Nursing Absences - FOI Response Register

1. Please provide the following information in relation to nursing* staff sickness absence within the NHS Board for each of the financial years 2019/20, 2020/21, 2021/22, 2022/23, and 2023/year to date:

The number by sickness absence reasons for:

a) sickness absence episodes

b) working days lost 

c) number of staff absent

Please see attached spreadsheet.

Where we have given <5 answers (and <37.5 hours), this is because NHS Shetland considers that providing more specific information carries a high risk of identifying individuals. As such and in accordance with FOISA s 16(1), NHS Shetland confirms that it holds the information requested but that it is exempt from disclosure under FOISA s 38(1)(b) as read with s 38 (2A) as the information constitutes personal data and disclosure would breach the confidentiality of the data subjects.

Note

The data includes employees with a job descriptor of ‘Nursing’ as of 31 March of each year. It excludes Midwives and Nursery staff. The data includes staff who left mid-year.

For (b), the number of working hours lost has been provided instead of days lost because all national workforce systems report absences in hours as opposed to days.

For (c), where an employee had multiple posts and they were absent in all of these posts for the same absence reason, then they have been counted as 1 member of staff. A member of staff may have had a number of absence episodes for different reasons during the financial year. Where this was the case, their episodes and working hours lost have been counted separately under each specific absence reason and they were counted as 1 for number of staff in each relevant absence reason. Where a member of staff had a consecutive absence that spanned 2 financial years, they were included in each financial year.

2. Please provide the sickness absence rate for nursing staff in the NHS Board at 31 March for each of the financial years 2019/20, 2020/21, 2021/22, 2022/23, and for 2023/24 year to date at 31 December 2023.

3. Please provide the number (headcount) of nursing staff in the NHS Board currently absent from work due to Long Covid in a) total b) Agenda for Change bands 5-9 and c) Agenda for Change bands 2-4.

AfC Bands 5-9 – none

AfC Bands 2-4 – none

*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.

Provide the data in Excel format please.

Please see attached spreadsheet.