One third of NHS staff sickness in East Sussex on Boxing Day caused by covid, figures show

NHS England’s medical director, Stephen Powis, said health services are on “a war footing”, with Covid-related staff absences more than doubling in a fortnight.

NHS England data shows 427 staff at East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust were off sick on December 26 – the latest date for which data is available.

Of them, 144 (34%) were off because they had Covid-19, or were self-isolating due to the virus.

This was an 11% decrease on a week before, when 162 Covid-related absences were recorded.

Across England, the number of NHS staff off work due to Covid increased from 18,800 on December 19, to 24,600 on Boxing Day – a 31% rise.

Professor Powis said new nurses and reservists were being recruited to deal with pressures, as Nightingale hubs are being set-up across the country to tackle a surge in coronavirus patients.