Accident and emergency departments at hospitals run by the Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust have some of the worst waiting times in the country, a report has found.

The Healthcare Commission last week published its ratings for all hospitals, grading the trust as weak for the quality of its services.

Goverment targets say 98 per cent of patients should be seen at A&E within four hours. When the ratings were compiled for April 2007 to March 2008, 92 per cent of patients in West Kent were seen in this time. The figure is now 96 per cent.

But the Healthcare Commission confirmed this week the 92 per cent figure put MTW as the second worst performing hospital trust in the UK, behind only Barking, Havering and Redbridge NHS Trust.

Tunbridge Wells MP Greg Clark (Con), who has campaigned on the issue of bed blocking for more than a year, questioned health bosses after discovering the figures in the report.

He said: "At various times A&E has been so full that ambulances have been queued up outside hospitals waiting to discharge patients.

"So far this has not resulted in loss of life but I am very concerned, in the event of a big increase in admissions due to a severe winter, there is a risk the admission process could grind to a halt."

Recent figures obtained by the MP, show 6,467 bed days were lost at the trust due to delayed discharges of patients between October 15, 2007 and July 6, 2008.

Mr Clark wants the NHS to consider re-opening hospital beds, look at why patients are waiting to be discharged when they are better and investigate whether MTW could take over beds in community hospitals.

A spokesman for the Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust said it was working with NHS West Kent, the primary care trust responsible for purchasing services, to address the issues.