DESPITE the large-scale use of private hospitals to reduce waiting lists, the region's newest NHS hospital is still failing to meet targets.

Bosses at the £97m University Hospital of North Durham will be given the bad news at a meeting of North Durham Health Care Trust today.

According to Government-backed targets, no more than 1,774 patients should have been waiting for their first consultant appointment at the end of August.

However, in fact 2,696 were waiting - 922 more than the target.

At the same time, the number of patients waiting more than 13 weeks to see a consultant rose by 360, from 2,336 at the end of July to 2,696 at the end of August.

While the Government is keen to reduce the number of patients waiting more than 12 months for surgery, the number waiting for a year at the Durham City hospital stood at 74 at the end of August, the same as at the end of July.

To add to the gloom, there is a warning that the privately-financed NHS hospital is running out of funds earmarked for the Government's waiting list initiative.

In his report to the board, Tom Fitches, acting director of finance with the North Durham trust, says that it has so far spent an extra £700,000 on trying to meet waiting list targets.

"Referrals to the private sector, plus agency locum costs, are proving very expensive.

"Despite the current level of spend, the waiting list position is not improving, due to increasing referrals, staff sickness and vacancy levels and bed limitations," he says.

Mr Fitches says that the trust can only identify a further £202,000 potential funding for further waiting list work, even though seven months of the financial year remain.

While Mr Fitches is forecasting that the trust will break even at the end of the year, he warns that the cost of the waiting list initiative is one of a number of significant financial risks facing the trust.

The trust has attracted criticism because the new hospital has 32 fewer beds than the old Dryburn Hospital, which it replaced.

But trust bosses deny that the size of the new hospital has anything to do with the private finance initiative being pursued by the Government.