WORCESTERSHIRE Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs the Alexandra Hospital, has come within the top 40 performing hospitals or trusts in the country.

It beat more than 160 other NHS hospitals in the survey, carried out by independent consultants.

Re-admission rates, death rates and waiting lists were included and the trust fared well.

A spokesman said: "We were in the top 40 and more than 200 hospitals were included. It is a real feather in our cap.

"There were only three hospitals or trusts across the whole of the West Midlands which were in the top 40. It is really positive news."