Workers at Royal Bolton have reported feeling “burnt out”and “emotionally exhausted” with many undertaking unpaid overtime.

A recent NHS staff survey found that just under 40 per cent of Bolton staff said they sometimes felt “burnt out” by their work, while about a quarter said they “often” felt this way.

Around 44 per cent agreed "sometimes" they could find their work “emotionally exhausting”, with 28 per cent feeling that way "often" and five percent saying it was like this "all the time."

Unison Bolton health branch secretary Linda Miller said: “This has been going on for two years with Covid, we’ve had people test positive so they can’t come into work and then because of this a lot of the staff that are their end up working overtime.”

She added: “You can get better pay working at Greggs or at supermarket, eventually people get burnt out.”

Just 30 per cent of Bolton NHS Foundation Trust workers reported having enough staff and only around half believed that had enough resources.

Around 43 per cent say on average they work more than five hours of unpaid overtime a week.

Director of People and Deputy Chief Executive James Mawrey said: “It’s really important to me too that we don’t just hear about the good, and that’s why we won’t be resting on our laurels.

“Staff have highlighted some areas where things could be better, and we want to absolutely focus on those and use the resources that we have to make their working lives even better.”

But the trust reported the strongest results in Greater Manchester in areas like team dynamics and making a difference, while around 80 per cent believed caring for patients was the trust’s top priority.

Mr Mawrey said: “We know how hard they work, day in, day out, particularly in recent times, and the fact that they feel supported and valued whilst they do so makes me incredibly proud.

“It’s wonderful to hear that so many of our staff think that this is a brilliant place to work and one that provides high quality of care.”