STAFF sick days on hospital wards in East Lancashire are costing the NHS around £9.9million per year, according to 'truly alarming' new figures.

An estimated 125,600 working days are lost through health workers absenteeism at the Royal Blackburn, Burnley General and Accrington Victoria hospitals, it has been revealed.

Trust personnel bosses accept that the average number of sick days lost per employee, at 6.3, is more than two-and-a-half times that in private industry.

Stress and mental health problems and 'musco-skeletal' problems, including backaches, are among the most common complaints recorded.

An action plan is underway to reduce the sickness rate average, which currently stand at just under five per cent, to the national average of 4.3 per cent by October.

In a trust board report Emma Schofield, the trust's human resources head, told directors that the current target of 3.75 per cent 'for some areas, in the short to medium term, is unrealistic'.

Sickness absences peaked in January, at 5.36 per cent, but dipped to 4.82 and 4.45 per cent in February and March respectively.

In certain departments, such as the integrated care group, covering the former medicines and community divisions of the trust, and the estates team, the rates have topped seven per cent on occasion.

Between 2010/11, the number of full-time days lost to sickness has risen from 92,764 to 125,597 in 2016/17, and the cost to the trust has soared from £7.1million to £9.9million, over the same period.

Training courses have been devised for managers to better support staff, after a summit was held to address the issue, and there were also calls for more coaching and targeted efforts to focus on potential causes.

Before October, the trust also hopes to have 100 staff trained in 'mental health first aid', an educational course which helps people identify the warning signs of stress and anxiety and a new mediation service is being developed, to take the strain out of dealing with absence-related discussions.

Dr David Wrigley, the deputy chairman of the British Medical Association and Lancashire representative, said: "These figures are truly alarming and show that more must be done to safeguard the health and wellbeing of NHS staff in Lancashire who are being stretched to capacity as the NHS reaches breaking point.

"The government must urgently address the £30bn funding gap in the NHS and commit to improving NHS working conditions as high levels of staff absences will have a direct impact on the level of care patients receive."

Kevin Moynes, the hospitals trust's human resources director, said: "While our sickness absence figures are higher than we consider acceptable, it should be said that every day over 95 per cent of our staff come to work and do a fantastic job in providing safe, personal and effective care for patients, often in very challenging circumstances.

"NHS staff sickness levels across the country are rising, yet in the last 12 months more than 2,500 of our staff had absolutely no sickness at all.

"The trust attaches great importance to the health and wellbeing of our employees and recognises the significant impact that sickness absence and reduced productivity due to health-related issues can have on the delivery of quality patient care, employee's health and morale."

He confirmed that a number of occupation health initiatives were in place which were designed to support staff and reduce sickness absence levels.

"We are proactive in supporting individuals who are absent from work due to illness, while at the same time focusing very closely on areas and individuals where the levels of sickness absence, and the costs associated with it, need to improve," added Mr Moynes.