THE quality of hospital care in the East End has deteriorated in the past three years with patients having to wait too long for their treatment at the Royal London Hospital, according to the healthcare watchdog. Too many patients are waiting more than f

THE quality of hospital care in the East End has deteriorated in the past three years with patients having to wait too long for their treatment at the Royal London Hospital, according to the healthcare watchdog.

Too many patients are waiting more than four hours in A&E before being admitted to hospital and patients with chest pains are not seen by a specialist within two weeks of being referred by their GP.

Barts and the London Trust, which runs the Royal London in Whitechapel, was given a rating of 'weak' for its quality of services between April 2008 and March 2009 in today's survey by the Care Quality Commission.

But it is not all doom and gloom, with the trust meeting the majority of targets for its safety and cleanliness, dignity and respect, standard of care and keeping the public healthy.

The billion-pound IT Care Records System, installed last April, has been blamed for patients getting `lost' in the system but the trust's new chief executive Peter Morris has vowed bossed have put their "operational difficulties" behind them.

The failed waiting time targets meant NHS Tower Hamlets, which is in charge of healthcare in the borough, was also rated `weak' for its quality of services.

But the primary care trust received a clear bill of health for its provision of services as it met all the government standards and also received a `good' rating for its financial management.

Chief executive Alwen Williams said: "I would like to assure people that work is underway to reduce and end long waits for care.