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ESR/Workforce

Use of Recruitment Agencies

Dear FOI team,

I am writing with a Freedom of Information request regarding your trust’s use of recruitment agencies.

I would like to receive data on:

1. The current number of executives, managers, and clinical staff employed by your trust (separately for each staff category)

2. The number of executives, managers, and clinical staff hired by your trust using a recruitment agency in each of the last 5 fiscal years, separately for each staff group

3. The annual staff turnover rate for each staff group over the last 5 fiscal years. Please see the following definitions to help you in processing this request:

– Executives: Any members of top-level trust leadership, such as Chair, Chief Executive, Executive Directors (e.g., medical director, nursing director, finance director, Chief Operating Officer) responsible for overall strategy, quality, and governance.
– Managers: Senior management, such as service or care group directors, heads of nursing, clinical directors, general managers, and heads of corporate departments, typically overseeing multiple departments or an entire division, as well as Middle managers and Frontline managers, such as matrons, ward or department managers, team leaders, and service managers who manage day-to-day operations and directly supervise clinical and non-clinical teams.
– Clinical staff: Frontline clinical staff and support staff

Please let me know if there are any questions, and I look forward to your response.

Kind regards,

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Agency and Bank Staffing for Internal and External Communications

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Dear Freedom of Information Officer,

Request for Information: I request the following information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 regarding temporary worker usage for communications roles.

Definition of Scope: For the purposes of this request, “communications” refers to any function or team managed, hosted, or funded through the Trust’s structures (including work performed for Integrated Care Boards (ICBs), regional partnerships, or shared service models) that encompasses:

Internal or external communications functions;

Media relations or the Press Office;

Social media management and digital content;

Marketing and brand management (where these sit within the communications structure).

Definition of Personnel: For the purposes of this request, the term “agency” refers to all temporary or non-permanent staff, including those engaged via an external recruitment agency, a Managed Service Provider (MSP), or the Trust’s internal “Staff Bank” where such an arrangement exists.

Timing and Cooperation: To ensure the data provided is accurate and aligned with your internal reporting cycles, I am happy to allow the necessary time for your teams to complete the December 2025 (Month 9) month-end close before running these reports. I recognise that the holiday period may impact administrative capacity and I seek a collaborative approach to ensure the provision of a complete and reconciled dataset.

Please provide the following data:

1. 2025/26 Actuals and Outturn Forecast

1a. Provide the total number of days a temporary worker was employed via an agency or bank for the communications roles defined above from 1 April 2025 to the end of the December 2025 (Month 9) reporting period. (If data is only held in hours, please provide the total hours and specify the standard working day length).

1b. Provide the current projected year-end outturn for the total number of agency/bank days for these roles for the full 2025/26 financial year (ending 31 March 2026).

1c. Provide a breakdown of these days by Agenda for Change (AfC) Band or job title.

2. 2026/27 Planned Requirements

2a. Provide the total number of days currently budgeted or forecasted for agency-provided or bank communications staff for the 2026/27 financial year.

2b. Funding and Management Qualifier: This request explicitly includes all agency and bank requirements managed or funded through the Trust, regardless of whether the end-user is the Trust itself, an ICB, or a regional partnership.

2c. Financial Qualifier: Note that I am requesting the currently held financial forecasts and draft budget allocations for 2026/27 as they exist at the time of this request. If these forecasts do not yet segment requirements by specific band, please provide the overall forecasted budget for temporary staffing within the communications function.

Public Interest and Statutory Compliance: This information is requested to ensure transparency regarding the use of public funds and the efficiency of NHS staffing structures. There is a clear and compelling public interest in disclosure regarding how authorities manage workforce budgets and their reliance on non-permanent staffing models.

Requirement for Third-Party Data: If this information is held on your behalf by a Managed Service Provider (MSP) or Master Vendor, note that under Section 3(2)(b) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, this information is deemed to be held by the public authority. I respectfully request you immediately retrieve this data from your provider to fulfill this request without delay.

Format of Response: Provide this data in a machine-readable format (Excel or CSV). Please include separate columns for: “Band/Role Title,” “Actual Days (YTD),” “Forecasted Outturn (25/26),” and “Planned Requirement (26/27).”

To ensure full compliance and avoid data processing delays, provide the requested information in a machine-readable Microsoft Excel (.xlsx) or CSV format, specifically organized into separate columns for Role Title, Actual Days (YTD), Forecasted Outturn (25/26), and Planned Requirement (26/27).

Cost of Compliance If you estimate the cost of compliance will exceed the statutory limit, please prioritize the data for Section 1 (2025/26). Under Section 16, please advise how I might refine the remainder of the request to bring it within the limit.

Yours faithfully,

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Workforce Management Solutions

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Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, I would like to request the following information relating to the Trust’s workforce management solutions, covering the financial years 2020/21 through to 2025/26 (projected).

To avoid any doubt or misinterpretation when responding to this request, please refer to the following definitions:

‘Workforce Management Solutions’ refers to all tools, systems, processes, or platforms used by Trust to plan, deploy, manage, record, analyse, or support the workforce, including both clinical and non-clinical staff

‘Digital Workforce Management Solutions’ refers specifically to software-based systems used by the Trust to manage any part of the above workforce lifecycle

‘Substantive staff’ are defined by NHS Digital as: Employees who hold a permanent contract of employment with the NHS organisation, or who are employed on a fixed-term contract directly by the organisation, and are recorded in the Electronic Staff Record

Bank staff: employees working via the Trust’s internal staff bank

Locum staff: temporary medical or AHP workers directly engaged by the Trust

Agency staff: temporary workers supplied via external agencies
For the purpose of this request, ‘shift fill rate (%)’ refers to the percentage of shifts filled out of the total number of shifts requested (i.e., number of shifts filled ÷ number of shifts requested × 100).
Please provide answers on the attached and accompanying spreadsheet
1. Please could you supply the name, email address and telephone number of the individual responsible for procuring digital workforce solutions within the Trust.
2. Please provide details of all digital workforce management systems currently used by the Trust. For each system, complete the table attached on the accompanying spreadsheet with all relevant information. Please provide the requested information in the columns as fully as possible. If a field is not applicable, please indicate ‘NA’.
Guidance for completion:
– Solution: e.g., E-rostering, Staff Bank, Locum Management, Agency Management, Compliance, Payments, Integrated Platform
– Supplier: Name of the company or provider of the system
– Procurement Route: e.g., direct award, framework call-off, open tender, G-Cloud, SBS, HSSF, other. Name of framework if the system was procured through one
-Contract Start: Enter the official contract commencement date for the system
-Contract End: Please enter the official contract end date for the current agreement. If the contract includes automatic extensions, option years, or renewal clauses, please list the scheduled end date of the current term, rather than the potential maximum duration
-Renewal Status: e.g., rolling contract, fixed-term with remaining duration, under review
3. Across each of these staff groups, HCHS Doctors, Nurse & Health Visitors, AHPs and Others, please provide the average shift fill rate (as a percentage), from the financial years 2020/21 to 2025/26 (projected) attributable to
a. Bank staff
b. Agency staff
c. Locum staff
d. Other temporary staff
e. Permanent staff
4. Please provide the number of temporary staffing requests made by the Trust, from the financial years 2020/21 to 2025/26 (projected), broken down by staff group:
– Bank staff
– Locum staff
– Agency staff
5. Please provide the Trust’s allocated annual budget for digital and technology services, from the financial years 2020/21 to 2025/26 (projected)
(If a formal digital budget is not held as a single line, please provide the closest available equivalent recorded internally)
6. Of this overall digital/technology expenditure, please provide the Trust’s annual spend specifically on workforce management solutions, from the financial years 2020/21 to 2025/26 (projected) (including both digital systems and non digital/operational workforce management services)
(If no dedicated budget line exists, please provide the Trust’s best internal estimate)
7. Within that workforce management expenditure, from the financial years 2020/21 to 2025/26 (projected) , please provide the annual spend on digital workforce management systems, including (but not limited to) e-rostering, bank systems, agency management systems, job planning, locum management, compliance systems, payments platforms, and integrated workforce platforms
If reported across multiple contracts or cost centres, aggregated totals are acceptable
8. What is the Trust’s total spend on temporary workforce, from the financial years 2020/21 to 2025/26 (projected) by type?
– Staff banks shifts
– Locum shifts
– Agency shifts
9. Please provide the total number of vacancies (FTE) within the Trust, broken down by staff group, from the financial years 2020/21 to 2025/26 (projected)
– HCHS Doctors
– Nurses & Health Visitors
– AHPs
– Others

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Sick Leave Data

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Dear Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust,

I would please like to know, in each of the last three years for which you have data:

1) The number of staff employed by the trust

2) The total number of days of sick leave taken by staff who took paternity leave in the preceding 12 months

3) The total number of days of sick leave taken by all staff across the trust

If you are unable to provide all this data, please provide it for only the most recent full year for which you have data.

Yours faithfully,

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Sick Days / Paternity Leave

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in each of the last three years for which you have data:

1) The number of staff employed by the trust

2) The total number of days of sick leave taken by staff who took paternity leave in the preceding 12 months

3) The total number of days of sick leave taken by all staff across the trust

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Direct Engagement (AHP) Provider

Dear FOI Officer,

Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, I am writing to request the following information:

Provider 1
1. What is the name of your AHP Direct Engagement software provider? (None if software not used)
2. When did the contract for this provider start? (dd/mm/yyyy) (None if software not used)
3. When does the contract for this provider expire? (dd/mm/yyyy) (None if software not used)

Provider 2 (If applicable)
4. What is the name of your second AHP Direct Engagement software provider? (If you have more than one provider)
5. When did the contract for this second provider start? (dd/mm/yyyy)
6. When does the contract for this second provider expire? (dd/mm/yyyy)

Provider 3 (If applicable)
7. What is the name of your third AHP Direct Engagement software provider? (If you have more than one provider)
8. When did the contract for this third provider start? (dd/mm/yyyy)
9. When does the contract for this third provider expire? (dd/mm/yyyy)

Additional
10. What was the Trust’s total spend on AHP Direct Engagement fees in 2024 (excluding implementation)?
11. What was the Trust’s total spend on AHP Direct Engagement fees in 2025 (excluding implementation)?

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Collaborative Bank (AHP) Provider

Dear FOI Officer,

Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, I am writing to request the following information:

Provider 1
1. What is the name of your AHP Collaborative Bank software provider? (None if software not used)
2. When did the contract for this provider start? (dd/mm/yyyy) (None if software not used)
3. When does the contract for this provider expire? (dd/mm/yyyy) (None if software not used)

Provider 2 (If applicable)
4. What is the name of your second AHP Collaborative Bank software provider? (If you have more than one provider)
5. When did the contract for this second provider start? (dd/mm/yyyy)
6. When does the contract for this second provider expire? (dd/mm/yyyy)

Provider 3 (If applicable)
7. What is the name of your third AHP Collaborative Bank software provider? (If you have more than one provider)
8. When did the contract for this third provider start? (dd/mm/yyyy)
9. When does the contract for this third provider expire? (dd/mm/yyyy)

Additional
10. What was the Trust’s total spend on AHP Collaborative Bank fees in 2024 (excluding implementation)?
11. What was the Trust’s total spend on AHP Collaborative Bank fees in 2025 (excluding implementation)?

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Internal Bank (Medics) Provider

Dear FOI Officer,

Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, I am writing to request the following information:

Provider 1
1. What is the name of your Medics Internal Bank software provider? (None if software not used)
2. When did the contract for this provider start? (dd/mm/yyyy) (None if software not used)
3. When does the contract for this provider expire? (dd/mm/yyyy) (None if software not used)

Provider 2 (If applicable)
4. What is the name of your second Medics Internal Bank software provider? (If you have more than one provider)
5. When did the contract for this second provider start? (dd/mm/yyyy)
6. When does the contract for this second provider expire? (dd/mm/yyyy)

Provider 3 (If applicable)
7. What is the name of your third Medics Internal Bank software provider? (If you have more than one provider)
8. When did the contract for this third provider start? (dd/mm/yyyy)
9. When does the contract for this third provider expire? (dd/mm/yyyy)

Additional
10. What was the Trust’s total spend on Medics Internal Bank fees in 2024 (excluding implementation)?
11. What was the Trust’s total spend on Medics Internal Bank fees in 2025 (excluding implementation)?

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Collaborative Bank (Nurses) Provider

Dear FOI Officer,

Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, I am writing to request the following information:

Provider 1
1. What is the name of your Nurses Collaborative Bank software provider? (None if software not used)
2. When did the contract for this provider start? (dd/mm/yyyy) (None if software not used)
3. When does the contract for this provider expire? (dd/mm/yyyy) (None if software not used)

Provider 2 (If applicable)
4. What is the name of your second Nurses Collaborative Bank software provider? (If you have more than one provider)
5. When did the contract for this second provider start? (dd/mm/yyyy)
6. When does the contract for this second provider expire? (dd/mm/yyyy)

Provider 3 (If applicable)
7. What is the name of your third Nurses Collaborative Bank software provider? (If you have more than one provider)
8. When did the contract for this third provider start? (dd/mm/yyyy)
9. When does the contract for this third provider expire? (dd/mm/yyyy)
Additional

10. What was the Trust’s total spend on Nurses Collaborative Bank fees in 2024 (excluding implementation)?
11. What was the Trust’s total spend on Nurses Collaborative Bank fees in 2025 (excluding implementation)?

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E-Rostering (Nurses) Provider

Dear FOI Officer,

Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, I am writing to request the following information:

Provider 1
1. What is the name of your Nurses E-Rostering software provider? (None if software not used)
2. When did the contract for this provider start? (dd/mm/yyyy) (None if software not used)
3. When does the contract for this provider expire? (dd/mm/yyyy) (None if software not used)

Provider 2 (If applicable)
4. What is the name of your second Nurses E-Rostering software provider? (If you have more than one provider)
5. When did the contract for this second provider start? (dd/mm/yyyy)
6. When does the contract for this second provider expire? (dd/mm/yyyy)

Provider 3 (If applicable)
7. What is the name of your third Nurses E-Rostering software provider? (If you have more than one provider)
8. When did the contract for this third provider start? (dd/mm/yyyy)
9. When does the contract for this third provider expire? (dd/mm/yyyy)

Additional
10. What was the Trust’s total spend on Nurses E-Rostering fees in 2024 (excluding implementation)?
11. What was the Trust’s total spend on Nurses E-Rostering fees in 2025 (excluding implementation)?
12. What is the number of contracted licences for Trust’s Nurses E-Rostering provider?

Kind regards,

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Collaborative Bank (Admin and Clerical) Provider

,

Dear FOI Officer,

Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, I am writing to request the following information:

Provider 1
1. What is the name of your Admin and Clerical Collaborative Bank software provider? (None if software not used)
2. When did the contract for this provider start? (dd/mm/yyyy) (None if software not used)
3. When does the contract for this provider expire? (dd/mm/yyyy) (None if software not used)

Provider 2 (If applicable)
4. What is the name of your second Admin and Clerical Collaborative Bank software provider? (If you have more than one provider)
5. When did the contract for this second provider start? (dd/mm/yyyy)
6. When does the contract for this second provider expire? (dd/mm/yyyy)

Provider 3 (If applicable)
7. What is the name of your third Admin and Clerical Collaborative Bank software provider? (If you have more than one provider)
8. When did the contract for this third provider start? (dd/mm/yyyy)
9. When does the contract for this third provider expire? (dd/mm/yyyy)

Additional
10. What was the Trust’s total spend on Admin and Clerical Collaborative Bank fees in 2024 (excluding implementation)?
11. What was the Trust’s total spend on Admin and Clerical Collaborative Bank fees in 2025 (excluding implementation)?

Kind regards,

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Appraisals (Medics) Provider

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Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, I am writing to request the following information:

1. What is the name of your Medics Appraisals software provider? (None if software not used)

2. What is the name of your second Medics Appraisals software provider? (If you have more than one software provider)

3. When did the contract for your Medics Appraisals software provider start? (dd/mm/yyyy) (None if software not used)

4. When does the contract for your Medics Appraisals software provider expire? (dd/mm/yyyy) (None if software not used)

5. When did the contract for your second Medics Appraisals software provider start? (dd/mm/yyyy) (If you have more than one software provider)

6. When does the contract for your second Medics Appraisals software provider expire? (dd/mm/yyyy) (If you have more than one software provider)

7. What was the Trust’s total spend on Medics Appraisals fees in 2024 – not incl. implementation?

8. What was the Trust’s total spend on Medics Appraisals fees in 2025 – not incl. implementation?

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Sickness Absence – 2024

, , ,

I would like to make a Freedom of Information Act request for the following information

Please provide:
– What is the distribution of sickness absence days amongst your organisation’s workforce by percentile?
– A breakdown of sickness absence in your organisation in 2024 by grade and function
– Details of what measures, interventions and support has your organisation provided to reduce sickness absence.
– A copy of your HR policies relating to sickness absence

If possible I would welcome this in a CSV file or similar (except for the policies which I would welcome in PDF or word ideally)

If any of the above needs clarification I would be more than happy to provide clarification.

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Workforce Systems

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I would like to make a request under Freedom of Information Act relating to Medics workforce systems
Please respond to the following questions
1. Which software provider does the Trust use for junior doctors rotas software
2. Which software provider does the Trust use for medics rostering software
3. Which software provider does the Trust use for medics job planning software
4. Which software provider does the Trust use for direct engagement management of medical locums software
5. Which software provider does the Trust use for master vendor management software
6. Which software provider does the Trust use for medics temporary staff management software
7. What was the annual cost for the Trust’s junior doctors rota software in the last FY
8. What was the annual cost for the Trust’s medics rostering software in the last FY
9. What was the annual cost for the Trust’s medics job planning software in the last FY
10. What is the contractual end date of your current junior doctors rota software
11. What is the contractual end date of your current medics rostering software
12. What is the contractual end date of your current direct engagement software
13. What is the contractual end date of your current medics job planning software
14. What is the contractual end date of your current medics temporary staff management software
15. What is the contractual end date of your current master vendor management software

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Employee Ages

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I’m looking to find out how many people your trust employs in all capacities who are aged over 70, over 80 and over 90 years old. Please can I have the figures for each of these age bands?

And can you please tell me how many people the trust employs overall? (Of all ages and in all capacities).

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Permanent Medical Recruitment

I am writing to request the following information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 in relation to permanent medical recruitment at your Trust:

1. A list of all permanent medical vacancies (e.g., Consultant or Specialty Doctor level) that have been advertised but remain unfilled, including the relevant specialties, over the past 12 months.
2. The number of permanent medical appointments made by the Trust during the same 12-month period.
3. The name, job title, and contact email address of the person who oversees and is responsible for all permanent medical recruitment across the Trust.

This request is made for research and planning purposes only and is not promotional in nature.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if any part of the request requires clarification.

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Master / Neutral Vendor and E-Roster Platforms

Please can you provide me with the following information:

• Do you use a master or neutral vendor for your supply of Medical Staff (Doctors – all grades)?
• If yes, please supply the name of the master or neutral vendor
• When does the contract expire?

• What is the name of the e-rostering platform that you use to support with medical staff rosters e.g. RL Datix, Rotageek etc
• When does the contract expire?

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Registered Nursing Recruitment

I would like to make a request under the Freedom of Information Act.

Please supply information on registered nursing recruitment at your trust over the last two financial years 2023-24 and 2024-25, and the months since the start of the 2025-26 financial year, answering the following questions:

1. Are there currently, or have there been any recruitment freezes in place affecting solely, or including, the registered nurse workforce [i.e band 5 and up] in the last two financial years, and/or up to present day?
I. If yes, have any of these recruitment freezes specifically targeted at entry level band 5 nurses [i.e: registered nurses on the starting pay point of band 5]?
II. If yes, please provide the timeframes and reason for the freezes.

2. How many band 5 registered nurse vacancies do you currently have at your trust?

3. How many entry-level band 5 domestically trained/recruited nurses have you recruited at your trust during the last two years? [Please also detail separately any internationally recruited nurses you have taken on in same time period]

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Number of Community Nurses

I am currently writing an essay as part of my master’s degree and I have a question that I am trying to find an answer to: number of community nurses working for the Integrated Care Teams.
If you have even a rough estimate I would be so grateful if you could let me know.

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Consultant Posts

Under the Freedom of Information Act, can you please supply for your NHS board:

● The total number of consultant-level doctors you currently have [WTE or equivalent]
● The total number of vacant consultant-level doctor posts you currently have [WTE or equivalent]

Please also supply:

● The total number of consultant-level posts substantially filled by agency locums for more than 6 months [WTE or equivalent]
● The total spend on agencies for locum consultants (both framework and non-framework) for the 2024/25 financial year [£s]
● Any existing or planned controls on recruitment of medical staff in 2025/26 [free text]

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Clinical Vacancy Rates

Please can you provide the current vacancy rates for the bellow staffing groups-

• Medical
• Nursing and Healthcare Assistants
• Scientific, Therapeutic and Technical (STT) and Allied Health Professionals (AHPs)
• Healthcare Scientists
• Administrative and Support Staff

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Doctors Ethnic Groups – Bands – Complaints

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1. How many doctors work for your trust? By the term doctor, I mean those who treat patients, not those with a PhD, and/or who are not clinicians.
2. Break these into their ethnic groups and their corresponding grades e.g., white, black, Asian or whichever way you ethnically monitor your staff. If, for example, positions have fewer than five doctors in their grade and ethnicity, please use an asterisk and explain there are fewer than five.
3. Provide a key to explain your grading system e.g. lowest to the highest band or vice versa.
4. In the following years, how many complaints did you receive about doctors under MHPS during the following years? 1 Jan-31 Dec 2021; 1 Jan-31 Dec 2022; 1 Jan-31 Dec 2023; 1 Jan-31 Dec 2024.
5. Please break these down into ethnic groups e.g., white, black, Asian or whichever way you record your data for the corresponding years. If your numbers are fewer than five, then use an asterisk.
6. Of these complaints, how many resulted in your investigating them? Please list these in the corresponding years.
7. Please break these down into ethnic groups e.g., white, black, Asian or whichever way you record your data for the corresponding years. If your numbers are fewer than five, then use an asterisk.
8. Of these investigations, how many resulted in a sanction, adverse judgement or other disciplinary action? Please be clear about what the sanction was. Please list these in the corresponding years.
9. Please break these down into ethnic groups e.g., white, black, Asian or whichever way you record your data for the corresponding years. If your numbers are fewer than five, then use an asterisk.
10. Of all complaints how many resulted in a doctor being suspended during the inquiry? Please list these in the corresponding years.
11. Please break these down into ethnic groups e.g., white, black, Asian or whichever way you record your data for the corresponding years. If your numbers are fewer than five, then use an asterisk.
12. Of all the complaints how many did you refer the doctor to the GMC? Please list these in the corresponding years.
13. Please break these into ethnic groups e.g., white, black, Asian or whichever way you record your data for the corresponding years. If your numbers are fewer than five, then use an asterisk.
14. During your considering complaints, what is the average length of your investigations?
15. Please give the average length of your considering a complaint in terms of ethnic groups e.g., white, black, Asian or whichever way you record your data. If your numbers are fewer than five, then use an asterisk.

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Sick Days Taken by Nurses

This is an information request relating to sick days taken by nurses

Please include the following information for the following financial years: 2021/22, 2022/23, 2023/24, and 2024/25:

– Total number of days lost due to sick leave taken by NHS Nurses
– The total number of NHS nurses who took sick leave
– Total number of days lost to Mental Health issues taken by NHS nurses
– The total number of nurses who required sickness absence on mental health grounds
– The number of NHS nurses taking more than seven days of absence without a sick note
– The total number of days lost in excess of the seven days.

For example, if an individual has taken off 10 days without a sick note, then this would be 3 days in excess of the seven days

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