THE county's hospitals trust is facing an estimated fine of nearly £30,000 for ambulances delayed for more than 20 minutes in June

But, since then, the number of ambulances waiting outside Gloucestershire hospitals has more than halved.

Financial penalties were introduced at the beginning of last month to improve waiting times at Gloucestershire's two main hospitals.

The trust says it has seen progress, with a dramatic drop in vehicles waiting for more than 20 minutes, from 668 in April to 302 last month.

Reported delays of more than one hour have reduced from 63 in April to nine in June.

Speaking at a board meeting of Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust yesterday, Evelyn Barker, chief operating officer and deputy chief executive, said: "We had some challenges over the winter and have made significant progress."

Penalties see the hospitals trust hit with a £95 fine for every ambulance delayed for more than 20 minutes and a further £95 if they have to wait for more than an hour.

The fines will be collected by NHS Gloucestershire at the end of the financial year and given to the Great Western Ambulance Service (GWAS), which serves the county.

The hospitals trust is using a new computer system in its emergency departments which means they can see when ambulances are on their way in.

Mrs Barker added: "We know what to expect on arrival and this allows us to be much more proactive."

Speaking after the meeting, she said: "We are pleased to be making significant reductions to the number and duration of ambulance delays at both Gloucestershire Royal and Cheltenham General Hospitals.

"While the current action plan is already delivering real improvements to patient experience at our hospitals, we are also aiming to achieve further reductions for the remainder of this financial year."

A financial penalty system aimed at Great Western Ambulance Service was also introduced in June.

It sees GWAS hit with a £95 fine for delays of more than 15 minutes when getting the ambulance ready to get back out on the road after dropping off a patient. This includes the restocking of drugs and equipment and cleaning it.

In June there were 606 times when the 'wrap up' time exceeded 15 minutes in Gloucestershire.

But the service's trust says ambulances can be made exempt from the fine in certain circumstances, such as when patients have been brought in with major trauma injuries.

A spokesman for GWAS said: "The penalties are not imposed mindlessly. There is a logic to them with the overriding priority being to improve patient care.

"The penalties are there to encourage us as a service to look at ways of making sure our vehicles are back on the roads quicker and respond to that. We are already seeing the overall turnaround times starting to come down and that can only benefit all our patients."