Yahoo News More than 2,200 Hull NHS staff take time off for mental health issues since 2021
Over 2,200 staff at Hull's NHS trust have taken at least one day off work due to mental health issues since 2021.
Data obtained by a Legal Expert Freedom of Information request found that Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust has seen 2,229 staff members take absence due to mental health reasons including, depression, anxiety, and stress.
Despite the local figures being worrying, this is not simply a Hull issue. The equivalent of a week off work was taken by every single one of the health service’s 350k nurses last year due to stress, anxiety and depression, analysis of new NHS England data shows.
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However, the glimmer of hope for the NHS Trust is that the total number of mental health related staff absences has been falling year-on-year since 2021. For Hull, the figures stand at 786 for 2021/22, 730 for 2022/23 and 713 for 2024/24.
A spokesperson for NHS Humber Health Partnership said: "Mental health issues are the most common cause of staff absence within the NHS nationally. We are pleased to see the number of staff taking time off work due to mental health issues at Hull Hospitals has reduced by ten per cent in the last two years.
"With a workforce of almost 11,000 staff across Hull Royal Infirmary and Castle Hill Hospital, some mental health related absence is inevitable, but we are committed to helping staff prevent and manage issues as far as possible through preventative practice and ongoing health and wellbeing support.
"We provide access to a full range of staff support services for both work and non-work-related issues which include counselling, talking therapies, wellbeing support and pastoral care, and many of these are available to staff round-the-clock."
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