An MP has criticised a hospital trust for its “complacency” after patients judged its accident and emergency department the worst in the country.

Nick de Bois, who has campaigned against the closure of Chase Farm hospital’s A&E department, praised the new Friends and Family survey for encouraging "accountability" and "transparency."

He said: “Patient voices are always heard.

“Clearly Enfield patients have said drastic improvement is needed now and I expect to see continuing progress every month.”

The Conservative MP added he was “disappointed” with what struck him as the “somewhat complacent” response from Barnet and Chase Farm hospital trust, after its A&E department was rated -30 out of 100.

He added: “They must get better.”

However, the chairman of Enfield Borough Council’s health and wellbeing scrutiny panel said it was inevitable that patient care would suffer given the Government's lack of investment in it. 

Cllr Alev Cazimoglu added: “Our recommendation is that we oppose the closure, as does the local authority.

“Like any other Enfield resident, I am deeply concerned about these results.

“Hospital staff are struggling to cope with this government's reorganisation of the NHS and unprecedented cuts to services. 

"It was only a matter of time before we saw patient care suffer and frontline services begin to buckle.”

She said the Government had failed to meet the needs of a growing population and had confused staff and patients by changing its mind about keeping the hospital open.

She added: “The Government needs to stop this destruction and rethink the closure of our local hospital.”