WHEN the trust which runs Blackburn and Burnley’s hospitals plunged into special measures in 2013, inspectors said a shortage of doctors and nurses was a major worry.

They pointed to the deficit leading to a ‘poor standard of care’.

The trust said a staffing review had already been carried out and there had been 40 job offers to nurses with more on the way.

So it’s reassuring to hear hospital bosses have continued in the same vein and have boosted the number of doctors by 25 since the Keogh report.

This is alongside a large increase in the number of nurses to the highest number on record.

The report also flagged up a ‘significant shortage of junior doctors’ which has been addressed to some degree and the trust is working alongside UCLan towards filling this void.

However, there is still too much of a reliance on expensive agency nurses.

This bill urgently needs to be reduced so more money can be freed up and spent on permanent, qualified staff to improve patient care.

After some extremely testing times, the trust is certainly on the up and heading in the right direction but there is still a long road ahead to fully win back public confidence.