Coughs, cold and flu in NHS surge

Coughs, colds and flu saw a resurgence among the top causes of staff absence in the NHS in 2022 and were responsible for 1.6 million days lost.

Data gathered by wellbeing and performance specialist GoodShape showed a 70% increase in days lost to mild respiratory infections in 2022 when compared with figures from 2020. Coughs, colds and flu were not among the top causes of absence in the NHS in 2021.

This suggests measures to curb Covid-19 infections at the height of the pandemic, such as mask-wearing, may have also had an impact on the spread of other respiratory infections.

In December 2022 alone, 441,000 working days in the NHS were lost to coughs, colds and flu, GoodShape found.

Covid-19, or Covid-related reasons such as self-isolation, remained the most frequently reported reason for days lost in the NHS and was responsible for 4.4 million days off. 2022 saw 54% more working days lost due to the virus than in 2021, and more than double the number of spells of absence in 2020 when the virus emerged.

Mental health was the second most common cause of lost working days (3.0 million), followed by musculoskeletal conditions (1.8 million), and coughs, colds and flu.

Gastrointestinal issues were given as the reason for absence on 1.2 million working days, GoodShape’s NHS Health Alert showed.

The number of working days lost because of these five reasons has risen sharply from 7.21 million in 2019 to 12.0 million last year. The estimated costs of these absences also grew 83%, increasing from £1.01bn to £1.85bn.

The data was drawn from GoodShape’s database, covering 43,000 NHS workers.

A recent investigation by The Observer found that burnout and stress cost the NHS more working days than Covid-19 between March 2020 and September 2022.

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GoodShape CEO Alun Baker said: “Illness, ongoing strikes and staff shortages are leaving workers exhausted, stressed, and broken – these figures are a stark reminder of the pressures the NHS is facing. As one of the world’s biggest employers, the NHS is responsible for not only its patients, but the wellbeing of over one million UK employees.

“We know the reality of waiting lists, service failures and strikes, but do we talk about the health of the NHS’s staff? Without a fit workforce, this precious organisation will struggle to pull itself back from the precipice.”