THE University Hospital of North Staffordshire is continuing to dig its way out of its long-standing crisis in emergency care – and last month held the best A&E record in the West Midlands.

Latest figures show the hospital surpassed Government targets on how quickly patients should be treated.

The breakthrough follows a year blighted by casualties facing marathon delays to see doctors – sometimes while waiting on trolleys in corridors.

Yesterday, it emerged at the trust's board meeting in Hartshill that figures for the six weeks up to the end of May show that the four-hour deadline for patients to be seen and either sent home or admitted to a bed was hit in 99 per cent of cases – compared with the 98 per cent demanded by the government.

The unit, the busiest in the West Midlands, had 17,887 cases during the six weeks, of which 17,706 were either sent home or admitted within four hours.

New figures also showed that the number of blocked beds dropped to 45 – against a target of 60 and down from a figure of more than 100 last winter – which has allowed new cases to be admitted quicker from A&E.

In addition, cancelled operations were down by 18 per cent, to 77 postponements.

And at just under four per cent, sickness levels among the 7,000 workforce were below the 4.5 per cent target set for the trust.

Chief executive Julia Bridgewater, pictured, said: "These are still early days in the new financial year but they have seen a significant improvement in our performance. We are not complacent, however, and everyone is working hard to sustain the figures."

Chairman Mike Brereton added that the four-hour figure was now the best among acute hospitals in the West Midlands Strategic Health Authority area.

Mr Brereton said it was clear that staff felt less under pressure than last year, when they would "try and put a brave face on things".

A string of measures have been introduced since then, ranging from extra beds in community hospitals and nursing homes to take recovering patients, to GPs working close to the unit to take pressure off consultants.

There has even been a field hospital introduced in Hanley to treat injured drunks.

But officials say that the turnaround is also down to £2 million spent in winter on employing extra nurses and the recent opening of a 22-bed ward to admit patients sent directly from GP surgeries.

Hospital chief operating officer Vanessa Gardener said that the 99 per cent had been hit despite demand remaining high.

On Monday alone, more than 300 patients passed through the unit.

A testimonial for the improvements came from a frequent critic of any failings in North Staffordshire healthcare.

From the public gallery, Ian Syme, leader of the campaigning group Healthwatch, told how he had been taken to the unit last month suffering from kidney stones.

He told directors: "I want to place on record my congratulations to the trust for the absolute excellence of services I experienced in A&E.

"With the bed occupancy levels at this hospitals at above 90 per cent and way higher than the national average, it speaks volumes for the duty of care of your staff that your mortality rates remain below average."