NHS staff taking more sick days than ever

NHS staff are taking more time off work because of illness, with the total now close to 17m days a year.The upward trend has coincided with hospitals, GP surgeries, mental health care and ambulance services coming under intense pressure as patient demand for treatment has risen.Health service personnel in England took a total of 16,866,471 sick days off work between them in 2016, according to a House of Commons written answer from the health minister Philip Dunne.