TOO many patients are still waiting too long to be dealt with at accident and emergency departments in Gwent.

Figures from 15 major emergency units in Wales for the three months up to and including January show most fall short of meeting the target that 95 per cent of patients spend less than four hours in A&E from arrival to admission, transfer or discharge.

Just five units hit the target during November and December, and only one in January as the numbers of winter emergency admissions rose.

Problems at the Royal Gwent's A&E department are well documented, but though the hospital failed to meet the 95 per cent target, performance for November-January improved each month.

The upward trend was repeated at only two other A&E units - Nevill Hall at Abergavenny, and Singleton in Swansea - during this period.

The Royal Gwent's A&E department dealt with 86.5 per cent of patients within four hours in November, 87.6 per cent in December, and 89.6 per cent in January.

In February 2005, fewer than seven out of ten Royal Gwent A&E patients were dealt with in four hours. Since then, changes have been made to the way the department runs to improve performance. While the January 2006 performance was better, it was still the third lowest figure from the 15 A&E departments for that month.

The Royal Gwent's problems stem from the fact that its A&E department was designed in the early 1990s to cater for 40,000 attendances a year, but now receives almost double that amount.

Emergency medical admissions continue to increase too. The aim was for a five per cent reduction in the year to March 31. Final figures are not yet available, but an 11 per cent rise was predicted. This hits A&E because when fewer beds are available, major cases from this department face delays.

Gwent Healthcare Trust hopes to improve A&E performance further by treating minor A&E cases in a new, portable unit which opens soon next to the existing department.