BASINGSTOKE hospital has unlocked a £100,000 cash pot after hitting accident and emergency waiting time targets.

The cash has been awarded after 95 per cent of accident and emergency patients were seen, treated and discharged or admitted within the national four-hour guideline between April and June.

If the hospital can achieve a 96 per cent rate for the July to September period - it is currently running at 96.5 per cent - a further £100,000 will be awarded.

Between October and December, the hospital must achieve a 98 per cent rate to collect a third £100,000.

Bosses at the hospital say that the Department of Health money will be ploughed back into the A&E department to benefit staff and patients, and to help meet future targets.

Jill Pellett, director of recovery and modernisation at Basingstoke hospital, revealed that e-mails have been sent out to members of staff to congratulate them on the achievement.

She said: "All staff involved in caring for emergency admissions have worked extremely hard.

"I think staff will see rewards as the money will be invested in services we provide, and into the facilities with which they work, so they can give the best care to patients."

She added that the money might be used to change the layout of the department, to enable it to better suit the needs of patients.

She said: "The idea of giving money is to help us continually improve."

In order to meet the waiting time targets, the hospital has introduced a number of measures.

These include the establishment of a medical assessment unit, which is designed to take pressure away from the A&E department. Patients are sent to the unit by their GP as emergency cases, to receive appropriate assessment.

News of the cash injection comes as a boost to the hospital as bosses bid to save a total of £11million within this financial year.