NEW names are in the pipeline for the Royal Blackburn and Burnley General Hospitals to reflect its educational aspirations.

The Haslingden Road and Casterton Avenue sites will soon be known as the Royal Blackburn Teaching Hospital and Burnley General Teaching Hospital after the move was approved by NHS chiefs yesterday.

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Eventually East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust wants to add the distinction ‘university’ to its identity and become a nationally-recognised hub for medical education.

Trust chief executive Kevin McGee said: “Historically the trust has been well renowned for providing high-quality education and training, not only for doctors but across most of the professional disciplines.”

Teaching partnerships, especially with UCLan, would underpin the new names, with the eventual ambition of the organisation becoming a university hospitals trust, he said.

Stephen Barnes, a trust non-executive director, questioned why the NHS trust as a whole was not being rebranded.

But Mr McGee said this would take ‘many months’ as technical changes would be required to their establishment orders.

He told a board meeting the name changes could be achieved at little cost, by altering just some signage and only redesigning stationery when current supplies ran out.

Prof Eileen Fairhurst, trust chairman, said: “This is a really important in attracting staff. If people are trained in a particular place then they are much more likely to stay.”

Last year the trust gave its endorsement to a new UCLan medical degree, for which it provides student placements. Medical students split their times between the university’s Preston and Burnley campuses.

The trust was also recognised for its retention rates for student nurses last year, as 89 per cent of their 238-strong intake chose to stay on locally.

Canon Michael Wedgeworth, chairman of Healthwatch Lancashire, said: “This will be important as the trust looks to take on more healthcare related work.”