AT the start of this month, we joined others in heaping praise on our healthcare providers for helping to reduce waiting times at Worcestershire's hospitals.

When a lot of NHS trusts are struggling to even meet Government waiting list targets, we wrote, the announcement that Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust is on course to slash those times by a third is welcome indeed.

However, it would appear that those figures did not give the full story.

The latest statistics - obtained by Worcester MP Mike Foster - show that average waiting times have actually gone up by almost a third.

Massive reductions in the longest waits have been off-set by big increases in those procedures that traditionally had shorter waiting times.

Our praise earlier this month now rings somewhat hollow.

These latest statistics, combined with the truly alarming news that GPs have been asked not to send patients to Worcestershire Royal Hospital because of a beds shortage, make for very grim reading.

The reason for these problems is plain enough.

The ludicrous decision to build a supposed flagship hospital for Worcester that is quite obviously too small for its catchment area is the main reason.

And, of course, the downgrading of Kidderminster hospital compounded the situation.

The people of Worcestershire deserve better than this. An urgent review is needed.