Covid-19: Jersey health workers miss 1,000 more days due to mental health issues

Health worker absences due to mental health problems in Jersey increased by nearly 1,000 days in the first six months of the Covid-19 pandemic.

A BBC Freedom of Information request revealed health department staff took 5,627 days off due to stress, anxiety or depression between March and August.

This is 20% higher than the same period in 2019.

One health worker said the pressure forced her to take time off and change jobs after having breakdowns at work.

In July alone there were more than 500 additional working days missed.

The health department employs about 2,400 people.

The proportion of sick days also rose with more than one third of recorded absences explained by mental health problems, compared to one in four last year.

However, increased staffing meant there were more days available overall for the health department.

Beth Salsac, a former worker in Jersey hospital's laboratory, took time off last month because of work-related stress she said was brought on by a combination of increased workload and fewer staff.

She said: "You just want to get the patient results out as quickly and accurately as you can, but there's only so much you can actually do with just one pair of hands."

Ms Salsac, who now works in a different laboratory, said there was a lack of mental health support with "massive" waiting lists for those that do exist.

The Government of Jersey said during the initial outbreak a team was "quickly set-up" to co-ordinate support for staff "in recognition of the pressure on front-line workers".

It said the "first phase" saw "more than 1,840 wellbeing checks on Health and Community Services staff, many of which led to an offer of support".

The government redeployed psychology, counselling and physiotherapy staff to support staff both at the hospital and in the community.

It said team and ward managers are being trained to support their colleagues and "the initial increase in staff absences has declined".

It added that funding from the Bailiff's Covid-19 Appeal Fund - approved in August - would be used to provide specialist trauma therapy and further psychological and general wellbeing support for staff "into the medium term".