MORE newly-qualified doctors have taken up jobs at East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust than in previous years, according to health chiefs.

Officially known as Foundation Year doctors, 72 newly-qualified staff have begun their two-year residencies, and will be joined by 128 more experienced trainee doctors who will be continuing their careers with ELHT.

Sixty-eight joined in 2015 and 63 in 2014 - the trust is only second behind Central Manchester NHS Foundation Trust in welcoming new arrivals.

Linda Whitfield, head of workforce education at the trust, said she was delighted that so many junior doctors had chosen to take up work or continue with the trust.

She said: “Welcome to both our Foundation Year doctors and Speciality doctors, many of whom have chosen to continue working with us after spending their ‘foundation’ training years with East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust.

“Becoming a doctor takes years of study and hard work, and we provide strong support to help our junior doctors during their time with us so patient safety is not compromised and we better nurture each doctors’ skills.”

With a total of 532 doctors, ELHT is one of the largest centres for training and development in the North West.

The 197 junior doctors will be on duty at Royal Blackburn Hospital and Burnley General Hospital as well as clinics at Accrington Victoria Community Hospital, Pendle Community Hospital and Clitheroe Community Hospital.

The doctors staying on with the trust will be trained in specialist areas such as paediatrics, medicine for older people and surgery.

Foundation doctors stay with the trust for at least two years and will begin work by shadowing more senior doctors and ward teams.

They will also undergo training for prescribing medication, blood transfusions and patient resuscitation.

Dr Damian Riley, ELHT medical director, said the shadowing period was part of ensuring high quality service in the region.

He said: "Patient safety and providing a high quality service is at the heart of the modern NHS and all new first year doctors undertake a period of shadowing the doctor they replace.

“This ‘shadowing period’ gives new junior doctors the local knowledge and skills needed to provide safe, high quality patient care, from their first day as a hospital doctor.”