THOUSANDS of patients in Swindon are being forced to wait more than four hours in Accident and Emergency, official figures have revealed.

A new Department of Health report shows one in five people needing urgent medical attention in town had to wait longer than the four-hour target time.

Swindon and Marlborough NHS Trust saw 14,626 patients in A&E at Great Western Hospital between October and December last year.

Of those the vast majority 80 per cent were either admitted to hospital, transferred to a specialist unit or discharged in less than four hours. But that left 2,910 patients waiting 20 per cent of all those requiring medical help.

The details were published as part of a wide probe into how NHS coped during the winter, traditionally the time of greatest strain.

Sir George Alberti, National Clinical Director for Emergency Access, said the NHS had performed well overall, with staff helping millions of patients nationwide.

But he warned some A&E departments were still not quick enough

While some saw all patients within four hours, many others failed. Sir George pledged to change this and to push for improvements.

He added: "There is still much to be done and in 2005 all patients, unless there are clear clinical reasons, can expect to be seen and treated within four hours."

No one was available from Swindon and Marlborough NHS Trust for comment.