ALMOST £1 million has been awarded to Worcestershire's hospitals to try and ease A&E problems this winter.

The funding will see Worcestershire Royal Hospital and the Alex in Redditch benefit from a combined £920,000.

It is part of a £100 million fund from the Department for Health, designed to ease problems at 70 sites across the country.

It comes after Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said Worcestershire royal was the hospital he was the most concerned about in Britain.

The Worcester News can reveal how health minister Philip Dunne toured the royal earlier this month in a 'closed visit' to see how A&E is faring, as part of a nationwide expedition to all hospitals in special measures.

Half the £100 million has now been allocated, with Worcestershire's acute trust one of the first to be offered some extra money.

It will be spent this coming winter, in a bid to avoid a repeat of last year's huge problems which led to two patient deaths.

Worcester News:

Worcester MP Robin Walker said: "I am delighted at the Government’s commitment to reducing waiting times in Worcestershire with this sizeable investment following our meeting earlier this year.

"Clearly the long waiting times over the Christmas period were a massive issue and I am pleased to see action that will support our hard-working medical staff across the county.

"I will keep pressing making the case for substantial investment in capacity in our A&E."

West Worcestershire MP Harriett Baldwin added: "Each year the Department for Health offers extra cash to help hospitals deal with specific winter pressures - I'm pleased this money has been confirmed early this year to help the trust make its plans."

Under Government targets 95 per cent of patients are meant to be admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours of visiting A&E, but the acute trust keeps on missing the target.

And two months ago NHS England said more patients are enduring 12-hour 'trolley waits' to be admitted into Worcestershire's hospitals than anywhere else in the country.

A spokesman for the Worcestershire NHS Hospitals Acute Trust said it was unable to comment on the £920,000 funding due to rules around the election period.

But bosses at the acute have bid for £29 million from NHS England to beef up provision at their sites in Worcestershire including extra A&E capacity, more car parking, additional beds and revamped operating theatres.