The Welsh Ambulance Services University NHS Trust had the highest sickness absence rate (7.9%) of all NHS organisations in Wales by the quarter ending September 30, 2025, according to official government statistics.
In the quarter that ended on 30 September 2025, sickness absence rates stayed the same or increased in eleven of the thirteen NHS organisations when compared to the same quarter in the previous year. The annual changes ranged from a marginal decrease for staff in both Velindre and Health Education and Improvement Wales, to a 0.6 percentage point increase for staff in both Public Health Wales and Cwm Taf Morgannwg.
The data shows significant variation across Welsh NHS organisations. The lowest sickness absence rates were in Health Education and Improvement Wales (2.2%), Digital Health and Care Wales (2.7%) and the NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership (3.0%). These organisations also had the lowest sickness absence rates in the same period in the previous year.
Among local health boards specifically, there was some variation with the highest sickness absence rate in Swansea Bay and Cwm Taf Morgannwg (both 6.6%) and the lowest rate in Powys (5.1%). The sickness absence rate across all local health boards was 6.0%.
This statistical release summarises statistics on staff directly employed by NHS Wales, including sickness absence and vacancy rates that were previously published as separate releases. The statistics on staff employed and sickness absence are sourced from the NHS Electronic Staff Record (ESR), provided by Health Education and Improvement Wales and published as official statistics.
