Sick workers at NHS Tayside have cost the health service almost 130 years’ worth of lost hours in just 12 months.
The findings, uncovered after a freedom of information request, reveal more than 1.1 million hours were written off between April 2011 and March this year.
Of this some 248,526 hours relate specifically to staff suffering from anxiety, stress, depression and other psychiatric illnesses.
Around 14,000 staff are employed by NHS Tayside, delivering healthcare to more than 400,000 people.
However, the health body’s average rate for absenteeism sits at 4.91%, above the national average, which is down to 4.12%, and significantly more than the 4% deemed acceptable by the Scottish Government.
NHS Tayside workforce manager Iain McEachan stressed the authority remains committed to promoting attendance at work with a range of supportive services.
”All our managers and supervisors are given guidance on how to support staff with mental health issues and are offered ‘mentally healthy workplace’ training. Our occupational health service also provides counselling and other support for staff suffering from mental health or stress,” he said.
”We know that outside factors may often contribute to staff feeling stressed and anxious and, as a result, we have recently started to work with voluntary organisations who can provide access to support and specialist advice in areas such as debt and housing.
”The revised promoting attendance at work policy is being launched next month and focuses on what staff may be fit to do with help and support from their managers, rather than the more traditional emphasis on what staff are not fit for.
”This new approach highlights the importance of staff being able to get help when they need it so that they feel supported to continue working, or feel able to return to work, with the right support in place.
”NHS Tayside will continue to work in partnership with staff side representatives to develop and implement policies which support staff in the areas of mental health and stress.”
Stress is one of the most common reasons for long-term absenteeism in the NHS.
Dundee Labour councillor Lesley Brennan, who is also a health economist, blames widespread cuts in health spending for contributing to the problem.
She said that demanding staff and medics to do more at work has seen stress levels increase, and that impacts on frontline services.
”NHS staff cannot be expected to provide the same standard of patient care with fewer resources,” she said. ”Neither can they meet an ever-rising level of demand for NHS services with so many staff under so much strain.
”When staff are not replaced, when vacancies are frozen, and when staff are redeployed, morale declines. Productivity and patient care could be improved by investing in improving the NHS workforce’s health.”
This year NHS Tayside revealed an overspend of £1.9m, amid a reported overspend across Scotland’s health boards of over £16m at a time of Government cost-cutting and soaring drug costs.NHS Fife’s sickness rate is even higherNHS Fife has an even higher sickness rate, at 5.3%.
The NHS is required to make savings of up to £20 billion by 2015.
Sickness absence in the NHS is higher than in the private sector. The difference is particularly stark in the amount of long-term sickness absence.
The Audit Commission estimates savings of £290m if sickness absence rates are reduced.
The estimated median direct cost of staff sickness absence to each NHS organisation is £3.3m per year, but the highest is almost £20m.
Taking into account the size of each health board, the estimated direct cost per full-time equivalent member of staff ranges from less than £700 to just over £2,700.
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