Southend Hospital has been served with two legal notices to improve its services.

The first relates to a failure to meet Government targets for waiting times. Patients should wait no longer than 62 days following an urgent GP referral for treatment, including for cancer patients. Some people are not being seen within this time.

The second notice says the hospital is not ensuring enough appointments are made available in the “choose and book” system, which allows patients to decide where they are treated.

NHS South East Essex is concerned about a significant increase in failing to make slots available, but says this may be down to the computer system.

The hospital is performing poorly in eight key areas, according to the primary care trust. However, it has already taken steps to improve in six.

Hospital spokeswoman Carly Harrison said: “Southend Hospital met the annual 62-day target for the last financial year, and has continued to meet it so far this year. However, as the target involves a relatively small number of patients on a month by month basis, if there are a number of cases involving complicated and numerous diagnostic tests in a particular month, that month’s performance may fall below the annual target.

“The locally agreed “choose and book” target is widely recognised as being demanding.

“To put this into perspective, Southend Hospital remains the second-best in the East of England and 17th in the country overall for compliance.”

Other key areas which need improvement, but are not yet subject to a performance notice are: Delayed transfers of care from hospital into the community; working with social care and housing providers; patients discharged with planned procedure carried out; and one per cent of people who were readmitted within 14 days.

Also needing work is the six-week diagnostics target, the high number of pregnant women still smoking by the time of labour and delays in handover between A&E and ambulance services due to poor organisation.

These have not been subject to a formal notice because improvements have been seen in March or work is already ongoing between the primary care trust and the hospital, ambulance service or local authority to make changes.