HALTON and Warrington Hospitals have made 'significant achievements' in the last year, hospital boss Ian Dalton has said.

He said the hospitals have treated patients quicker than ever, ensuring no-one waits more than nine months for admission or 17 weeks for an outpatient appointment.

He said that they all suspected cancer patients had been seen within two weeks of a GP referral, and more than 90 per cent of patients are seen in the A&E department within four hours.

"This has been a significant achievement for the trust and is a credit to our caring and committed staff that we continue to reduce waiting times for treatment," said Mr Dalton.

"However, we recognise that we can never allow ourselves to become complacent and will continue to strive to do even better for patients."

Ian Dalton is chief executive of North Cheshire Hospitals NHS Trust, which manages Warrington and Halton hospitals.

The trust has also made improving its financial position one of its top priorities after getting into a multi-million pound debt.

The trust has ended the financial year £1m better than the target agreed with Cheshire and Merseyside Strategic Health Authority.

Mr Dalton said his top priorities for the next two years are to offer patients even better quality health care and to eliminate the trust's financial deficit.

He said: "I'm clear that with the exceptional quality of our staff we will be able to do this for our patients."