YORK researchers have shown that the NHS could cut the number of staff going off sick by making ultra-grip shoes part of the uniform.

.A study was conducted by the York Trials Unit at the University of York in collaboration with the Health and Safety Executive, Leeds Teaching Hospital NHS Trust and the University of Leeds, and involved seven NHS Trusts.

Half of staff who volunteered to take part were asked to wear their own choice of shoes to work and the other half were provided with shoes with the HSE’s highest grip rating of 5* for a period of 14 weeks.

The results of the study showed a 37 per cent reduction in slipping at work, and a 49 per cent reduction in falls for those staff members wearing the HSE 5* grip rated shoes.

Professor David Torgerson, Director of the York Trials Unit, said the NHS, particularly in the current climate, could not afford staff to be off work due to injuries that could have been easily avoided.