DISCIPLINARY and employee relations cases across hospitals in Oldham, Bury and Salford are taking more than four months to resolve, NHS bosses have been told.

And there are eight across the Northern Alliance Care Group which are still in limbo after more than eight months, up to January 2020, trust board members have heard.

For Bury's Fairfield General Hospital and Rochdale Infirmary, there are seven outstanding matters, more than 120 days since they were first lodged, including five disciplinary cases.

And at the Royal Oldham Hospital there are 13 similar matters - six of which have been outstanding for six months or more.

The position is more acute at Salford Royal, where there are 15 employee relations files open more than four months - and nine of these involve a six-month plus wait.

At North Manchester, the group's fourth site, there were four cases with waits of more than four months, two at between four and six months and a further two at six-months and counting.

Vickie Hughes, in a performance report to the last Northern Care Alliance board, admitted that the figures were "disappointing".

She added: "The majority of delays are due to sickness and lack of availability of managers and reps to hold meetings."

But she did highlight the fact that turnover rates and sickness absences over the four hospital sites were relatively stable.