Accident and emergency waiting times at Watford General Hospital have been revealed as some of the worst in the country.

Figures released by the BBC on Wednesday show that West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust ranked 121st out of 134 trusts nationally for hitting A&E waiting time targets in September.

A&E departments aim to treat or admit 95 per cent of emergency patients within four hours of arrival at hospital.

At Watford General, just 81.6 per cent were treated within that timeframe – a 3.6 per cent drop on September last year.

The trust last hit the national target in May 2015.

Plans to spend £641 million redeveloping Watford and St Albans City hospitals were approved by Herts Valleys Clinical Commissioning Group in July, shortly after the release of a damning report slating the dire state of facilities at the Vicarage Road site.

Jane Shentall, the trust’s director of performance, said: “Our aim is to provide the very best care for every patient, every day.

“Feedback from patients using Watford General Hospital’s emergency services shows an overall positive picture. The survey carried out nationally by the NHS Patient Survey Programme asked patients to rate their experience from zero to ten, with ten being the best, and 66 per cent rated it from eight to ten.

“However, demand for our services continues to rise and this is a challenge for all trusts. We are pleased that we have received government funding for a small expansion of our emergency department.

“We treat patients according to their clinical need which does mean that some people will wait longer than others. We are working very hard with partners in the NHS and the local authority to reduce waiting times for all our patients.”

West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust also failed to hit the national target for planned operations. Trusts aim to keep 89.4 per cent of patients waiting less than 18 weeks for a non-urgent operation.

The trust managed to meet the 18-week waiting time target in 88.8 per cent of cases in August this year, ranking 86th out of the 131 trusts.

It last hit the national target in November 2015.

However things were more positive in the final category examined.

In cancer care, trusts aim to begin treatment on 85 per cent of patients within 62 days of urgent GP referral.

The West Hertfordshire trust managed to hit that target in August, treating 86.2 per cent of patients within that time. However this was still a decrease on last year.