for sickness absence at Sheffield Children's Hospital between April and June, followed by gastrointestinal problems (eight per cent) and cold, cough or flu (seven per cent).

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