Freedom of Information request Staff Sickness 2020 to 2025 & Agency Usage

Freedom of Information Request – Ref: GHC-29102025-571356

Thank you for your recent Freedom of Information request. Please find our response below.

You asked:

1. General sickness absence from 2020-2025:

– The total number of staff sickness absence days taken each year, broken down by year from 2020-2025.

Our response:

You asked:

2. Categorisation of sickness absence:

a.  Does your organisation code sickness absences by specific category or reason (e.g. ‘mental health’, ‘burnout’, ‘flu’, ‘musculoskeletal issues’)?

Our response:

Yes

You asked:

b.  If yes, please provide the breakdown for each recorded sickness category for each year in the five-year period (2020-2025).

Our response:

You asked:

c.  If such categorisations have changed over time, please indicate when changes to categories or coding were implemented.

Our response:

No changes.

You asked:

3. Locum and agency staff usage from 2020-2025:

a. The total number of locum or agency staff engaged in each year of the five-year period (2020-2025).

Our response:

Our information held is not recorded in a way that allows us to report on the number of locum or agency staff engaged.  We can provide total number of shifts for the more recent years as agreed. see below:

You asked:

b.  If records permit, please detail the total expenditure on locum or agency staff for each year.

Please note that while the reporting categories themselves remain unchanged, improvements in reporting standards have led to increased declarations under Section 10.  This is primarily due to a shift from previous use of Sections 98/99, as well as transition towards more accurate classification of cases as stress/anxiety rather than “unknown”.

You asked:

c.  If possible, please indicate whether the use of locum/agency staff was linked to covering staff sickness absences.

Our response:

Our information held is not recorded in a way that allows us to report whether it was linked to staff sickness absences.

Next steps:

Should you have any queries in relation to our response, please do not hesitate to contact us. If you are unhappy with the response you have received in relation to your request and wish to ask us to review our response, you should write to:

Louise Moss
Head of Legal Services / Associate Director of Corporate Governance
c/o Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust
Edward Jenner Court
1010 Pioneer Avenue
Gloucester Business Park
Brockworth, GL3 4AW
E-mail: louise.moss@ghc.nhs.uk

If you are not content with the outcome of any review, you may apply directly to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) for further advice/guidance. Generally, the ICO will not consider your case unless you have exhausted your enquiries with the Trust which should include considering the use of the Trust’s formal complaints procedure. The ICO can be contacted at: The Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF.