BOSSES at the Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester are celebrating after meeting accident and emergency waiting time targets.

Latest figures show almost everyone is seen within the target time of four hours.

From July to September, 13,405 patients were seen and more than 96 per cent of these were seen inside four hours.

And in the last month more than 98 per cent have been treated within the target time.

Winchester and Eastleigh NHS Trust says more staff and better ways of "streaming'' patients to ensure they are seen by the person who can best manage their care has helped cut waiting times.

Chief executive Rod Halls said: "Our emergency department staff deserve the credit for working hard to meet this challenging target.

"Not only have they beaten the target but they have set in train many new processes which will help us to stay on track when we have to treat a higher percentage of patients within four hours."

The target was 90 per cent during 2003-04 but there were financial incentives for trusts to improve on this in order to be in better shape for January 2005, when the target will be for 98 per cent of patients to be seen within four hours.

Figures released yesterday show that waiting times in A&E departments across England continue to fall.

A report by the emergency care tsar Sir George Alberti shows 96 per cent of people are now waiting four hours or less.