Crackdown on hospital staff sickies

A crackdown on sick leave among NHS workers in Wolverhampton will be rolled out after a pilot scheme saved tens of thousands of pounds in just two months.

The trial has been hailed as a "great success" after slashing absence rates from 5.08 per cent in March to 4.53 per cent in May, saving £55,087.

The March figure, equal to around 250 sick days a month, cost Royal Wolverhampton Hospitals Trust a staggering £779,112.

The trust, which runs New Cross Hospital in Wednesfield, has a target of 3.74 per cent or 187 sick days.

Human resources director Diane Wilding said some departments - including accidents and emergency and surgery – had shown an increase in absence rates but most had dropped significantly.

"Whilst some results are mixed to date, the overall impact of the system has been positive.

It is therefore proposed that the system is now rolled out across the trust with regular monthly evaluation of the benefits," she said.

"The benefits of reducing sickness absence speak for themselves in relation to both our patients and colleagues."

As part of the scheme, nurses telephone workers who call in sick with conditions such as stress and bad backs, offering them fast-track treatment and counselling. It was hoped the "early intervention" approach would drive down sickness levels.

An IT system alerting managers to staff who have called in sick has also formed part of the pilot.

The call-back pilot initially covered New Cross's accident and emergency, portering and critical care and includes the wards D5 and D6 and cardiology.

Mrs Wilding added that reducing absence rates would also help the trust achieve its aim of slashing the number of expensive agency staff used.

The trust employs almost 5,000 people and, as of the end of February, the sickness level was 5.27 per cent. The Strategic Health Authority has a target of 3.74 per cent. Chief executive David Loughton said bosses were constantly working to improve staff sickness levels.

He said: "The trust is committed to supporting increased attendance, strengthening its management processes and ensuring early intervention and that appropriate pathways are in place to protect the welfare of its staff."

Between April 2011 and March 2012, the trust spent around £3.4 million on agency cover staff.

But from March to April this year, bosses managed to cut the amount paid out to agencies down by more than £70,000.