NHS managerial and clerical staff have taken less days off sick this year compared to 2009/10, official figures have shown.
Figures released by the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) show that on average infrastructure support staff took 8.4 days off sick in 2012/13.
In 2009/10 support staff took 8.8 days off but in 2011/12, support staff took less time off (8.2 days).
Managerial and clerical staff take off less time than the majority of clinicians, with nursing and health visiting staff taking 10.6 days off sick in 2012/13 on average.
Ambulance staff took the most time off, with 14.7 days in 2012/13. However, hospital doctors took the lowest number of days off, with just 2.8 days on average.
HSCIC chair Kingsley Manning said: “Today’s report offers a crucial insight into the level of sickness absence within the NHS and therefore provides a health check of the very professions which care for the sick within our society.
“As the NHS is one of the biggest employers in this country, this data is absolutely essential for health service employers locally and nationally, as well as the government, to gain an insight into the many staff groups that keep the health service operational 365 days of the year.”
The report showed that sickness absence was highest among the lowest-paid. Within the lowest pay band 6% of staff were ill on an average day.
The lowest rate of absence was in the highest pay band, with just 1.22% ill on the average day.
The full report is available on the Health and Social Information Centre website.
