Conservative health spokesperson Dr Sandesh Gulhane and Health Secretary Michael Matheson.
By Lucy Ashton
Almost 75,000 NHS staff have been absent in the last five years with mental health related illnesses, the Scottish Conservatives can reveal today.
Responses to Freedom of Information requests by the party show that 74,013 NHS workers have missed shifts due to anxiety, stress, depression or other mental health related illnesses since 2018.
Shadow health secretary Dr Sandesh Gulhane – who is a GP – has described the findings as “deeply concerning” and says they fully expose how overwhelmed dedicated staff have become due to a lack of support and dire workforce planning from successive SNP health secretaries.
The figures come against a backdrop of a “scarcely believable” round table with nurses that Dr Gulhane attended.
One nurse revealed to the round table that she hoped she would be involved in a car accident to avoid having to go to work, while another said she couldn’t remember the last time she was proud of the job she did.
The findings also reveal over 1.5 million working days have been lost due to the absences – with the figures likely to be far higher – as not all health boards provided all of the information requested.
This included the country’s largest health board – NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde – which only revealed absences for the last three years. Even then, they still had the highest tally of Scotland’s 14 boards.
Dr Gulhane has called on new SNP health secretary Michael Matheson to treat these findings as an “urgent wake-up call” and rip up Humza Yousaf’s flimsy recovery plan, which has completely failed to remobilise Scotland’s NHS.
Dr Sandesh Gulhane MSP, said: “The fact that close to 75,000 NHS workers have been absent with mental health related illnesses is deeply concerning.
“My dedicated colleagues on the frontline are beyond breaking point and for many this has clearly taken an awful toll on their mental health. My thoughts are with those NHS workers who have been struggling with these issues.
“These findings fully expose how overwhelmed so many of them have become on the SNP’s watch, due to the shortage of frontline staff which is the product of dire workforce planning by successive health secretaries.
“But, sadly, these shocking figures chime with what I heard at a round table of nurses that I participated in recently. Among the awful testimonies, it was utterly heart-breaking to hear one dedicated nurse insist she hoped she would be involved in a car crash to avoid her work.
“We should never have reached this point. These figures will be even worse given a lot of health boards – including the country’s largest – didn’t provide all the information requested.
“The new SNP health secretary – Michael Matheson – has to use these figures as an urgent wake-up call. He should start by ripping up Humza Yousaf’s NHS Recovery plan which has totally failed to remobilise our NHS.
“He should follow the example of the Scottish Conservatives who have outlined a clear vision for the future of the NHS as a modern, efficient and local service to support suffering patients and dedicated staff.”
- Almost 75,000 NHS staff have been absent from work due to anxiety, stress, depression or other mental illness (ASDOM) since 2018. Between 2018 and November 2022, 74,013 NHS staff members were absent from work due to ASDOM. (Scottish Conservative FOI, 24 March 2023, Available on request).
- 1.5 million working days have been lost due to ASDOM since 2018. Between 2018 and November 2022, 1,527,436 working days were lost due to staff being absent due to ASDOM. (Scottish Conservative FOI, 24 March 2023, Available on request).
- In NHS Borders, one member of staff worked a 19-hour shift in 2022. Although only five health boards provided data, NHS Borders confirmed the longest shift a member of staff had completed in 2022 was 19.5 hours. (Scottish Conservative FOI, 18 January 2023, Available on request).
- Despite providing incomplete data, the health board with the most absent staff was NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. NHSGGC only provided data from 2020-2022, but still had 16,452 absent staff over that period. GGC also had 509,306 working days lost due to ASDOM. (Scottish Conservative FOI, 24 March 2023, Available on request).
- The number of staff that were absent for ASDOM reasons has doubled since 2018. In 2018, 8,172 staff reported an absence due to anxiety, stress, depression or other mental illness, compared to 17,528 in 2022 up to November. Similarly, 152,608 working days were lost in 2018, compared to 363,930 in 2022 up to November. (Scottish Conservative FOI, 24 March 2023, Available on request).
- Two health boards failed to provide complete data. Both Tayside and Forth Valley failed to hand over data on working days lost. (Scottish Conservative FOI, 24 March 2023, Available on request)
Top picture: Gartnavel Royal Hospital in Glasgow. Inverclyde Royal Hospital and Vale of Leven Hospital also take patients from West Dunbartonshire and Argyll with mental illness.