- FoI Number
- 2024-432
- Subject
- Long Covid
- Date Received
- 23/10/2024
- Request and Response
-
- How many staff members have had their contracts ended due to ill health since March 2020? (please specify by year) How many since the implementation of the policy to reduce sickness absence was announced in June 2024?
YEAR
No of Employees
2020/21
0
2021/22
0
2022/23
<5
2023/24
<5
2024/25 to date
<5
Where we have provided <5 answers this is because NHS Shetland considers that providing more specific information carries a high risk of identifying (or disclosing information about) individual patients. As such and in accordance with FOISA s 16(1), NHS Shetland confirms that it holds the information requested but that it is exempt from disclosure under FOISA s 38(1)(b) as read with s 38 (2A) as the information constitutes personal data and disclosure would breach the confidentiality of the data subjects.
- How many of these were since the end of the Long Covid special leave policy in Sept 2022?
Zero
- How many of these staff members had "complications of covid" (or "long covid" or "post-covid sequelae") as the reason for ill health?
Zero
- How many staff members have successfully applied for ill health retirement?
<5
Where we have provided <5 answers this is because NHS Shetland considers that providing more specific information carries a high risk of identifying (or disclosing information about) individual patients. As such and in accordance with FOISA s 16(1), NHS Shetland confirms that it holds the information requested but that it is exempt from disclosure under FOISA s 38(1)(b) as read with s 38 (2A) as the information constitutes personal data and disclosure would breach the confidentiality of the data subjects.
- How many of these were for long covid? (please specify by year)
Zero
- What is the comparable dismissal rate for the 4 years prior to March 2020?
In terms of dismissal for ill health – the rate remains much the same over the previous 4 years with it being slightly higher for 2018/19
- How many of the staff dismissed had a return to work with reasonable adjustments as per Society of Occupational Medicine policy guidelines for return to work with long covid?
Nil, as none requested this
- Does your NHS regional board provide a long covid service run by a doctor with specialist expertise in long covid (as per the SIGN/NICE guidelines)?
Not specifically, dealt with in-house as part of Occupational Health services
- How many patients have been diagnosed with Long Covid or other autonomic nervous system disorders since March 2020 (please specify by year). How many have been treated in your NHS region? How many have been referred to NHS England for treatment?
We can provide numbers of patients with a diagnosis of long covid only for admitted patients. Patients who are managed within primary care do not have this diagnosis made, nor do we apply diagnosis codes to outpatients.
For inpatients, we record diagnoses according to the International Classification of Disease, using version 10 of their catalogue, so-called ICD 10. In that catalogue we are searching for ICD 10 code U074. Please return to us if you would want different or additional codes to be included in our search. In that context, we have <5 patients with a diagnosis of u074 in the time period specified.
No patient has been referred onwards to NHS England for long covid.
Similarly with peripheral autonomic neuropathy, we can report only for patients who are admitted. In this instance we are searching for ICD 10 code G900. Please return to us if you require different or additional codes to be included in our search. In that context, there was no patient with that diagnosis in the time period specified.
