BOSSES at the failing Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust have pledged to turn things around.

The trust - which runs Worcestershire Royal Hospital and Alexandra Hospital in Redditch - was rated inadequate and placed in special measures by the Care Quality Commission in a damning report published on Wednesday (December 2).

But the trust has claimed significant improvements have been made since the inspection in July and has promised further progress.

Harry Turner, chairman of the trust said: "Since the inspectors visited us, all of our teams and staff have worked relentlessly to make further advancements so that we can continue to deliver quality safe care for our patients.

"This is something we will continue to drive over the coming months.”

He added that he was "pleased" the efforts of the executive team were recognised in the CQC report and pledged further stability would be achieved by recruiting a permanent executive team.

Dr Andy Phillips, chief medical officer, said: “We recognise we still have a great deal of work to do and want to reassure all of our patients and local people that safety remains our top priority.

“We have focused on continuing to improve all of our services since the CQC inspection in July and in the last four months we have improved performance in emergency services.

"In November we saw and treated over 91 per cent of patients in under four hours, compared to 85 per cent when the commission visited.

"The CQC inspectors highlighted how the introduction of our pre-admissions area had reduced overcrowding in A&E and this improvement work has continued with the opening of a new ward at Worcestershire Royal Hospital in November.

"This will enable us to continue to improve our performance during the coming busy winter months.

"Our new ambulatory care service, which has just commenced, will mean that those who need support, but not a hospital bed, will receive it quickly without having to be admitted to a ward.

"This will continue to reduce pressures, improve ambulance handover times and improve patient care and safety.”

Chris Tidman, chief executive of the trust, added: “We would like to thank our patients, our staff and local people for their loyalty and support and assure them that we are committed to making these improvements so that we can continue to offer caring services to local people.”