Bradford's hospitals are the best performing in West Yorkshire for their patient care, according to new figures.

Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Bradford Royal Infirmary and St Luke's Hospital, was the only hospital trust in the county to score a top green rating in a range of targets including waiting times in A&E and referral for cancer treatment.

The scores for every hospital and mental health trust across the county, compiled by West Yorkshire Strategic Health Authority, showed Bradford had brought down waiting lists and waiting times to the lowest in West Yorkshire.

According to the figures, the number of patients waiting for an operation was reduced from 6,400 to 4,286 in 2004/5 and the number of people waiting for more than six months was cut from 426 to 37.

The figures showed more people were seen within four hours of waiting in A&E at BRI than any other hospital in West Yorkshire.

The figures came after more than six months of turmoil for the flagship trust which was in £11.3 million debt at the start of this year and which cost former chairman John Ryan and chief executive David Jackson their jobs.

The trust's director of planning and performance Malcolm Poad said: "It's great news for patients in Bradford. The big improvement is in waiting times and waiting list figures. That achievement is part of a two-year programme which we agreed with Bradford Primary Care Trusts to bring about a big reduction.

"The investment in the BRI site with three new wards and six theatres which opened early in 2004 was part of that."

The additional staff and facilities were questioned in a scathing report by troubleshooters Alvarez and Marsal which probed the trust's finances last year but Mr Poad said the extra investment was worth it.

Health chiefs praised staff and thanked them for their hard work over the difficult year.

In a letter to staff today, acting trust chief executive Rose Stephens said: "In the face of some of the biggest challenges that many of us have faced in the NHS, your contribution has once again paved the way for meeting all our performance targets relating to patient care.

"The high levels of professionalism, commitment and skill that you and your colleagues have shown are a credit t this trust, and will stand us in good stead for further improving our hospital services in the future.

"It is this teamwork and the positive way in which everyone who works in this trust responds to a challenge that has enabled us to achieve so much in 2004/05."

A West Yorkshire Strategic Health Authority spokesman said: "The traffic lights are purely presentational to quickly highlight whether an organisation is on track against its agreed plan. They are not formal assessments of performance, these are provided independently by the Healthcare Commission in the annual star ratings.

"As a Foundation Trust, the BTHFT does not fall within the performance management responsibility of West Yorkshire SHA, however we supply this report for their own information.