WDES 2026 return data

EEAST's Workforce Disability Equality Standard (WDES) return data for 2026.

Headcount

As at 31 March 2025	Disabled	Non-Disabled	Unknown/Null	Total
NON CLINICAL	H/C	H/C	H/C	H/C
AfC Band 2	2	48	13	63
AfC Band 3	35	213	84	332
AfC Band 4	33	177	41	251
AfC Band 5	16	106	30	152
AfC Band 6	11	106	42	159
AfC Band 7	34	213	56	303
AfC Band 8a	18	64	18	100
AfC Band 8b	9	45	16	70
AfC Band 8c	4	23	13	40
AfC Band 8d	1	13	5	19
AfC Band 9	1	5	0	6
Very Senior Manager	1	2	2	5
Non Clinical Total	165	1015	320	1500

As at 31 March 2025	Disabled	Non-Disabled	Unknown/Null	Total
CLINICAL	H/C	H/C	H/C	H/C
AfC Band 2	2	18	9	29
AfC Band 3	108	751	244	1103
AfC Band 4	48	423	115	586
AfC Band 5	106	872	473	1451
AfC Band 6	110	982	459	1551
AfC Band 7	20	212	117	349
AfC Band 8a	1	12	5	18
AfC Band 8b	1	1	0	2
AfC Band 8c	0	1	0	1
AfC Band 8d				0
AfC Band 9				0
Very Senior Manager		1		1
Clinical Total	396	3273	1422	5091

As at 31 March 2025	Disabled	Non-Disabled	Unknown/Null	Total
MEDICAL and DENTAL	H/C	H/C	H/C	H/C
AfC Band 9				0
Very Senior Manager		1		1
Medical and Dental Total	0	1	0	1


Grand Total	561	4289	1742	6592

As at 31 March 2025	Disabled	Non-Disabled	Unknown/Null	Total
AfC Band 2	4	66	22	92
AfC Band 3	143	964	328	1435
AfC Band 4	81	600	156	837
AfC Band 5	122	978	503	1603
AfC Band 6	121	1088	501	1710
AfC Band 7	54	425	173	652
AfC Band 8a	19	76	23	118
AfC Band 8b	10	46	16	72
AfC Band 8c	4	24	13	41
AfC Band 8d	1	13	5	19
AfC Band 9	1	5	0	6
VSM	1	4	2	7
All Staff Total	561	4289	1742	6592

NON CLINICAL 31/3/25	Disabled	Non-Disabled	Unknown/Null	Total H/C
AfC Bands 1-7	131	863	266	1260
AfC Bands 8-9 & VSM	34	152	54	240
All Staff Total	165	1015	320	1500

CLINICAL 31/3/25	Disabled	Non-Disabled	Unknown/Null	Total H/C
AfC Bands 1-7	394	3258	1417	5069
AfC Bands 8-9 & VSM	2	16	5	23
All Staff Total	396	3274	1422	5092

All Staff 31/3/25	Disabled	Non-Disabled	Unknown/Null	Total H/C
AfC Bands 1-7	525	4121	1683	6329
AfC Bands 8-9 & VSM	36	168	59	263
All Staff Total	561	4289	1742	6592


Afc 8-9 & VSM as at 31/3/25	36	168	59	263

As at 31st March 2026

As at 31 March 2026	Disabled	Non-Disabled	Unknown/Null	Total
NON CLINICAL	H/C	H/C	H/C	H/C
AfC Band 2	6	45	26	77
AfC Band 3	38	203	74	315
AfC Band 4	37	175	34	246
AfC Band 5	17	109	25	151
AfC Band 6	14	104	46	164
AfC Band 7	46	209	51	306
AfC Band 8a	16	59	16	91
AfC Band 8b	9	41	19	69
AfC Band 8c	6	25	10	41
AfC Band 8d	1	12	3	16
AfC Band 9		3		3
Very Senior Manager	2	2	3	7
Non Clinical	192	987	307	1486

As at 31 March 2026	Disabled	Non-Disabled	Unknown/Null	Total
CLINICAL	H/C	H/C	H/C	H/C
AfC Band 2	1	17	6	24
AfC Band 3	117	605	304	1026
AfC Band 4	66	430	76	572
AfC Band 5	112	850	586	1548
AfC Band 6	151	1078	450	1679
AfC Band 7	27	236	108	371
AfC Band 8a	2	13	7	22
AfC Band 8b	1	1		2
AfC Band 8c		1		1
AfC Band 8d				0
AfC Band 9				0
Very Senior Manager		1	2	3
Clinical	477	3232	1539	5248

As at 31 March 2026	Disabled	Non-Disabled	Unknown/Null	Total
MEDICAL and DENTAL	H/C	H/C	H/C	H/C
AfC Band 9				0
Very Senior Manager		1		1
Clinical Medical	0	1	0	1


Grand Total	669	4220	1846	6735

As at 31 March 2026	Disabled	Non-Disabled	Unknown/Null	Total
AfC Band 2	7	62	32	101
AfC Band 3	155	808	378	1341
AfC Band 4	103	605	110	818
AfC Band 5	129	959	611	1699
AfC Band 6	165	1182	496	1843
AfC Band 7	73	445	159	677
AfC Band 8a	18	72	23	113
AfC Band 8b	10	42	19	71
AfC Band 8c	6	26	10	42
AfC Band 8d	1	12	3	16
AfC Band 9	0	3	0	3
Very Senior Manager	2	4	5	11
All Staff Total	669	4220	1846	6735

NON CLINICAL 31/3/26	Disabled	Non-Disabled	Unknown/Null	Total H/C
AfC Bands 1-7	158	845	256	1259
AfC Bands 8-9 & VSM	34	142	51	227
All Staff Total	192	987	307	1486

CLINICAL 31/3/26	Disabled	Non-Disabled	Unknown/Null	Total H/C
AfC Bands 1-7	474	3216	1530	5220
AfC Bands 8-9 & VSM	3	17	9	29
All Staff Total	477	3233	1539	5249

All Staff 31/3/26	Disabled	Non-Disabled	Unknown/Null	Total H/C
AfC Bands 1-7	632	4061	1786	6479
AfC Bands 8-9 & VSM	37	159	60	256
All Staff Total	669	4220	1846	6735


Afc 8-9 and VSM as at 31/3/26	37	159	60	256

Percentages

As at 31 March 2025

NON CLINICAL	%	%	%	%
AfC Band 2	3.17	76.19	20.63	100
AfC Band 3	10.54	64.16	25.30	100
AfC Band 4	13.15	70.52	16.33	100
AfC Band 5	10.53	69.74	19.74	100
AfC Band 6	6.92	66.67	26.42	100
AfC Band 7	11.22	70.30	18.48	100
AfC Band 8a	18.00	64.00	18.00	100
AfC Band 8b	12.86	64.29	22.86	100
AfC Band 8c	10.00	57.50	32.50	100
AfC Band 8d	5.26	68.42	26.32	100
AfC Band 9	16.67	83.33	0.00	100
Very Senior Managers	20.00	40.00	40.00	100
Non Clinical Total	11.00	67.67	21.33	100.00

CLINICAL	%	%	%	%
AfC Band 2	6.90	62.07	31.03	100
AfC Band 3	9.79	68.09	22.12	100
AfC Band 4	8.19	72.18	19.62	100
AfC Band 5	7.31	60.10	32.60	100
AfC Band 6	7.09	63.31	29.59	100
AfC Band 7	5.73	60.74	33.52	100
AfC Band 8a	5.56	66.67	27.78	100
AfC Band 8b
AfC Band 8c	0.00	100.00	0.00	100
AfC Band 8d
AfC Band 9
Very Senior Manager
Clinical Total	7.78	64.29	27.93	100.00

MEDICAL AND DENTAL	%	%	%	%
AfC Band 9
Very Senior Manager	0	100	0	100
Medical and Dental Total	0	100	0	100


Grand Total	8.51	65.06	26.43	100

As at 31 March 2025	Disabled	Non-Disabled	Unknown/Null	Total
AfC Band 2	4.35	71.74	23.91	100.00
AfC Band 3	9.97	67.18	22.86	100.00
AfC Band 4	9.68	71.68	18.64	100.00
AfC Band 5	7.61	61.01	31.38	100.00
AfC Band 6	7.08	63.63	29.30	100.00
AfC Band 7	8.28	65.18	26.53	100.00
AfC Band 8a	16.10	64.41	19.49	100.00
AfC Band 8b	13.89	63.89	22.22	100.00
AfC Band 8c	9.76	58.54	31.71	100.00
AfC Band 8d	5.26	68.42	26.32	100.00
AfC Band 9	16.67	83.33	0.00	100.00
VSM	14.29	57.14	28.57	100.00
All Staff Total	8.51	65.06	26.43	100.00

NON CLINICAL 31/3/25	Disabled	Non-Disabled	Unknown/Null	Total %
AfC Bands 1-7	10.40	68.49	21.11	100.00
AfC Bands 8-9 & VSM	14.17	63.33	22.50	100.00
All Staff Total	11.00	67.67	21.33	100.00

CLINICAL 31/3/25	Disabled	Non-Disabled	Unknown/Null	Total %
AfC Bands 1-7	7.77	64.27	27.95	100.00
AfC Bands 8-9 & VSM	8.70	69.57	21.74	100.00
All Staff Total	7.78	64.30	27.93	100.00

ALL Staff 31/3/25	Disabled	Non-Disabled	Unknown/Null	Total H/C
AfC Bands 1-7	8.30	65.11	26.59	100.00
AfC Bands 8-9 & VSM	13.69	63.88	22.43	100.00
All Staff Total	8.51	65.06	26.43	100.00

As at 31 March 2026

NON CLINICAL	Disabled	Non-Disabled	Unknown/Null	Total
AfC Band 2	7.79	58.44	33.77	100
AfC Band 3	12.06	64.44	23.49	100
AfC Band 4	15.04	71.14	13.82	100
AfC Band 5	11.26	72.19	16.56	100
AfC Band 6	8.54	63.41	28.05	100
AfC Band 7	15.03	68.30	16.67	100
AfC Band 8a	17.58	64.84	17.58	100
AfC Band 8b	13.04	59.42	27.54	100
AfC Band 8c	14.63	60.98	24.39	100
AfC Band 8d	6.25	75.00	18.75	100
AfC Band 9	0.00	100.00	0.00	100
Very Senior Manager	28.57	28.57	42.86	100
Non Clinical	12.92	66.42	20.66	100

CLINICAL	Disabled	Non-Disabled	Unknown/Null	Total
AfC Band 2	4.17	70.83	25.00	100
AfC Band 3	11.40	58.97	29.63	100
AfC Band 4	11.54	75.17	13.29	100
AfC Band 5	7.24	54.91	37.86	100
AfC Band 6	8.99	64.20	26.80	100
AfC Band 7	7.28	63.61	29.11	100
AfC Band 8a	9.09	59.09	31.82	100
AfC Band 8b	50.00	50.00	0.00	100
AfC Band 8c	0.00	100.00	0.00	100
AfC Band 8d
AfC Band 9
Very Senior Manager
Non Clinical	9.09	61.59	29.33	100

MEDICAL AND DENTAL	%	%	%	%
AfC Band 9
Very Senior Manager	0	100	0	100
Medical and Dental Total	0	100	0	100


Grand Total	9.93	62.66	27.41	100

As at 31 March 2026

	Disabled	Non-Disabled	Unknown/Null	Total
AfC Band 2	6.93	61.39	31.68	100.00
AfC Band 3	11.56	60.25	28.19	100.00
AfC Band 4	12.59	73.96	13.45	100.00
AfC Band 5	7.59	56.44	35.96	100.00
AfC Band 6	8.95	64.13	26.91	100.00
AfC Band 7	10.78	65.73	23.49	100.00
AfC Band 8a	15.93	63.72	20.35	100.00
AfC Band 8b	14.08	59.15	26.76	100.00
AfC Band 8c	14.29	61.90	23.81	100.00
AfC Band 8d	6.25	75.00	18.75	100.00
AfC Band 9	0.00	100.00	0.00	100.00
Very Senior Manager	18.18	36.36	45.45	100.00
All Staff Total	9.93	62.66	27.41	100.00

NON CLINICAL 31/3/26	Disabled	Non-Disabled	Unknown/Null	Total %
AfC Bands 1-7	12.55	67.12	20.33	100.00
AfC Bands 8-9 & VSM	14.98	62.56	22.47	100.00
All Staff Total	12.92	66.42	20.66	100.00

CLINICAL 31/3/26	Disabled	Non-Disabled	Unknown/Null	Total %
AfC Bands 1-7	9.08	61.61	29.31	100.00
AfC Bands 8-9 & VSM	10.34	58.62	31.03	100.00
All Staff Total	9.09	61.59	29.32	100.00

ALL STAFF 31/3/26	Disabled	Non-Disabled	Unknown/Null	Total %
AfC Bands 1-7	9.75	62.68	27.57	100.00
AfC Bands 8-9 & VSM	14.45	62.11	23.44	100.00
All Staff Total	9.93	62.66	27.41	100.00

2024-25	Disabled	Non-Disabled	Unknown/Null	Total
Sum of Shortlisted	880	4426	132	5438
Sum of Appointed	104	375	416	895

2025-26	Disabled	Non-Disabled	Unknown/Null	Total
Sum of Shortlisted	340	1592	98	2030
Sum of Appointed	66	273	14	353

2024-25

Relative likeihood of shortlisted to appointment:

Disabled: 0.12
Non Disabled: 0.08

Relative likelihood of Non Disabled candidates being appt from shortlisting compared to Disabled candidates: 0.72 times greater.

2025-26

Relative likeihood of shortlisted to appointment:

Disabled: 0.19
Non Disabled: 0.17

Relative likelihood of Non Disabled candidates being appt from shortlisting compared to Disabled candidates: 0.88 times greater.

Year 2024-25	Disabled	Non-Disabled	Unknown/Null	Total
All Staff	561	4289	1742	6592
All capability cases (Performance and ill Health)	4	21	13	38
Of which grounds of ill health	1	6	6	13
Of which grounds of performance	3	15	7	25

Year 2025-26	Disabled	Non-Disabled	Unknown/Null	Total
All Staff	669	4,220	1,846	6,735
All capability cases (Performance and ill Health)	10	22	5	37
Of which grounds of ill health	3	3	3	9
Of which grounds of performance	7	19	2	28

Staff in Post

Year end	Disabled	Non-Disabled	Unknown/Null	Total
As at 31/3/25	561	4289	1742	6592
As at 31/3/26	669	4220	1846	6735

2025-265

Likelihood of Disabled staff entering capability process: 0.007474
Likelihood of Non Disabled staff entering capability process: 0.004028
Relative likelihood of Disabled staff entering a capability process compared to Non Disabled staff is: 1.86
Based on the average calculation the rate reported last year was: 2.11

WDES Indicator	Data from Annual Staff Survey	March 25 Disabled	March25 Non Disabled	March 26 Disabled	March 26 Non Disabled
4	% of staff experiencing harassment, bullying or abuse from patients/service users, their relatives or other members of the public in the last 12 months (Q13a)	45.0	37.4	29.7%	23.4%
	% of staff experiencing harassment, bullying or abuse from managers in the last 12 months (Q13b)	22.3	11.8	13.6%	7.4%
	% of staff experiencing harassment, bullying or abuse from other colleagues in the last 12 months (Q13c)	28.6	18.0	22.9%	14.8%
	% of staff saying that the last time they experienced harassment, bullying or abuse at work, they or a colleague reported it in the last 12 months (Q13d)	54.9	52.5	54.9	54.9
5	% of staff believing that the Trust provides equal opportunities for career progression or promotion. (Q14)	42.9	46.9	48.6%	55.7%
6	% of staff saying that they have felt pressure from their manager to come to work, despite not feeling well enough to perform their duties. (Q 11e)	38.2	26.2	25.6%	17.5%
7	% staff saying that they are satisfied with the extent to which their organisation values their work. (Q5f)	23.5	30.1	34.4%	46.1%
8	% of disabled staff saying that their employer has made adequate adjustment(s) to enable them to carry out their work. (Q28b)	65.00	n/a	74.9%	n/a
9a	The staff engagement score for Disabled staff, compared to non-disabled staff. The overall engagement score for the organisation. 5.8%	5.5	6.1	6.3%	6.9%

Has your Trust taken action to facilitate the voices of Disabled staff in your organisation to be heard? Yes

Disability Support Network
Disability & Neurodiversity Survey re-run 1st May 2025, managed by external specialist partner organisation McKenzie LLP
Quarterly Pulse Surveys. Last run July 2025.
Individual stories on EAST 24 from DSN members throughout the year and for Disability History Month. Including relaunch of the network, and appointment of new co-chairs.
Network Co-Chairs are members of the National Ambulance Disability Network Executive Q&A.
Development of WDES 2025/26 action plan.
Executive Team: "aim to improve our culture and improve performance". Staff were invited to attend Big Conversations to provide feedback and put forward solutions and ideas that will make a difference. These commenced from April 2025, face to face focus group sessions were held across EEAST's region and staff were also able to contribute and see the outputs from these sessions via Safe Space App.
Time to Listen sessions have been established from the Big Conversations. Senior Leaders attend numerous Trust locations on specific Fridays for face to face meetings who hear directly the issues, challenges, suggestions for improvement and what's going well.
23rd - 27th June 2025 Staff Networks Conference Events week: a variety of workshops, webinars run for staff to attend/join including a session on "The Power of Neurodiverse Thinking"
Involvement in the currently running Task and Finish Group to introduce NeuroDiversity training at EEAST.
We have an establishment programme/group of Cultural Inclusion Ambassadors and are recruiting for further training cohorts.
The Guardian Service is now available and there are appointments offered for staff to meet with one of our guardians during the coming year.

Board Members

As at 31 March 2025	Disabled	Non-Disabled	Unknown/Null	Total
Voting	1	8	2	11
Non Voting	1	3	1	5
Grand Total	2	11	3	16

As at 31 March 2025	Disabled	Non-Disabled	Unknown/Null	Total
Exec	1	4	2	7
Non Exec	1	7	1	9
Grand Total	2	11	3	16

As at 31 March 2026	Disabled	Non-Disabled	Unknown/Null	Total
Voting	1	6	3	10
Non Voting	1	0	3	4
Grand Total	2	6	6	14

As at 31 March 2026	Disabled	Non-Disabled	Unknown/Null	Total
Exec	2	3	3	8
Non Exec	0	6	0	6
Grand Total	2	9	3	14

Staff in post

As at 31 March 2025	Disabled	Non-Disabled	Unknown/Null
	561	4289	1742

As at 31 Mar 2026	Disabled	Non-Disabled	Unknown/Null
	669	4220	1846

Board members

As at 31 March 2025	Disabled	Non-Disabled	Unknown/Null
Total Number of Board members - % by Disability	12.50	68.75	18.75
Total Number of Voting Board members - % by Disability	9.09	72.73	18.18
Total Number of Non-Voting Board members - % by Disability	20.00	60.00	20.00
Total Number of Non Executive Board members - % by Disability	11.11	77.78	11.11
Total Number of Executive Board members - % by Disability	14.29	57.14	28.57
Overall Workforce - % by disability	8.51	65.06	26.43
Difference (Overall Workforce - Total Board)	-3.99	-3.69	7.68

As at 31 March 2026	Disabled	Non-Disabled	Unknown/Null
Total Number of Board members - % by Disability	14.29	64.29	21.43
Total Number of Voting Board members - % by Disability	10.00	60.00	30.00
Total Number of Non-Voting Board members - % by Disability	25.00	0.00	75.00
Total Number of Non Executive Board members - % by Disability	0.00	100.00	0.00
Total Number of Executive Board members - % by Disability	25.00	37.50	37.50
Overall Workforce - % by disability	9.93	62.66	27.41
Difference (Overall Workforce - Total Board)	-4.35	-1.63	5.98

WDES 2026 return data

Indicator 1

Headcount

As at 31st March 2026

Percentages

As at 31 March 2025

As at 31 March 2026

As at 31 March 2026

Indicator 2

Indicator 3

Indicators 4-9a

Indicator 9b

Indicator 10

Equality, diversity and inclusion

Equality, diversity and inclusion