Nurses will be offered supermarket discounts and cheap gym membership as part of efforts to persuade workers stay in the NHS, health chiefs will say.

Simon Stevens, head of the health service, will call for the wider rollout of schemes which have given staff savings of up to £1,000 a year on their shopping.

The plans will see nurses, midwives and other clinical workers offered access to promotions and discounts, in a bid to encourage staff loyalty.

Health officials say an NHS scheme in Birmingham – which gave staff access to discounts from 700 retailers, including Sainsbury, Tesco, Boots, Morrisons and B&Q – has helped the trust to keep its staff, at a time when others are losing workers.

Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust has cut turnover of nursing staff by two per cent since starting the scheme, which also gives workers cut-price gym membership.

The trust says its discount website, which has more than 2,300 users, helps staff save up to £1,000 a year.