HSJ - The ward round: The great isolation (23 December 2021)

Summary

In this HSJ article, workforce correspondent Annabelle Collins looks at the workforce issues facing the NHS as the Omicron variant of Covid-19 spreads rapidly across the UK. She highlights that staff absences are at their highest since March 2020, with the situation particularly worrying in London, where 1 in 13 doctors are currently off sick.

The author discusses the role of PPE in protecting staff and reducing absences and quotes Patient Safety Learning's Chief Executive Helen Hughes, who highlights "inconsistencies" in the UK approach, saying the IPC guidance needs to be “urgently updated” so HEPA/FPP3 masks are provided for NHS staff, in line with World Health Organization recommendations: “Today the World Health Organisation is issuing updated guidance for health workers, recommending the use of either a respirator or a medical mask, in addition to other personal protective equipment, when entering a room where there is a patient with suspected or confirmed covid.”

The article also examines the government's lack of workforce plans and the Treasury’s unwillingness to publish workforce predictions, despite repeated calls for them over the past few years.