THE Royal United Hospital, Bath, has been rated as weak' in its use of resources but was given a fair' score in relation to quality of services.

Chief executive Mark Davies, right, who has announced he is leaving his post in the spring, said the scores show the hospital is improving.

"As a trust we are pleased that in terms of our quality of service we are making and sustaining good progress," he said. "In terms of money it is no surprise that we scored less well.

"It is well known that the trust has had significant financial difficulties but we have tackled these head on and we have a financial recovery plan in place to balance the books this year.

"We have excellent staff at the RUH who are working extremely hard to deliver the best possible care and treatment to our patients and we are committed to continually improving our services."

West Wiltshire MP Andrew Murrison said: "The RUH does have excellent staff and my constituents are generally pleased with the service they get there.

"However there is no room for complacency and I would be very concerned if the RUH were to attempt to dress this up as good news.

"I think there is a long, long way to go."