HOSPITAL bosses are under intense pressure after an official report slammed the services relied on by St Albans residents.

Both the West Hertfordshire Hospitals Trust and the primary care trust (PCT) which runs GP surgeries have been rated "weak" in the Healthcare Commission's review of 2006/7.

Secretary of State Alan Johnson has asked the Commission to perform a special inspection, and Claire Ward, Watford's normally ultra cautious MP, has already called for hospital trust boss David Law's resignation.

But St Albans MP Anne Main was reluctant to blame management, pointing the finger at the repercussions of cost-cuttiing efforts prompted by financial deficits.

She said: "The staff are working as hard as they can and there have been some improvements, but in an effort to meet budgets there has been cost-cutting and frozen posts.

"People will feel they have been let down."

St Albans Lib Dem parliamentary candidate Sandy Walkington said: "It is depressing that we are so near the bottom of the heap nationally."

The trust which governs St Albans City, Watford and Hemel Hempstead hospitals has been fingered for delays to thrombolysis for heart attack patients, rebooking of cancelled operations, chest pain clinics and clearing blocked arteries.

The West Hertfordshire Primary Care Trust has fallen down on treatment for drug addicts, care for patients with long-term illnesses and reducing deaths from heart attacks and strokes.

Both trusts were also rated weak on use of resources.

Mr Law said: "While disappointing, these results highlight the need to introduce changes that enable staff to provide the consistently high-quality services that people deserve.

"Our performance on waiting times in accident and emergency are excellent, and our performance on waiting times for in-patients, out-patients and cancer patients remains good."

He argued the results underlined the importance of the trust's strategy to expand Watford General Hospital, and develop surgery and specialist treatment at the St Albans and Hemel Hempstead sites.

PCT boss Anne Walker said: "Robust action plans are already delivering improvements in the areas where the health check found that the PCT was not performing as well as it should."

The Hertfordshire Partnership Trust, which runs mental health services, was rated "excellent", while the East of England Ambulance Service is described as "good".