A HEALTH regulator has launched an investigation into hospitals in Gloucestershire following repeated failings to meet accident and emergency waiting time targets.

Monitor opened the investigation into Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Cheltenham General and Gloucestershire Royal Hospital, over concerns patients are waiting too long in A&E.

The regulator may take formal action against the trust if the investigation finds they are still falling short.

National NHS targets for A&E waiting times require hospital trusts see at least 95 per cent of patients in four hours or less.

When Monitor investigated the Gloucestershire Trust’s A&E departments last year they found that, between April and December, they only met this target once in June. The most recent detailed figures available are from November and show that they reached only 88.2 per cent.

Following those findings, the trust accepted improvements had to be made and agreed to take a number of actions to cut waiting times, including appointing an improvement director and working with Monitor’s team of experts. However, Monitor said on Thursday that the trust had failed to make enough progress.

Regional director at Monitor Claudia Griffith said: “It’s disappointing that the trust hasn’t made greater progress with planned improvements and patients are too often waiting too long to be seen in A&E.

“We understand that the trust may need extra support, including from its local health and social care partners, to cut its A&E waiting times, which is why we now need to look more closely at what can be done to improve A&E performance.”

Responding to the regulator’s announcement, a spokesman for the trust said: “The trust acknowledges the announcement by Monitor and we will work closely with them to learn what else can be improved to ensure that patients benefit from high quality care.

“Emergency care is a whole system issue with close interdependencies across both primary as well as social care. Improving the four hour standard is complex but it is something that we are fully committed to doing for the benefit of our patients.”

No decision has yet been taken on whether regulatory action is needed. Should action be taken it is likely the initial solutions they presented to the trust will be made mandatory.

Monitor will announce the outcome of its investigation, expected to last a few months, once it has been completed.