Quarter of a million working hours lost through stress-related illnesses as cuts take toll on health of dedicated NHS workforce
Lesley Brennan
25 July 2012
In NHS Tayside last year ( 2011-12) , the number of working hours lost through “anxiety, stress, depression and other psychiatric illnesses” was 248,526 hours.
The total number of working hours lost through all forms of absence was 1,114,967 hours.
The number of working hours lost through “anxiety, stress, depression and other psychiatric illnesses” accounts for some 22 per cent of the total number of working hours lost from all forms of sickness which was 1,114,967.
Dundee East End Councillor Lesley Brennan, who is a health economist , said,
“Cuts in health spending have produced sharp increases in work pressure, and have taken their toll on the health of dedicated staff.
“This will have impacted on frontline services.
“ NHS staff cannot be expected to provide the same standard of patient care with fewer resources.
“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.
“The figures also reflect the pressures that tough economic times impose upon domestic life.”