Healthcare authorities again reported a higher percentage of absenteeism among staff in the fall. Where the absenteeism percentage was 6.28 percent in September, this rose to 7.22 percent in October, according to knowledge network in the field of absenteeism Vernet.
In August, the absenteeism percentage was 5.73 percent. From March, the start of the corona pandemic, health authorities reported higher absenteeism rates without exception than in 2019.
In October, approximately 67,000 employees from hospitals and institutions for mental health care and from care for the disabled and from care, nursing and home care were not available every day. In total, according to Vernet, about 930,000 people work in these sectors. Academic hospitals were not included in the study. The figures also exclude employees who were in home quarantine or were waiting for a test result because of the corona outbreak.
One reason for the rising figures, according to Vernet, is the extra pressure on health care personnel due to the second corona wave. “The pressure on employees was already high before the pandemic. And this absenteeism is only taking it further. Because if half of the staff in a department is sick or has to be quarantined, what do you think the other half happens? “
Vernet’s research covers about 80 percent of employees in Dutch hospitals, academic hospitals excluded. From the care of the disabled and mental health care about 70 to 75 percent of the employees were included in the study and from the nursing home and home care about 55 percent. A spokesperson for Vernet cannot say which healthcare institutions provided data for the research.
By: ANP
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