Patients in Bradford are being treated quicker than in other areas of Yorkshire and Humber – with year-on-year improvements being made in time taken from referral to treatment.

Official figures show 91.7 per cent of patients under the care of Bradford Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Bradford Royal Infirmary and St Luke's, were seen within 18 weeks in March – up from 88.5 per cent March 2011.

Bradford boasts a slighter higher rate, at 91.7 per cent, than the 91.3 per cent average across Yorkshire and Humber.

Health Secretary Andrew Lansley was today using examples, such as the improvements made across the district, to tell MPs the NHS was in “excellent” shape and waiting times were falling.

Mr Lansley – in his first annual statement to Parliament on the health of the NHS – will also release statistics pointing to falling ‘superbug’ infections, fewer mixed-sex wards, more people being treated by NHS dentists and more foods with calorie warnings.

Figures for Bradford show a fall from three cases of MRSA in 2010/11 to two in 2011/12. Cases of CDiff remained the same at 87 in both years, according to Mr Lansley. In addition, the figures show no breaches of mixed sex accommodation being used.

The Health Secretary said: “The performance has been excellent and credit for that goes to NHS staff. If you look at waiting times, for example, the average wait was eight weeks, which is lower than at the last general election.