Over 500 nursing and midwifery jobs advertised by Blackpool Teaching Hospitals last year

The trust currently has 2,084 qualified nurses and midwives, and now has 166 vacancies – with 151 under offer to hopefuls.

Marie Thompson, director of nursing and quality, said the 533 adverts did not necessarily mean there were 533 vacancies.

Some unfilled roles may have been advertised more than once, or the same job may have been advertised in more than once place, it is understood. Ms Thompson said: “The figures represent the number of advertised vacancies during this period rather than the number of actual vacancies. “This can be misleading as a number of roles will have been advertised more than once giving a seemingly inflated figure.

“At present the trust has 166 nursing and midwifery vacancies, and at present 151 of these are under offer to external candidates.

“The trust proactively attracts nursing staff on a number of platforms including career events, mentor placements, apprenticeships, international recruitment and by engaging with universities to attract suitable students at the earliest opportunity.”

The Royal College of Nursing said the statistics, released by the NHS, show that nine out of 10 nursing vacancies remain unfilled in the north west.

Paul Wood, operation manager for the north west, said: “These figures are yet another stark reminder that our NHS is desperately short of nurses.”