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Covid-19: NHS staff absences doubled last week in London

Peter Byrne/PA Wire Healthcare staff on a hospital wardPeter Byrne/PA Wire
NHS bed occupancy rates are 5% higher than last year, NHS Providers chief executive Chris Hopson says

NHS staff absences due to Covid-19 more than doubled last week in London.

Non-urgent operations are already being cancelled across the capital's hospitals due to the Omicron surge.

Covid-related absence at acute NHS hospital trusts meant more than 3,800 staff were off last week, compared to just over 1,500 the previous week.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan declared a major incident in the capital earlier in the week, in large part due to pressure on the NHS.

Staff at Barts Hospital
Services at Barts Hospital are currently running as normal but contingency plans are in place

As the new variant hit London at the start of the month, Covid absences, either through illness or self-isolation, saw 1,174 staff at acute NHS hospital trusts absent, rising to 1,540 by mid-December and 3,874 on Sunday 19 December.

The absences have seen three hospitals at King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust start to cancel outpatient and non-clinically urgent operations this month, and 15 other major hospitals across Imperial, Barts and Guys and St Thomas trusts warning of cancellations in the new year.

BBC London has spent time with NHS frontline workers at Barts Health NHS Trust who said it had been relentless during the pandemic and they were exhausted.

Staff at London's largest health trust say they are anxious about the new year and Omicron

Across England, Covid-related NHS staff absences stood at 18,829 on 19 December, up 54% from 12,240 a week earlier and up nearly 51% from 12,508 at the start of the month, according to the data from NHS England.

Professor Paul Elliott, director of the REACT-1 programme, which monitors Covid-19 infection levels, said the NHS could still be under huge pressure despite the possibility the Omicron variant may cause milder disease.

Expand capacity

Chris Hopson, chief executive of NHS Providers, said the NHS was facing its busiest Christmas period ever, with bed occupancy rates 5% higher than last year, adding the service was preparing to expand capacity in case a "surge" of healthcare was needed.

The news comes as Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been facing calls to outline his post-Christmas Covid-19 strategy for England, with leaders in Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland having all announced new restrictions to tackle the Omicron variant.

Labour has called for "more clarity" from the government on "where the thresholds lie" for any new restrictions, with Lucy Powell, shadow secretary of state for digital, culture, media and sport, claiming Mr Johnson is unable to make calls on Covid data because he has "lost authority with the public".

Health Secretary Sajid Javid acknowledged staff absences due to Covid were adding to pressures on the NHS, but said the easing of self-isolation rules would help and there would be no further announcements on restrictions in England before Christmas.