Welsh NHS absenteeism rising

Sickness absence levels are on the rise in the Welsh NHS, according to latest statistics, reports WalesOnline.

The Welsh Ambulance NHS Trust fared the worst after 7.8% of contracted hours were lost due to staff absences

Welsh Liberal Democrats leader Kirsty Williams has called for the Welsh Government to do more to support “overworked” NHS staff.

She said: “Paramedics do incredibly stressful work around the clock and sickness levels have been high for a long time.

“I can only imagine how demoralising it must be to be doing such an important job but not getting the appropriate support from the Welsh Government.

“Our ambulance service is hugely overstretched and staff are not given the resources they need to serve the people of Wales.

“When I’m talking to nurses, the same issues keep coming up – they feel stressed and over-worked.

“That’s why so many of them are backing my plan for more nurses on our wards, to provide safe nurse staffing levels and reduce dependency on agency nurses as well as increasing staff morale.”