Sickness absence up 1.3 per cent on year at Surrey and Sussex Healthcare

The trust’s performance report for August states: “Although August saw a very slight reduction in sickness absence to 4.5 per cent this remains higher than the same period last year when it was 3.2 per cent.

“Analysis of the split between short term and long term absence shows a very small decrease in long term absence.”

The report also noted that there had been a small decrease in the staff vacancy rate, from 10.7 per cent in July to 10.4 per cent in August.

Both bank and agency use increased in August, but the trust said “this is being tightly monitored through divisional savings and transformation plans”.