BOSSES at the Royal London were today refuting claims they were facing a �400,000 fine for making patients wait too long for their treatment. The denials came after Tory MP Richard Bacon, a member of the Commons Public Accounts Committee which scrutinise

BOSSES at the Royal London abd Barts hospitals have today refuted an MP’s claims that they are facing a hefty fine for making patients wait too long for their treatment.

The denial came after Tory MP Richard Bacon, a member of the Commons Public Accounts committee which scrutinises public spending, insisted the trust running the hospitals in Whitechapel and the City was going to be fined �400,000 a month by NHS Tower Hamlets for missing waiting time targets.

He told the Commons that the �12.7bn NHS computer programme installed by Barts & The London Trust last year was to blame for causing a backlog of out-patients waiting more than six months.

The East London Advertiser reported earlier this year that the trust had lost track of patients waiting for appointments after details were hidden or went unrecorded on the new IT system just installed.

But the trust denied today (Friday) Mr Bacon’s assertion’ that it was in deficit. A spokeswoman said: “We can confirm this is not the case and this year the trust will return a surplus.”

The trust was said to be negotiating with NHS Tower Hamlets about the charges for breaching the 18-week target, while all outpatients in the backlog had now been seen by a consultant within the 13-week target.