MORE than 100 staff within the Health Department are off work because of sickness, it has emerged.
Chief nurse Rose Naylor said that short-term absences in healthcare ‘can put services and staff under pressure’ and that the government was working to ensure minimal disruption for patients.
She revealed that, of the 2,462 people employed by the department, 117 were absent due to sickness, a figure which included staff off because of Covid.
‘We have support for additional staffing when required, through the [Health Department] bank for registered staff and healthcare assistants,’ she said.
‘These staff are familiar with the organisation and can work across most areas. Bank staff often support short-term unexpected absence and high levels of activity.
‘Support is also provided by agency nurses and midwives, who generally cover areas with vacancies. They work with [the department] for a period of time and are key members of the team.’
The JEP has asked the government for a breakdown of the staff absences within the department but was told this would not be possible, as it would ‘risk identifying individuals’ owing to the numbers being ‘small’ across different teams.
Ms Naylor said: ‘HCS also engages locum cover, usually to support vacancies and long-term absence. Roles covered by locums include doctors and allied health professionals and, as with nurses and midwives, these are qualified, registered and regulated professionals with appropriate training.
‘In terms of our overall vacancies, [the department] ended 2021 with more staff in post than at the start of the year and we continue to recruit more people than leave the organisation, which is really positive.’
She added: ‘Staff are our most valuable resource and work very hard to support Islanders, sometimes in very challenging physical environments and conditions.
‘We are very proud of the care delivered today and throughout the pandemic by staff from [the department] and from the wider health and care sector in Jersey.’
