The NHS bodies in charge of paying for hospital care have expressed their concern after an accident and emergency department was named the worst in the country.

The Clinical Commissioning Groups for Barnet and Enfield have said they will keep a close watch on Barnet and Chase Farm Hospital Trust.

Chase Farm Hospital Trust's casulaty unit it was given a rating of -30 out of 100 and Barnet’s 15 out of 100 in the first Family and Friends test.

Barnet's accident and emergency unit received a score of 15 in the test, which asks patients whether they would recommend the hospital to their loved ones.

Clinical Commissioning Group chairman Dr Sue Sumners said: “All patient feedback is really helpful and NHS organisations locally will take these results on board and use them to improve services.

“We are particularly concerned about the results for Barnet and Chase Farm. At our regular quality and performance meetings with the trust, we have been focusing heavily on getting them to improve A&E waiting times and quality for patients.”

She added the Barnet, Enfield and Haringey Clinical Strategy, which involves closing Chase Farm A&E and dividing services between Barnet and North Middlesex Hospitals, would improve the situation at the hospital.

She said: “It will mean more clinical staff on hand at Barnet Hospital so we expect patient experience to improve as a result.”

Enfield Clinical Commissioning Group chairman Dr Alpesh Patel also said he was confident the hospital trust had “robust” plans to improve.

He added: "These initial results from the friends and family test are concerning but we are clear that the trust has a robust plan to improve.

"All NHS organisations locally see these initial results as an important part of the drive to improve patient experience.

"The feedback given by local people will be used to improve the services.”