26.10.16
NHS support staff continue to have highest sickness absence rate
Sickness absences affected healthcare assistants and other support staff more than any other group of NHS staff in April-June 2016, the latest figures from NHS Digital show.
In the previous quarter, healthcare assistants overtook ambulance staff for the rate of sickness absences, with a 6.5% aggregated sickness absence rate.
In April-June, healthcare assistants continued to have the highest rate, at 6%, followed by ambulance staff at 5.08% and nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff at 4.58%. However, sickness absence rates for all these groups had fallen slightly compared to the same period in 2015.
The figures also illustrate the high disparity between different professional groups. Nursing, midwifery and health visiting learners had the lowest rate at 0.93%, which was also a slight fall from the previous year, followed by medical and dental staff at 1.22%.
Medical and dental staff, administration and estates, healthcare scientists and scientific, therapeutic and technical staff all had a slight rise in their sickness rates.
The overall sickness rate was 3.93%, almost exactly the same as in April-June 2015, when it was 3.94%.
Sickness absence rates were also highest in the north. Sickness absence was at 4.54% in the North West Health Education England (HEE) region, 4.46% in the North East, and 4.29% in the Yorkshire and Humber.
In contrast, London had the lowest sickness rates, at 3.11% for the North West London HEE region, 3.15% for North Central and East London, and 3.36% for South London.
Ambulance trusts were the type of organisation with the highest sickness absence rate, at 5%, followed by mental health and learning disability trusts (4.5%) and community trusts (4.35%).
Commissioning support units had the lowest rate at 2.6%, followed by CCGs at 2.63%.
The latest annual NHS Staff Survey found that 37% of NHS staff reported feeling unwell due to work-related stress in the past year.
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