were absent for covid related reasons on the 19th of december that s more than double the figure from a week earlier. across england trusts, 18,829 staff were absent on that same day, inclusive of the london figures. that s up 54% from a week earlier. we ve contacted nhs england for comment on how those absences could affect nhs services. let s speak to adrian boyle who was the vice president of the royal couege the vice president of the royal college of medicine. thank you for joining us today. those figures are clearly concerning for you. yes. joining us today. those figures are clearly concerning for you. yes, one ofthe clearly concerning for you. yes, one of the things clearly concerning for you. yes, one of the things we clearly concerning for you. yes, one of the things we have clearly concerning for you. yes, one of the things we have learned - clearly concerning for you. yes, one of the things we have learned with l of the things we have learned with the pandemic is what
level there s going to be very severe pressure, i think, on the health service. as covid infections continue to soar, health leaders have been warning of a looming staffing crisis. nhs workers are just as vulnerable to the highly infectious omicron variant as the rest of us, and with staff falling ill, hospitals, ambulances and community services are all being hit. the impact of staff absences is on top of existing staff shortages and normally trust leaders would be looking to fill the gaps through bank and agency staff that s getting harder to do. the latest data from nhs england shows what a dramatic impact the rise in infections is having on staff absence. on one day, the 19th of december, nearly 19,000 nhs staff in england were off work due to covid that s up by 54% when compared to the week before. the biggest increase was in london, the epicentre of this outbreak, where covid related absence,
late last year, staff in downing street were filmed asking two questions. street were filmed asking two questions- street were filmed asking two cuestions. ~ ., ~ , questions. would the prime minister condone having questions. would the prime minister condone having a questions. would the prime minister condone having a christmas - questions. would the prime minister condone having a christmas party? l condone having a christmas party? what s the answer? m50 condone having a christmas party? what s the answer? what s the answer? also late last ear, what s the answer? also late last year. covid what s the answer? also late last year. covid was what s the answer? also late last year, covid was spiralling - what s the answer? also late last year, covid was spiralling on - what s the answer? also late last| year, covid was spiralling on boris johnson had decided this. it is year, covid was spiralling on boris johnson had decided this. it is with a very heavy johnson had decided
feel so angry and upset, over and above the upset that we have already gone through. we and many thousands of families across the country. it s just as despicable and unforgivable. the first minister of scotland nicola sturgeon has given this reaction to the downing street video. well, i think there are two points that make us particularly serious. firstly, the timing of what happens. this was last christmas. the 18th and 19th of december are dates in my mind as perhaps one of, if not the lowest, darkest point in the whole pandemic. we told people that they could have some very limited normality over christmas, and then, at the very last minute, we had to snatch that way and dashed people s hopes, so i think that s what makes people so angry about what allegedly happened in downing street. i think the second issue is that when confronted with this, the prime minister appears to be not being straight and truthful about it and that really matters
another atrocity they re blaming on the regime. and it does showjust what extraordinary risks people in myanmar are willing to take to fight against the military regime, against formidable odds and what a terrible price they are being made to pay for it. for the next few minutes, we re going to look in more detail at where we re at with the downing street christmas party which took place in december 2020. late last year, staff in downing street staff were filmed asking two questions. would the prime minister condone having a christmas party? what was the answer? also late last year, covid was spiralling and borisjohnson had decided this. it is with a very heavy heart i must tell you we cannot continue with l christmas as planned. that was the 19th of december. by the 22nd, more than 10,000 covid deaths had been recorded that month.