THE NHS faces a “catastrophic staffing crisis,” unions warned today as surging Covid-19 infection rates saw worker absences jump by 59 per cent in just a week. 

Health union GMB said more than a decade of Tory austerity cuts are being exposed by the crisis, as the omicron wave adds to the pressure on a health service that was already massively short of staff before the pandemic hit. 

A total of 39,142 NHS workers at hospital trusts across England were absent for reasons related to coronavirus on January 2, more than tripling the previous month’s total, NHS England figures show.