FRIMLEY Park Hospital met most of its medical and financial targets last year despite treating more patients.

The hospital trust's just-published annual report reveals that no-one waited more than 15 months for inpatient treatment and there were no waits over 26 weeks for an outpatient appointment.

The waiting list was reduced to 5,183, just 17 inside the hospital's target, by the end of 2001.

Clinical performance targets have also been met in cancer and coronary care.

But in order to meet its waiting list targets the hospital trust overspent by £330,000 - 0.3 per cent of its turnover.

The hospital recorded 53,146 "finished consultant episodes" - treatment involving a stay in hospital or on a day-case basis - which is up on 52,492 from last year.

The number of outpatients treated also rose, from 209,154 to 217,178 and 75, 684 people were treated in the hospital's accident and emergency department.

Frimley Park serves a population of 370,000 and about half that number are expected to have contact with the hospital in any year.

For the second consecutive year, Frimley was awarded the top three-stars rating by the government and last year was ranked one of the country's top 40 hospitals in terms of performance.

The Medical Emergency Team, which aims to prevent heart attacks, was commended by the Commission for Health Improvement.

New developments have included the introduction of robotics, which will allow electronic requesting of blood tests and automatic processing of specimens, a 36-bed medical assessment unit and the introduction of TV cameras, telephony and computers that will make the diagnosis of skin problems quicker and easier.

The hospital received 313 formal complaints - 10 per cent fewer than last year. But it aims to improve on the number of full responses returned within 20 working days. It achieves this in 67 per cent of cases - up from 55 per cent last year - but has set a target of 90 per cent for next year.

Of those complaints, there were four where an independent review was requested, and of these, one went to an independent review panel.