Hospital performances in Sussex have been among the worst in England according to figures published today.

Government statistics covering dates ranging from 1999 to June 2001 show some hospitals were close to the bottom of the table in several areas.

Health bosses say they have managed to improve their performances since then and a number of measures have been brought in to tackle consistent problems.

The new figures also show the number of GPs in East Sussex, Brighton and Hove is only 52 per 100,000 people, well below the national average of 58. West Sussex has 59.

Between July and September last year more than 54 per cent of patients waited more than four hours on a trolley in accident and emergency at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton.

This was one of the worst levels in England.

At Worthing Hospital the figure was 24 per cent, in Mid Sussex it was 21 per cent and in Eastbourne it was only 3.1 per cent.

Since then Brighton Health Care NHS Trust has brought in extra staff, added more medical assessment beds and worked on cutting the number of patients stuck on wards while waiting for nursing home beds. Its figure has now improved.

The trust's death rate within 30 days of non-elective surgery was 3,326 per 100,000 patients for 2001, one of the highest in England.

The trust said this was because it recorded its figures differently from other hospitals. It has now changed to fit in with the rest.

Between April and June last year the percentage of women with suspected breast cancer referred urgently to a consultant at Brighton Health Care stood at 58.6 per cent - one of the lowest levels in England.

In Mid Sussex the number of women seen was 60.6 per cent.

Since then new clinic times have been drawn up at Brighton and extra staff brought in to cope with demand, leading to an improvement in performance.

The performance indicators also reveal men and women in Sussex can expect to live slightly longer than the UK average of 76 for men and 80 for women.

The number of girls aged 18 or under getting pregnant is also below average in both areas, with West Sussex having the fifth lowest figure in England.

Infant mortality rates in the two health authority areas are lower than average, with West Sussex having the fourth lowest figure in England.

NHS Chief Executive Nigel Crisp has sent a personalised letter to every NHS trust in Sussex comparing their performance against the rest of the country.

He said: "Every hospital and health authority must take a long, cold look at these figures and take real action to deal with problems."