A HOSPITAL trust director has blamed the high level of sickness absence among Worcestershire hospital staff on negative media coverage.

Chris Nicholls, non-executive director of Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, said he was "fed up" with the complete negativity surrounding the trust.

Trust-wide sickness absence in January this year was 5.37 per cent, a slight increase on the previous month.

Director of human resources Jeff Crawshaw said this was despite the considerable management time being devoted to sickness management.

In an angry outburst at this week's trust board meeting, Mr Nicholls said the level of absence was not surprising.

"If you had to look at all these negative headlines, you would find it difficult to go to work in a positive fashion," he said.

He said a lot of hard work had gone in to transferring to the new hospital in Worcester, and staff had been under tremendous pressure during the recent Government inspections.

"The effect it has on people is to completely drain them," said Mr Nicholls. "The whole process is very difficult for people.

"All I see is gloom and doom in the papers. I'm prepared to take it head-on."

Acting chief executive Graham Smith said he had not expected the level of public scrutiny directed at the trust.

"I'm surprised at the overload of letters from MPs and organisations such as community health councils," he told the Evening News.

"Some things that would be normal in other organisations seem to be abnormal in Worcestershire.

"Instead of getting on with improving services, we have to answer all these complaints."

But Kidderminster Health Concern chairman Malcolm Cooper said the public was anxious about the way the county's hospitals were being run.

"The Press reflects that anxiety," he told the trust board.

"We ought to build an understanding with you that we are all in the boat together."