GRATEFUL hospital bosses in Burnley were so delighted with the performance of hard-working staff that they have rewarded all 4,000 of them with an extra holiday.

The day off "thank-you" to care workers -- understood to be the first ever in the NHS -- was today welcomed by unions, local MP Peter Pike and the NHS Executive health governing body.

Directors at Burnley Health Care Trust unanimously agreed to the extra holiday after hearing staff had helped the trust put in a sparkling performance over the past year.

Waiting lists were slashed and potential big budget deficits were wiped out as the hospital and community care group met all its financial targets and also won Investors in People accreditation throughout the trust.

Chief executive David Chew, who urged directors to grant the extra holiday, said the plan for handling winter emergency admissions had been successful and the trust had come top in a major staff survey.

The trust had also been acclaimed for high standards in the national review of cleanliness and catering in hospitals.

All full-time staff who worked through the year will get an extra day's paid leave while part-timers will benefit on a pro-rata basis. Cost to the trust will be around £30,000, but finance director David Meakin said it would be money well spent.

He said medics who turned around the waiting list backlog, carrying out hundreds of extra operations, to meet NHS targets in quick time, had of, course, been paid for their extra work.

"We felt there should also be reward for all the other members of staff who had contributed quietly in the background."

The trust totally wiped out the list of people waiting more than 12 months for in-patient treatment -- clearing 60 cases in March alone.

And from having a big backlog of patients waiting for in-house or day case operations -- a position which put the hospital under special NHS scrutiny -- the trust fought back to within Government set targets this month.

Outpatient lists for those waiting more than 13 weeks for appointments, were also drastically reduced and at 2,069 are also within target.

Mr Chew said the trust aimed to build on the success and sustain them in the long term.

The extra break was welcomed by hospital Unison union representative Andrea Jackson.

"It is nice for staff, who work hard, whatever they do, to feel that they are part of a team and what they do is appreciated," she said.

The move also received backing from Burnley MP Peter Pike. He said: "I think the achievements could only have been achieved by all staff working as a team.

"I congratulate the Board, staff and management.

"All too often high praise goes to those at the top of the ladder, this reward recognises the part played by everyone," he said. Hugh Lamont spokesman for the National Health Service executive in the North West said he had never heard of any similar reward in the NHS in his 17 years in the service.

He said: "It is a unique record and a nice way to thank staff for the tremendous commitment they show and the hard work they do."

A business specialist today said that incentive schemes were more common in the private sector than in the health service.

Many companies reward staff for their efforts but they are more likely to pay cash bonuses than give staff extra holidays.