SICKNESS levels among staff at some NHS trusts in the 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 this year, 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.

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 Airedale, Wharfedale and Craven Clinical Commissioning Group saw a rise to 1.23 per cent for 2016-17, from 0.95 per cent the previous year.

Sandra Knight, director of human resources and organisational development at Bradford District Care NHS Foundation Trust, said staff health and wellbeing was a key priority and the trust worked 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, 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 employed health and wellbeing teams for staff and the trust’s emphasis was on helping employees get back to work quickly.