Bolton NHS Foundation Trust said it would listen to staff after data showed more than 40 per cent of them would not recommend it as a place for treatment and half of them would not recommend it as a place to work.

It comes after an inspection by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) resulted in a rating of "Requires Improvement" for the leadership of the trust with some staff reporting an inability to speak up for fear of "retribution".

In the agenda of a meeting of the trust last week, data showed 42.2 per cent of the workers would not recommend it as a place for treatment as of August last year and half of the workers would not recommend it as a place to work as of August last year.

Both of these statistics are at their highest in at least the last six years and are below their target as a result.

James Mawrey, the Chief People Officer and Deputy Chief Executive at Bolton NHS Foundation Trust, said it would listen to staff in order to support them through "a lot of pressure".

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Mr Mawrey said: "The NHS is under a lot of pressure and our staff work incredibly hard, going above and beyond for our communities, and we are so grateful for everything they do.

"We know the challenging conditions across health and care services nationally is impacting on staff wellbeing and how they feel about coming to work, so we are working to understand what we can be doing differently to support them.

The Bolton News: James Mawrey

"We are creating events and space for open and honest conversations with staff about how we can improve their experiences and make sure they have the resources they need in their jobs, so they can feel proud of the care they deliver.

"Staff have told us what matters the most to them; from their work environment, flexible working, and equipment, and we'll be using their feedback to really focus on making the right changes so that our organisation can be an even better place to work."

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In October, an inspection by the CQC resulted in a rating of "Requires Improvement" for the leadership of the trust with some staff reporting an inability to speak up for fear of "retribution". The inspection was a result of worries raised by whistleblowers.

In spite of the rating of "Requires Improvement" for the leadership of the trust the inspectors from the CQC said it remained "Good" in all other areas, including its children's services, which were the subject of another inspection at around the same time.

This article was written by Jack Tooth. To contact him, email jack.tooth@newsquest.co.uk or follow @JTRTooth on Twitter.