COUNSELLORS are to be on hand 24 hours a day for stressed-out hospital staff in a bid to cut 96,000 sick days.

Health chiefs said the scheme, believed to be the first of its kind in the country, will help to improve staff wellbeing and save the trust money.

Figures released by the trust showed sick days for 2008/9 totalled 95,578, 70 per cent above the target figure of 56,555.

This equates to five per cent of the 6,500 workforce being off at any one time – 25 per cent up on the national average of four per cent.

Ian Woolley, former hospitals trust chairman, said he welcomed the counselling service but said any absence level over five per cent was "ludicrous".

He said: "I think good counselling is essential but let's get a proper grip on staff absences overall.

"When the hospital is looking at sickness rates above five per cent you have to wonder 'what the Dicken's is going on?'

"This is not going on elsewhere in the community and it's not fair on people who are working hard.

"It's just bad management that has allowed this to get out of control."

Ian Brandwood, East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust’s director of human resources, said the pioneering scheme had been introduced after surveys in which workers had asked for extra support to deal with stress.

The British Medical Association praised the move and said it hoped other trusts across the country would follow suit.

The trust has spent £4.4m this year on paying agency staff to cover vacancies.

Mr Brandwood said: “This service will cost us around £40,000 per year, which is less than the equivalent of two nursing staff salaries.

“If just a handful of staff members use this service to help them avoid the kind of pressures which develop into long-term sickness absence, the service will pay for itself.

“But this is not just about how we can reduce the staff absences that lead to us having to use expensive, less-experienced agency staff.

“People who work at hospitals have to deal with tragedy and upset on a day-to-day basis. This is a very pressurised environment, and while I am extremely proud of the way our staff respond to these challenges, the trust felt it should do more to support our staff.

“On average across the NHS, about 40 per cent of staff absences are caused, either directly or indirectly, by stress.”

Provided by business services firm FirstAssist, the EmployeeCare assistance programme offers around-the-clock help for personal and work-related problems including stress, relationship and family difficulties, bereavement, alcohol or drug abuse and household finances. A legal team can also give advice on domestic problems, personal injury claims, property disputes and consumer rights.

Roy Davies, health scrutiny chairman, said: “I think this new service is brilliant. With the influx of new medical staff, which will relieve pressure on existing staff, along with other steps they have taken, like the 24-7 programme, I think next year hopefully their results will be a lot better.”

Dr Paul Nicholson, chairman of the British Medical Association's occupational medicine committee, said it hoped East Lancashire Hospitals Trust would lead the way in encouraging other trusts to adopt the same strategy.

He said: “These sorts of programmes are fairly common in big blue chip companies and they can make a real difference to the well being and health of staff.

“This is a positive development for NHS staff working in East Lancashire and we hope other trusts will look to set up similar schemes in consultation with their employees.”

Workers at the trust's sites including Royal Blackburn Hospital, Burnley General Hospital, Rossendale Hospital and Pendle Community Hospital will be able to call a freephone number, tell an operator what kind of help they are looking for, and be put through to a specialist counsellor or legal adviser.

The service is completely confidential and staff can choose whether they give their name.

However, the firm will keep data on the number of calls they get from different departments of the hospitals, so that senior managers can identify areas where all of the workforce might need extra support, or where there is a particular problem to solve and counsellors are required to declare if they have serious concerns about things like suicide or risk of a serious crime being committed.