26 April 2023 , 23:01
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Staff sickness rates are at the highest for two decades, data shows.
The surge has been blamed on record NHS backlogs under the Tories.
Health-linked absences rose 2.6% in 2022, a rise of 0.4% from 2021.
A record 185.6 million working days were lost because of sickness or injury in 2022, Office for National Statistics analysis of the UK Labour Force Survey found.
With around a fifth of the population on NHS waiting lists, the ONS found all ages put in more sicknotes.
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Total illness days for those with long-term conditions hit a record 105 million.
Lost earnings linked to long-term sickness in 2021 cost the economy £43billion, the Institute for Public Policy Research estimates.
Liberal Democrat health spokeswoman Daisy Cooper said: “Behind these figures are millions waiting in pain.
Highest rates of sickness absence were among women, older workers and those with long-term conditions (Getty Images)“People cannot see their GP, dental practices are closing to NHS patients, pharmacies are closing and waits for hospital treatment are through the roof.
“It is no wonder people have no choice but to take time off work. Patients are paying the price for this Government’s failure to invest in public health. By running the NHS into the ground, they are ruining the economy too.”
The highest rates of sickness absence were among women, older workers and those with long-term conditions.
ONS head of labour data David Freeman said: “Sickness absence rose in 2022, so the proportion of working hours lost was the highest since 2004.
“It dropped to its lowest at the start of the pandemic, as lockdown and furloughing reduced exposure to minor illnesses.” Former chief medical officer for England Prof Dame Sally Davies, now chair of the IPPR commission, said: “We now know the UK does worse on health than most comparable countries - and that has a tremendous cost.
“We know what policies and innovations could transform health.
“So it is mystifying why UK politicians, across all parties, have failed to take decisive action.
“Why shouldn’t Britain be the healthiest country in the world?”
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Surgeon and former health minister Lord Darzi added: “Policymakers risk being pennywise but pound foolish by focusing too much on costs and too little on the benefits of investment in health.”