PUZZLED personnel managers have launched an inquiry into why almost a third of hospital staff left their jobs in 1999 within six months of taking up their post.

Bosses at Blackburn, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley NHS Trust have discovered that 30 per cent of workers left abruptly during the year.

The shock figures are the highest among ancillary workers with 54 per cent leaving within six months.

The figures were revealed during a study of staff turnover for 1999 which examined the trends of departures.

Elaine Baker, the trust's director of personnel and development, said: "We need to investigate further for explanations of the high wastage rates among staff with short service.

"Such reasons may feature suitability of the appointment, effectiveness of induction, unmet expectations of the job/environment/conditions or other factors."

The figures were revealed as a national survey showed that one in 10 workers failed to finish their first day in a new job.

The study by Reed Business Information also showed that 14 per cent of employees lasted less than a week while almost one in five resigned within a month.

Two out of three people questioned said they thought they were in the wrong job and almost everyone said they would happily swap jobs for a day.

The staffing issue at Blackburn hospitals was due to be discussed today at a meeting of the trust board at Queen's Park Hospital.

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