NHS Orkney to investigate high staff sickness levels

Anxiety, stress, depression and musculoskeletal issues are behind high levels of sickness absence at NHS Orkney.

The health authority is now rated tenth out of the 14 NHS boards in Scotland, and work is underway to try and figure out the reasons for this.

The issue came up at a meeting of the NHS Orkney Board on Thursday, February 23, as did the high spend on hiring agency staff to cover staff shortages.

One of the questions that needs to be answered — according to Lorraine Hall, the interim director of human resources — is whether the stress is job-related, or caused by pressures outside of the workplace.

For the full story, pick up this week’s edition of The Orcadian.