PATIENTS are treated quicker at Leighton Hospital than anywhere else in Cheshire and Merseyside, according to new figures.

Statistics revealed in The Sunday Times Good Hospital Guide show that 86% of people awaiting their first outpatient appointment at Leighton Hospital were seen within the Government's target of 13 weeks.

That put Leighton at the top of the hospital league table for the Cheshire and Merseyside region.

The survey also showed 73% of patients treated last year were satisfied with the treatment they received while 79% trusted the doctors treating them.

The Guide did find that 91% of patients waiting for inpatient or day care treatment at the Crewe hospital were seen within the target of six months, making the hospital the second best performer in this category in the region.

Delighted Simon Yates, chief executive of Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Trust which runs Leighton, said: 'We welcome the publication of the Good Hospital Guide and the opportunity it affords us to share information about our services with our patients and the general public.

'Our performance in terms of waiting times reflects the excellent progress we have made in enhancing our services to local people and in meeting Government targets.

'However, this considerable achievement would not have been possible without the sheer dedication and hard work of all our staff to whom I should like to publicly to express my thanks and those of the Trust board.'

Mr Yates said the hospital had made significant progress in reducing waiting times in recent months.

From April this year, he insisted, no one will wait longer than 17 weeks for their first outpatient appointment and no longer than nine months for in-patient treatment.

Mr Yates added: 'We are also very encouraged by the considerable progress made in raising levels of patient satisfaction and the ongoing reduction in mortality rates.'