Almost 300 staff at the University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (UHBW) are off sick this week with Covid, according to NHS figures.

Though the number ranks among the least affected hospitals across the UK, Covid cases among staff has doubled in recent weeks inside Weston's main health facility.

Earlier this month UHBW declared an internal critical incident following a continued rise of Omicron Covid cases in the area.

Lateral-Flow-Tests-To-Stay-Free-Says-Minister-Amid-8e3dc4f

The national medical director for the NHS has told the Mercury that its key workers are not machines and being fully vaccinated can ease pressure on NHS services.

Professor Stephen Powis said: “Omicron has increased the number of people in hospital with covid at the same time as drastically reducing the number of staff who are able to work.

“Despite this, once again, NHS staff pulled out all the stops to keep services going for patients – there have been record numbers of life-threatening ambulance call outs, we have vaccinated thousands of people each day and that is on top of delivering routine care and continuing to recover the backlog.

“But staff are not machines and with the number of covid absences almost doubling over the last fortnight and frontline NHS colleagues determined to get back to providing even more routine treatments, it is vital that the public plays their part to help the NHS by getting your booster vaccine, if you have not already."

In total, 273 staff members at UHBW are currently off with Covid which makes up just two per cent of its 11,522 workers.

The NHS continues to ask residents with health problems to call 111 if the matter is not life-threatening.