NHS urged to curb staff sickness

Silverdragon102, BSN · Mar 30, 2009

Somehow I bet the management will not agree. I agree the NHS is a unique workplace and unfortunately staff are let down if not most of the time

allnurses Guide · Mar 30, 2009

We are very lucky in my hospital we have a great Occi health department and an independent staff support service. Both very oversubscribed which speaks volumes

Silverdragon102, BSN · Mar 30, 2009

If oversubscribed surely this would indicate to management there was a big problem? I think in general most hospitals have a great Occ health but they can only do so much Targets and pressure just takes the nursing away from nursing

LiverpoolJane · Mar 30, 2009

I've waited a few hours before replying to this thread as I am a hot head and tend to speak from the heart and it is sometimes in opposition to the majority.

I have been a manager in the NHS and in the private sector and I know that sickness in the private sector is considerably less when compared to the NHS.

My last Trust spent £6,000,000 in sick pay alone in 2004 - that does not include the cost of covering shifts of those off sick.

I know that there are those that are genuine when they are off but we all know that there are those that are not. I had one member of staff who phoned in sick the last week in October because her daughter had Chicken Pox but made the error of publishing the photos of her and her daughter out doing trick or treat. She would frequently phone in sick at weekends then publish on facebook what a good night she'd had and how hungover she was!!!! Another who asked for a week off but I wasn't able to give him it because there were already several members of staff off the same week. He went off sick that week anyway and then other staff told me he had booked his flights in work time on the internet.

Other staff who are on long term sick have phoned me to ask how long they still have of their 6 months full pay as they want to resume before having to drop to the six months half pay.

I fully understand that many people are ill and I am re-assured by the fact that should I need it that I am protected by an excellent sick pay scheme but there is no doubt that there are those that abuse the system.

Silverdragon102, BSN · Mar 30, 2009

This is what used to get me, people abusing the system. Always the genuine ones that would loose out because of the ones that abuse it

I remember years ago before monitoring of sickness like now of one member of staff we could always tell that she would be going home sick that night as she would come to work without make-up, we just knew she would be going home a some stage that night

LiverpoolJane · Mar 31, 2009

Another thing that makes a mockery of the whole thing is that when you are off sick you still get paid axtra duty. When I was a very new ward manager I had a memeber of staff phone me to say she hadn't been paid night duty rate while she was off sick. I thought she was joking and disputed this - I was wrong, under AfC you still get extra duty payments. Another member of staff after being off sick for 18 months came back in Jan and still had her full years annual leave entitlement before April.

Then when you ask for an Occ Health appointment to try and get them back it can take 5 weeks. The NHS only has itself to blame that some take the Micky out of the service, they have no thought for their colleagues left feeling the strain. Sorry this this make my blood boil, but rant over.

I heard of a Liverpool hospital that had out sourced it's sickness management to an private company and I understand it has been a huge success and reduced the levels of sickness.

MaryAnn_RN · Mar 31, 2009

My attendance record was 100% for years, then was on long term sick about 4 years ago, fantastic support from GP, Occy health and my manager enabled me to return to work, initially part time and then building up to full time when all agreed I was ready. It goes without saying that I was extremely grateful to get paid, and even more so for the support.

I do think though that there are those that abuse the system and are regularly off work sick, and can't believe how daft they are when the Facebook pics come up...yet nothing seems to be said and it carrys on.

Smiler3 · Apr 5, 2009

I personally hate being off work sick... and have currently had 4 days off with sickness and I always feel so guilty phoning in sick but know there are peope out there who take the mick....my other half gets "an always there award" of £60 worth of shopping vouchers if he doesn't have a day off sick in a year, I think this is a great insentive and maybe people would not phone in sick so easily if there was this insentive! but then why should you have to provide an insentive to go to work! ha ha x

Squatront · Apr 5, 2009

Absolutely there are those who misuse the system, and they need weeding out.

At the same time, we work with sick people; we work in environments where D&V seems to be endemic and the chances of catching "something" else are very high; where muscle tears, sprains and injured backs are par for the course; where the stresses of working on understaffed wards with at times abusive and violent patients eventually takes its toll on many workers.

It's hardly surprising there are high sick levels.

ayla2004, ASN, RN · Apr 5, 2009

we get harassed by hr if we have 3 occurances of sick leave in a year, in your probationy nine months this can lead to not gettinga permant contact. This inculdes being snet home early in the last hour of the shift. due to this people will come in when they should not ok havinga skick line means nowt

So im trearting sickness absene like i did as a student and it will take me a lot not to go in.

worked though having a uti last week not good when a pt says i ned the toliet and im thinking so do i.

cariad · Apr 6, 2009

you dont know how lucky you are in the nhs, over here, its not sick time its earned time which has to be used for sick and vacation, if you work 52 weeks without getting sick or cancelled by the hospital, (not enough patients so they cancel you without poy), then you earn 4 weeks, or 12 shifts whichever way you look at it, there is short term disability, which will give you 2/3d's of your pay after being made to use 32 hrs of earned time. if you call in too often then they fire you. you can get 12 weeks time off protection by fmla.a government, family, medical leave act, after being sick for more than 12 wks they dont keep your job open, so they fire you or tell you to re-apply anywhere in the hospital they have openings. if you have an illness or an ill member of the family, you can apply for fmla, so that if you need to take time off they wont fire you, but if you say you are ill, they may not keep you employed as you are supposed to be 100% fit, and if you take fmla for a relative then they dont pay you at all.

i do agree that when i worked in the uk, there were certain members of staff who you knew werent sick when they called in, or the smoker with asthma who always had lung problems, but they always got paid for it.

its something that i think is very backward in america, and i am amazed that the american nurses think that its ok.