Blackpool hospital staff forced to take out loans as cost of living crisis bites

Finance bosses have stepped in to ensure any workers forced to borrow money to see them over hard times, are not exploited.

Feroz Patel, executive director of finance at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals, told a meeting of the hospital board many staff were facing difficulties due to the cost of living crisis.

He said: "We are getting quite a lot of reports about some of the staff who are going to the high street and probably being exploited on loans and credit that they are getting, or maybe not getting."

Mr Patel said the hospital was helping its staff by setting up direct deductions from their salaries if they had been forced to take out a loan, which helped ensure they were not exploited by the transaction.

The measure is among a number of actions taken to improve the wellbeing of hospital staff and help reduce sickness rates, currently running at more than six per cent, which is above the target of four per cent.

A report to the board says: "It is long accepted that a strong correlation exists between staff wellbeing, staff-reported patient care performance, and patient-reported patient experience.

"In short, when staff wellbeing is higher, there is a positive impact upon patient experience. Staff wellbeing is also linked to higher levels of engagement and productivity, which in turn drives lower levels of sickness absence and staff turnover."

The hospital currently has 167 wellbeing champions but hopes to recruit another 100.

Other actions include providing a staff rest garden which is heated and covered, installing 15 water fountains around the hospital to ensure people stay hydrated and providing a 24-hour food service so night workers can eat more healthily.

The report adds "improving the health and wellbeing of our staff will yield associated benefits in influencing local population health, while also offering the opportunity to tackle health inequalities.

"Prioritising staff health and wellbeing is therefore a key enabling factor towards meeting our Trust ambitions of fostering a happy, healthy workforce and becoming an employer of choice - on the Fylde Coast and beyond."