WORCESTERSHIRE hospitals are still failing to meet A&E waiting time targets, which could endanger a bid for foundation trust status.

The Government says 98 per cent of all A&E patients should be seen, treated, admitted or discharged in four hours.

The county's two A&Es - the Worcestershire Royal Hospital in Worcester and the Alexandra in Redditch - managed this for 94 per cent of patients this month, four per cent lower than the target.

The failure has already been identified as a risk to the Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust's application to be given foundation trust status, which health chiefs hope to have approved by the Strategic Health Authority.

The trust is planning to begin a public consultation on its bid to become a foundation trust in early July.

The trust also has to develop its integrated business plan which has to be approved before the acute trust becomes a foundation trust.

Foundation trusts have more independence than ordinary NHS trusts, with more freedom to choose how they use resources.

For the financial year (2007/08) the A&Es managed to see 96 per cent of patients in four hours, missing the target.

The result was also 96 per cent in 2006/07, which means the trust has failed to hit the target for two years running.

The figures were discussed at a recent trust board meeting at the Alexandra Hospital in Redditch.

The chairman of the trust, Michael O'Riordan, insisted the trust would have to meet its target in order to secure foundation trust status.

"We have got to meet A&E targets - we have to balance our books," he said.

"We're going to do it. This is the next big target for us."

Chief executive John Rostill said the trust on some days had seen 99-100 per cent of patients within four hours.

However, on Monday, April 21, there were 45 breaches of the target across both A&Es and 26 on Monday, April 14, when the trust was dealing with as many as 400 cases in four hours.

He added: "There has been excessive pressure on our A&Es and for the first week in April we met the 98 per cent.

"The more publicity we give to the minor injuries unit and urgent care service (both in Kidderminster) the more people from Wyre Forest and Evesham and Malvern are prepared to use them rather than clogging up A&E and the better it will be."