Dec 23, 2021
Omicron: Rising numbers of NHS staff off work because of Covid
Health leaders say the NHS is under significant pressure, despite early studies suggesting the Omicron variant may cause a milder illness than Delta. Health Secretary Sajid Javid said the NHS workforce was "Already under pressure before Omicron came along", adding: "There is increased pressure in many workforces at the moment, especially if someone needs to isolate if they have a positive case."Some of the recent moves we have had, moving from 10-day to seven isolation if you take a test in the last two days, I think all of that will help. Data for Scotland suggests 3,285 NHS staff were off for reasons related to Covid in the week to 21 December - up by almost a thousand on the previous week - while the head of NHS Wales warned almost a fifth of its staff may be off work at the peak of the Omicron wave. NHS Providers' chief executive Chris Hopson said the figures showed Omicron was having a "real-time impact on service". The latest NHS figures come amid a debate about whether further restrictions are needed to stem the surge of the Omicron variant around the UK.More than 100,000 daily Covid cases were recorded for the first time on Wednesday, while the Office for National Statistics estimates 1.3 million people in the UK would have tested positive for Covid on 16 December.
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