NHS staff take record 8 million days off for stress leaving patients on waiting lists
Patients are left on waiting lists as NHS staff take sick days for their mental health, new data has revealed. It comes as doctors' strikes start this week.
NHS took off a whopping eight million sick days due to mental health last year, new numbers have revealed. It is the highest since records began in 2019 and marks a staggering 42% increase since 2020. A spokesperson for staff said the pandemic and its aftermath have put a huge strain on the healthcare workforce. In total, the NHS lost 28 million days to staff sickness in 2025, up from 21 million in 2020.
More than one in four of these, or 7.9 million, were due to "anxiety/stress/depression/other psychiatric illnesses", the Daily Mail reports. The findings come as resident doctors begin their strike as part of an ongoing pay dispute, which will cause disruption for many patients. "Taxpayers will be utterly stunned by the sheer scale of working days lost within the NHS," said Callum McGoldrick, investigations campaign manager at the TaxPayers' Alliance.
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"While genuine illness is unavoidable, absence rates have soared to record highs year after year, costing the public billions and leaving patients languishing on record waiting lists.
"Hard-working Britons in the private sector, who foot the bill for the health service, will be asking why NHS management seems completely incapable of keeping its own workforce healthy and on the job.
"Health bosses must urgently get a grip on this crisis. Every day lost is a day that should have been spent cutting the backlog."
Meanwhile, Rory Deighton, acute director at The NHS Alliance, which represents healthcare organisations, described the situation as "concerning". He said: "Health leaders are doing all they can to ensure a supportive workplace environment in often-challenging circumstances.
"The pressures posed by the pandemic and its aftermath have placed an extraordinary burden on staff, delivering increasingly complex care in the face of a relentless rise in demand."
"The very tough financial climate within and beyond the NHS, alongside the uncertainties posed by reform and redundancies, may also have played a part," he added.
"Staff are looking for coherence and hope from the Government in its approach to the health and care workforce. The forthcoming 10 Year Workforce Plan is a real opportunity to provide this."
A Department of Health spokesman said an upcoming plan will ensure that staff feel "supported, valued and able to thrive in their role." He said: "NHS staff have faced extraordinary demands, including covering sustained periods of industrial action, while continuing to deliver for patients.
"This Government is committed to making the NHS a better, healthier place to work as part of its 10 Year Health Plan – further strike action only makes that harder."
