MANAGERS of Worcester's troubled £96m hospital have been accused of a cynical attempt to beat Government waiting time targets.

Independent MP Dr Richard Taylor said a ward used for storage on the hospital's Newtown site had just been re-opened.

Dr Taylor was told by a member of staff that the ward - staffed exclusively by agency nurses - was being used to treat patients who would otherwise have gone to casualty.

The MP was suspicious the ward had been put back in use at the time Government inspectors were visiting the hospital to check waiting times in Accident and Emergency.

Staff are under pressure to meet a Government target of 90 per cent of patients who turn up at A&E being dealt with in four hours.

The checks began on Monday, and the ward re-opened last week.

A hospital spokeswoman said the ward had been updated to the same standard as all the other wards.

She said it had not been used since the move to the new hospital, but would not explain why.

"I'm not going down that line," she said.

Dr Taylor has tabled an Early Day Motion at Westminster attacking the move as "deplorable". It has been signed by four other MPs in the region - but not Worcester's Labour MP Mike Foster.

"The timing of this, and the probable difficulties associated with the use of this particular ward, make it appear that it is management action aimed at achieving A&E waiting time targets - rather than at improving the quality of patient care," said Dr Taylor, who represents Wyre Forest.

The MPs backing him are Tories Julie Kirkbride, Bromsgrove, Sir Michael Spicer, West Worcestershire, Peter Luff, Mid-Worcestershire, and the Lib Dem MP for Ludlow, Matthew Green.

"I do not blame hospital staff for this," said Tory MP Mr Luff. "I blame Health Secretary Alan Milburn for forcing them to make judgements based on Government targets, rather than clinical need."

Mr Foster said he would be contacting hospital chiefs to "establish the facts".

He accused the MPs of seeking to knock the hospital for their own political ends.

This week, the Evening News revealed Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust had taken out a £7.5m loan to cover the cost of its March wage bill for its 4,500 employees.