A HEALTH watchdog has launched a probe into the Gloucestershire NHS Foundation Trust to establish why waiting times for A and E patients have been so long.
Monitor opened the investigation into the trust, which provides acute and specialist care at hospitals in Gloucester and Cheltenham, following its failure to reach the national waiting time target of four hours throughout the majority of the 2014/15 financial year.
The regulator will examine why the trust is consistently failing the national A and E target and what can be done to reduce waiting times for patients.
Regional Director at Monitor Paul Streat said: “Some patients at the trust have been waiting too long in A and E, and this has been going on for some time. For the benefit of local people in Gloucestershire, the situation needs to improve soon.
No decision has been made by Monitor on whether action will be needed.
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