NURSES from Burnley General Hospital got the chance to celebrate the results of three years of pioneering work when the region's top nursing leader paid a visit.

Nurses from across Burnley Healthcare NHS Trust showed off dozens of their achievements -- many of which are firsts in the country -- to Talib Yaseen, the North West regional director of nursing.

He was shown the ground-breaking work on booking admissions so that patients do not have a series of pre-admission visits, which has resulted in less patients not turning up for appointments.

Many of the projects have been brought in under the Government's new national nursing strategy Making a Difference.

Nurses showed off the results of a study into patient privacy and dignity and a national pilot scheme to train all healthcare assistants to the same standard.

The trust is bucking the trend with vacancy rates for nurses, with one of the lowest rates in the North, despite a national recruitment crisis -- something staff are especially proud of.

Lesley Doherty, director of nursing and quality at Burnley General, said: "It was our chance to celebrate some of the collaborative work we have done over the last three years.

"It was really nice to feel good about nursing. We have one of the lowest vacancy rates, and the vacancies we have are just natural wastage."

Two schemes which impressed Talib were the new nurse-led Rossendale rehabilitation ward, and a new scheme to work more closely with the Learning Disability Service team.

He was also shown the results of the privacy survey, which resulted in changes such as 'do not disturb' signs being put on curtains drawn around beds; 'please knock' signs for patient toilets and a dedicated teenagers' section in the children's ward.

Also, a ground-breaking scheme to train all healthcare assistants, or auxiliary nurses, to the same high standards before starting work on the wards, was discussed.

Lesley said: "Some of the things we have done have just been little things, but they make a huge difference to patients. We have also done a lot of collaborative work and each nursing speciality had something to show. We have had a lot of firsts here and we are very proud of them."

Assistant director of clinical practice, Brian Green, said: "The trust was delighted to welcome Talib as it provided an opportunity to share best practice and highlight the work that is taking place at Burnley to meet the Government's modernisation agenda for the NHS."