A CASH reward has been given to Southampton General Hospital after staff reduced casualty department waiting times.

By investing in more frontline emergency department staff and changing some practices, the team managed to treat and discharge or admit 94 per cent of patients within four hours.

The department - which sees some 1,600 patients a week - has been rewarded with a £100,000 government handout.

The hospital has qualified for the first stage of the government's accident and emergency incentive scheme designed to encourage all NHS trusts in England to deliver faster emergency care.

Continued improvement means Southampton University Hospitals NHS Trust will land itself £500,000 over the next year.

All the cash will be used for medical equipment or facilities for patients.

Simon Jupp, the trust's director of operations, said: "We had some very long waits in our bleakest moments but our experienced staff have put in place a sound action plan that we knew could give us sustainable improvement.

"We were not after a quick-fix but were determined to generally improve patients' experience of healthcare.

"I am delighted by this recognition of the hard work by staff across the trust and across the whole of the local health service, but we are not going to stop there - we intend to take things even further."