Over 470 frontline workers off sick at Northern Lincolnshire hospitals

Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust currently has 479 frontline employees off work sick as pressures are being felt across health services in the region with high levels of staff sickness.

Of this figure, 181 staff are off for COVID-related reasons, which could include long-term sickness or short-term illness and injury.

Of the 6,200 frontline staff employed at the trust around 4.8% are off work for non-COVID reasons, which is similar to the normal rate of 4%-5%.

Including COVID this is around 7.7% which shows the increased pressure the virus is placing on the trust’s services.

The hospital is also having to cope with a growing number of patients with coronavirus being cared for across their hospitals in Scunthorpe and Grimsby.

As of Friday afternoon (January 7, 2022) there were 86 COVID positive patients, with 43 in Grimsby (two in ICU) and 43 in Scunthorpe. That is up from the 51 patients across the two sites the week before (as of December 31, 2021).

It has also been revealed by the trust that between 30%-40% of the patients currently being treated in Northern Lincolnshire are not fully vaccinated.

The trust also revealed that every day there is an average of 50 patients across its hospitals in Sccunthorpe, Grimsby and Goole who no longer require an acute bed, but are unable to be discharged.

Across Northern Lincolnshire there are also over 50 care homes that are closed due to outbreaks, either due to coronavirus or other illnesses like norovirus.

Meanwhile, some GP practices are seeing up to 20% of their staff off work. Ambulance colleagues also have a number of staff off work due to coronavirus.

The trust added that despite these pressures the local NHS is continuing to see and treat patients at GP surgeries, out of hours facilities and in A&E.

• There were 11,063 A&E attendances in Northern Lincolnshire in December and 2,198 so far in January
• There have been more than 200,000 GP appointments across Northern Lincolnshire – an increase on pre-pandemic. More than 70% of these are face-to-face and those that need to be seen that day
• Care for inpatients in hospitals every day – 8,873 admissions in December 2021
• Seeing patients in outpatient appointments – 28,818 in December 2021
• Perform urgent, emergency and planned operations every day – 1,922 in December 2021

Dr Kate Wood, Medical Director at Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust, said: “Our staff are working exceptionally hard in what are very testing and trying circumstances and it is credit to them that we have been able to maintain planned treatment and operations.

“We are doing everything we can to see and treat patients as quickly as possible but we recognise that some people are waiting longer in our A&E departments, and to be admitted to a bed, than we would like.”