Health bosses at Airedale Hospital have warned that patient waiting lists will grow unless more Government funds are made available.

Director of planning and marketing Doug Farrow said patients would have to wait longer for in-patient, day case and out-patient treatment due to a reduction in NHS cash.

Mr Farrow said the hospital in Steeton, near Keighley, had hit its targets in the three areas in the last year thanks to one-off funding received as part of the Government's Going Further Faster initiative.

By the end of the 2003 financial year, the trust had no patients waiting more than the recommended nine months for in-patient or day case treatment.

It also met the target of having no patient waiting more than 13 weeks for an outpatient appointment.

"It is important to note that this performance was supported by non-recurring resources which have not been replicated in 2003/2004," said Mr Farrow.

"It is inevitable that the overall numbers waiting will increase over the next few months although the trust will seek to ensure that no individual patient waits more than nine months for in-patient and day case."

Mr Farrow added that the trust would try to ensure that no one waited more than 17 weeks for an out-patient appointment.

During the last year the trust consistently achieved its target for cancer patients, with all urgent referrals seen within the recommended two weeks.

Treatment targets of 31 days from diagnosis and 62 days from GP referral were also consistently achieved.

But the trust has still struggled to achieve the recommended targets for patients with coronary heart disease, particularly those requiring clot-busting thrombolytic drugs.

Although Airedale has introduced a new initiative where nurses administer thrombolysis under medical supervision, it has still found it difficult to provide the drug to the recommended 75 per cent of patients in the 30-minute door to needle time, a time that will reduce to 20 minutes next year.

The appointment of a long-term stand-in heart specialist should enable the trust to get its rapid access scheme for patients with suspected heart pain off the ground.