STAFF at Leighton Hospital have been praised by health watchdogs for dealing with patients quickly.

The busy hospital accident and emergency unit was put under examination this week by officials from Cheshire Central Community Health Council.

But representatives were far from disappointed when they monitored the time patients had to wait for treatment at well below the two hour maximum.

Instead, the snapshot survey at Leighton showed most people were seen by a doctor within half-an-hour.

Spokeman for Leighton Hospital, John Wicks, commented on the promising results.

He said: "We've put a lot of work into trying to minimise the length of time patients have to wait in casualty before being admitted.

"We have opened a medical admissions unit which means that all emergencies go to a ward and are able to have a bed straight away. Assessment is then carried out on the ward by a doctor.

"This means that in the accident and emergency departments condition can be assessed and treated by a nurse. Doctors can then deal with the more severely ill -meaning less waiting time for everybody.

"All this seems to be evident in the survey which showed no-one waited more than two hours."

Leighton was one of 150 hospitals examined as part of a nationwide Casualty Watch.

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