The number of days lost due to sickness in West Yorkshire Police has dropped by 45 per cent since 2000 and the trend is set to continue.

Figures show:
The number of work days lost to respiratory and psychological illnesses has gone down by a third and those lost to muscular skeletal problems has halved.

The number of absences per 1,000 employees has dropped from 1,800 episodes of illness in 2001 to 900 in 2004.

On average just over seven days a year per employee are lost to sickness in the Force, below the national average.

Keith Watkinson, Director of Personnel and Training, said: "West Yorkshire Police has made significant progress in improving levels of attendance and so increasing numbers of police officers on the beat.

“This does not mean that we want members of the workforce to come into work when they are simply not fit enough, rather we want to support people to maximise their attendance by them working with their line managers and by providing appropriate professional medical support and personnel management expertise.

“A culture of attendance therefore now prevails in the Force with levels of attendance that rival many organisations; a remarkable achievement when you consider the demanding role that the police performs. It should not come as a surprise that we are at the cutting edge nationally in approaches to promoting and managing good attendance."

Dr Chris Shinn, Force Medical Officer, said: “These are excellent results which have been achieved as a result of teamworking between the personnel and occupational health professionals and managers.

“These improvements lead to more bobbies on the beat and a more effective workforce. There used to be a lot of conflict in the process but there’s been a real culture change and we are now all working together to deal with the issue.”