Staff absences in NHS hospitals in Anglia region soar by 40% at start of 2022
Staff absences due to Covid at hospital trusts in the Anglia region soared by more than 1,000 in the first week of 2022, new figures show.
There were 3,673 staff off work due to coronavirus - either through illness or enforced self-isolation - in the seven days to 2 January 2022, the most recent figures available.
That represents an increase of 1,036 absences on the week before, or 39%, when 2,637 staff were absent from hospital trusts.
The total number of staff absent at those trusts - which includes staff who were absent for non-Covid reasons - was 7,407. That means that around 50% of absences were Covid-related, up from 40% a week earlier.
Table of Covid-19 staff absences at NHS Hospital Trusts in the Anglia region
The trust with the most Covid-related staff absences was the East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Ipswich and Colchester Hospitals, where 502 of its 877 absences were down to coronavirus. That meant 7.9% of its total workforce was unavailable, with 4.5% due to Covid.
Some smaller trusts had a greater proportion of staff off, such as the Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust in Harlow, Essex, where 10.2% of its 3,771-strong workforce was off - equating to 385 people, of which roughly half (196) were due to Covid.
At the James Paget University Hospital in Gorleston in Norfolk it was a similar story, with 11.1% of its 3,734 staff off - translating to 416 staff, of which 223 were due to Covid.
The release of the figures from NHS England comes as Northamptonshire's health services declared a major incident because of rising pressures caused by the Omicron coronavirus variant, and in the same week that both Norfolk and Waveney health services and the West Suffolk Hospital declared internal critical incidents.
The ITV Anglia region consists of the East of England counties of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk along with Milton Keynes, Rutland and Northamptonshire.
Mid and South Essex Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (Southend, Basildon and Broomfield hospitals)
Total staff: 15,399
All absences: 892 (391 Covid-related)
Absence proportion: 5.79% (2.54% Covid-related)
Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust
Total staff: 7,863
All absences: 673 (419 Covid-related)
Absence proportion: 8.56% (5.33% Covid-related)
Queen Elizabeth Hospital King's Lynn NHS Foundation Trust
Total staff: 3,736
All absences: 250 (30 Covid-related)
Absence proportion: 6.69% (0.80% Covid-related)
Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Total staff: 3,728
All absences: 296 (131 Covid-related)
Absence proportion: 7.94% (3.51% Covid-related)
East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust
Total staff: 11,099
All absences: 877 (502 Covid-related)
Absence proportion: 7.90% (4.52% Covid-related)
Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Total staff: 2,040
All absences: 102 (54 Covid-related)
Absence proportion: 5% (2.65% Covid-related)
North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust
Total staff: 6,773
All absences: 430 (187 Covid-related)
Absence proportion: 6.35% (2.76% Covid-related)
James Paget University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Total staff: 3,734
All absences: 416 (223 Covid-related)
Absence proportion: 11.14% (5.97% Covid-related)
West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust
Total staff: 4,712
All absences: 356 (160 Covid-related)
Absence proportion: 7.56% (3.40% Covid-related)
Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Total staff: 11,195
All absences: 554 (249 Covid-related)
Absence proportion: 4.95% (2.22% Covid-related)
Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Total staff: 8,988
All absences: 640 (251 Covid-related)
Absence proportion: 7.12% (2.79% Covid-related)
Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust
Total staff: 3,771
All absences: 385 (196 Covid-related)
Absence proportion: 10.21% (5.20% Covid-related)
West Hertfordshire NHS Trust
Total staff: 5,208
All absences: 482 (345 Covid-related)
Absence proportion: 9.25% (6.62% Covid-related)
East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust
Total staff: 6,248
All absences: 330 (182 Covid-related)
Absence proportion: 5.28% (2.91% Covid-related)