A TRUST that runs Worcestershire's hospitals is "seriously letting patients down" by failing to meet three-quarters of its targets, say health campaigners.

At a board meeting yesterday of the Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust - which runs Worcestershire Royal Hospital, Kidderminster Hospital and the Alexandra, at Redditch - it was revealed that it has failed to meet 10 of its 13 Government targets.

One of the targets is seeing 100 per cent of its urgent referral cancer patients within two weeks, but so far this year the trust has only managed to see 95.86 per cent.

"It is a mind-blowing thing for people to be diagnosed with cancer and told they have a life-threatening condition," said Malcolm Cooper, vice chairman and treasurer of the Wyre Forest action group Health Concern.

"The fact that people are having to wait is something the trust should give major priority to resolving.

"It's seriously letting them down when they are at their most vulnerable."

The trust has failed to have less than one per cent of its operations cancelled - with an average cancellation rate to date of 2.8 per cent.

Other target failures include waiting lists and treating 90 per cent of Accident & Emergency patients within four hours of them being admitted.

The trust insists it is doing all it can to rectify the situation and is confident about meeting all of the targets.

Glen Burley, director of operations for the trust, said: "It's a constant battle but we do manage far better than some other trusts.

"There are a number of factors behind it, in terms of elective work we are performing over our contract, by that I mean we are treating more patients than we are financially supported to."

The news comes as pressure is growing nationally on the Government to cut the number of national health targets and allow individual trusts to set more of their own.

"We welcome the move to a more responsive system based on locally agreed targets," added Mr Burley.

"This will not take away the need to deliver on some of the key NHS Plan targets.

"The A&E target is one that most large trusts are struggling with, but we do have plans to raise our performance."