FOI 26-035 Nursing Staff Sickness
Freedom of Information Request
- Reference
- FOI 26-035 Nursing Staff Sickness
- Request Date
- 16 Jan 2026
- Response Date
- 29 Jan 2026
- Information Requested
Information request on behalf of the Royal College of Nursing. This relates specifically to NHS nursing staff sickness absence.
- Please provide the following information in relation to nursing* staff sickness absence within the NHS Board for each of thefinancial years2024/25 and 2025/26 year to date at 31 December 2025: The number by sickness absence reasons for:
- a) sickness absence episodes
- b) working days lost
- c) number of staff absent
2) Please provide the following information in relation to Agenda for Change bands 5-9 nursing* staff sickness absence within the NHS Board for each of the financial years 2024/25 and 2025/26 year to date at 31 December 2025: The number by sickness absence reasons for: a) sickness absence episodes b) working days lost c) number of staff absent
3) Please provide the following information in relation to Agenda for Change bands 2-4 nursing* staff sickness absence within the NHS Board for each of the financial years 2024/25 and 2025/26 year to date at 31 December 2025: The number by sickness absence reasons for: a) sickness absence episodes b) working days lost c) number of staff absent
- Please provide the sickness absence rate for nursing staff in the NHS Boardat31 March for each of the financial years 2024/25 and 2025/26 year to date at 31 December 2025 for a) all nursing staff b) Agenda for Change bands 5-9 and c) Agenda for Change bands 2-4. *Note: In providing this information for nursing, please exclude from the nursing and midwifery job family, the sub job families for midwifery, e.g. midwifery and neonatal midwifery. If you can provide the data in Excel format please.
- Response
The wellbeing of our hardworking staff is a key priority for the Service, and we have put additional measures in place and increased support over the last year in line with our Health and Wellbeing Strategy. We have also been working in partnership with key hospital sites to reduce delays in patient handover.
We are thankful to all our staff, who have been doing an incredible job in very difficult circumstances. In addition, over the last 3 years, we’ve recruited a record 1,388 staff, introduced 52 additional ambulances, aligned shift patterns to meet patient demand and expanded into 10 new locations as part of our Demand and Capacity Programme.
Please find the table below showing the number of nursing staff recorded as absent between 1 April 2024 and 31 December 2025, broken down into financial year. For 2025/26 this is shown a partial financial year.
Financial Year
Employee Count (Absence)
All Sickness Duration Hours
2024 - 2025
44
6,659
2025 – 2026*
28
4,900
We are not able to break the information down by Agenda for Change band as this variable is not included in our data for reporting sickness absence.
*2025 is to 31 December 2025 only.
