Figures show that tens of thousands of doctors and nurses are off sick because of coronavirus as the NHS tries to cope with more virus patients than ever before.

The British Medical Association has called for all health and care staff to be vaccinated by the end of the month to protect workers and prevent the NHS being overwhelmed. The call coincides with data indicating that across England, the virus accounts for almost half of staff absences - 46,378 out of a total of 95,452. Reports claim that the figure is as high as 58 per cent in London and the southeast, whose hospitals are under the most strain.

At the Royal London Hospital surgeons have volunteered to do basic patient care tasks to help intensive care nurses look after patients. While London and the southeast have 58 per cent of absences linked to the virus, no region in England is below 40 per cent.

Hospital leaders have warned the shortages mean patients may have to wait longer for care and will put more strain on existing staff who are already seeing the numbers of patients in their care stretched to unsafe levels.

For the first time since April the UK’s daily deaths reached four figures, with 1,041 deaths reported on 6 January. According to the latest NHS England data, shared among hospital chiefs, there are 33,285 nurses absent from work, 16,805 of whom are linked to coronavirus.  

Speaking to The Independent, NHS Providers chief executive Chris Hopson said: “At a time when the NHS is under extraordinary pressure due to surging infection rates caused by the new variant and longstanding workforce shortages, these absences add significantly to the challenges trusts are facing. This can, despite the best efforts of frontline staff, translate into longer waits for care and significant pressure on those staff that are working.”