Almost 12,000 key workers stuck on long term sick leave
EMBARGO: Immediate Release
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Over 8,600 NHS nurses currently on long term sick leave, along with 2,752 police officers and 568 firefighters
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Conservative Government’s failure to tackle the NHS waiting list is impacting “key workers who keep out country running”
Almost 12,000 key workers across the UK including nurses, police officers and firefighters are stuck on long term sick leave, figures uncovered by the Liberal Democrats have revealed.
The data was uncovered through a series of Freedom of Information requests by the party to NHS trusts, police forces and fire services. It shows that 8,614 nurses were currently away from work for long term health reasons, as well as 2,752 police officers and 568 firefighters.
Newcastle NHS trust was found to be the worst affected hospital across the country, with 903 nurses revealed to be long term sick. The Metropolitan Police was the police force with most absences with 677 officers affected.
The Liberal Democrats point to the Conservative Government’s failure to tackle the NHS waiting lists as one of the key causes behind the high levels of sick leave, with the backlog currently sitting at 7.6 million. Figures from the ONS show a staggering 2.6 million people are off work due to long term health conditions.
The Liberal Democrats are calling on the Government to properly fund the NHS in the March Budget, to cut waiting lists and boost the economy by ensuring people receive good quality care and are able to return to work faster.
Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson, Sarah Olney MP said:
“Nurses, firefighters and police officers are the key workers keeping our country running. Yet due to this Conservative Government’s failure to tackle NHS waiting lists, thousands are stuck on long term sick leave.
“It is unbelievable that despite this, Rishi Sunak is leaving the NHS as stretched as it’s ever been, failing patients and hurting our economic growth at the same time.
“Ministers need to properly fund our health service, tackle waiting lists and give our key workers the good quality care they deserve.”
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
First reported by the Mirror here.
FOI data to NHS hospital trusts, police forces and firefighting authorities here.
