SICKNESS levels among staff at some NHS trusts in the Bradford district were higher than the Yorkshire and England average, new figures have revealed.

Figures provided by NHS Digital show the average sickness absence rate for Yorkshire and the Humber as 4.6 per cent (calculated by dividing an employee’s sickness absence days by their total days available) from April 2016 to March 2017, compared to the national average of 4.16 per cent.

At the Bradford District NHS Foundation Trust, the figure for 2016-17 was 5.42 per cent, a rise from 5.03 per cent the previous year. And at Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, it was 4.75 per cent, compared with the previous year’s figure of 5.14.

The trust also recorded its lowest sickness rate since April 2013 in March, at 4.06 per cent, compared to the national figure of 3.93 per cent and the Yorkshire and Humber rate of 4.32 per cent for the same month.

Airedale NHS Foundation Trust’s figure for 2016/17 was 4.19 per cent, a slight drop from the year before when a rate of 4.22 per cent was recorded.

And at Bradford Districts Clinical Commissioning Group, a rate of 3.85 per cent was recorded, a rise from 2.99 per cent the previous year.

Airedale, Wharfedale and Craven Clinical Commissioning Group’s figure for 2016/17 was 1.23 per cent, compared to 0.95 per cent the previous year.

Pat Campbell, Director of Human Resources for Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We have been working hard to improve attendance and it is pleasing to see our sickness absence rate has reduced consistently over the last 12 months at a time when the NHS is facing unprecedented pressure.

“We have set ourselves ambitious targets for further improvements in attendance.

“Our range of ongoing initiatives includes counselling, advice and support services for staff and continued investment in health and wellbeing services.

“Improving attendance and looking after the wellbeing of our staff continues to be a high priority.”

Sandra Knight, Director of Human Resources and Organisational Development at Bradford District Care NHS Foundation Trust, said staff health and wellbeing is a key priority and the trust works hard to support staff in this area.

She said: “We recognise that working in mental health services can bring different challenges, which is reflected in sickness figures for similar organisations providing mental health services.

“We already have a range of support for staff which we have further developed including bespoke musculoskeletal workshops, and mindfulness, alongside counselling 24/7, free occupational health services and fast-track physiotherapy.

“We are starting to see a decrease in sickness levels but we still need to do more.”

A spokesman for NHS Airedale, Wharfedale and Craven, NHS Bradford City and NHS Bradford Districts Clinical Commissioning Groups said: “The health and wellbeing of our staff is very important to us and we aim to be an organisation where people want to work and feel supported in their roles – and this is reflected in our lower-than-average sickness figures.

“We encourage a culture of good attendance across our CCGs. We monitor sickness levels closely and carry out return to work interviews and, where needed, refer staff to our occupational health service.”

Nick Parker, Director of Human Resources at Airedale NHS Foundation Trust, said it employs health and wellbeing teams for staff and the trust’s emphasis is on helping employees get back to work quickly.

Other figures released by NHS Digital revealed that of March 2017, 2,155 ‘full time equivalent’ vacancies were advertised in Yorkshire and the Humber.