One In Four NHS Doctors Are Off Work Sick Or In Isolation

Around one in four NHS doctors have been signed off from work sick or in isolation, the head of the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) has said.

Prof Andrew Goddard, president of the RCP, told the PA news agency that about 25% of doctors are off work, either because they have contracted coronavirus or because a family member or housemate is ill. He said:

At the moment, we think it’s more doctors self-isolating with family members, though there are some off sick themselves.

This is really impacting a lot in emergency departments and London is in a much worse position than elsewhere at the moment, but it will come to other places. Birmingham is also struggling.

Goddard said that hospital wards across England are “going from normal wards to Covid wards very quickly”.

He added that intensive care units at some hospitals were “really at the limit”.

It was unclear if the 25% off work would be a “rolling number”, or whether pressure could ease as testing of NHS staff increases and isolation periods end, said Goddard. “Of course the worry is we will lose more people to Covid-related illness,” he added.