Potential cost savings on staff sickness absence in the NHS may be nearly half of what a government-commissioned review has challenged the organisation to achieve, according to a report by the Audit Commission.
The watchdog has found that sickness-absence rates vary significantly across England – ranging from 1.6 per cent to 6.8 per cent – and between staff groups.
The estimated median direct cost of staff sickness to each NHS organisation is £3.3m per year, and £1660m nationally. Additional indirect costs for temporary staff cover are estimated to average £1.9m for each organisation, and £920m overall.
The Audit Commission estimates the total cost savings achievable by the NHS to be £290m, if all organisations are able to reduce their sickness absence to “the lower quartile” of the auditors’ model.
This figure is significantly lower than the £555m that Dr Steve Boorman envisaged could be achieved in his 2009 government-commissioned review of the health and well-being of NHS staff. According to the Audit Commission, Boorman assumes that all organisations can reduce their sickness absence by the same proportion and doesn’t take account of the fact that some trusts are already performing well.
Its analysis shows that NHS organisations in deprived areas have higher levels of sickness absence, as do those with a greater mix of staff at lower ranks. The Commission estimated that deprivation and staff-grade mix combined explain 61 per cent of the local variation in sickness absence in trusts, and 38 per cent in primary-care trusts (PCTs).
On average, sickness absence is highest for PCTs and trusts in the North East Strategic Health Authority (SHA) area, and lowest in the London SHA region. Staff groups with the highest rates of sickness absence are health-care assistants (6.5 per cent); ambulance staff (6.3 per cent); and nursing, midwifery and health visitors (5.2 per cent).
The Royal College of Midwives said it was not surprised that its members were among those with the highest rates of sickness absence. The College’s employment relations advisor, George Georgiou, said: “Many midwives are working ever harder, and under great stress as the number of births increase and staffing levels fail to keep pace. . . We would encourage NHS trusts to invest in maternity services to relieve the pressure on their midwives, and ensure that they have access to the full range of occupational-health services.”
The report does point out that several organisations have bucked the trend, despite their location in an area of high deprivation and having a larger mix of low-grade staff – proving that such factors are not an unsurmountable barrier to achieving significant cost savings and low sickness absence.
Commenting on the analysis, NHS Employers’ director Dean Royles said: “As the Audit Commission’s report has highlighted, sickness levels can differ widely between trusts, and this generally reflects variations in the average health of the surrounding areas. €
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I would suggest the absenteeism rate amongst the female members of staff in deprived areas is more to do with lack of affordable and alternative care for their poorly children. It would be interesting to know the statistics regarding how many women with young children take time off verses the women without children.
Hospitals should have a flexible attitude and allow mothers unpenalised time off in the event of real family emergencies.