MYSTERY "customers" will be targeting the Alexandra Hospital over the next few weeks to investigate and assess the service they receive.

Worcestershire NHS Acute Hospitals Trust, which runs the Alexandra, has called for members of Redditch and Bromsgrove Community Health Council to help with the project.

The move will see CHC members complete an audit and questionnaire on each department within the hospital.

CHC chief officer Moira Morris said: "We will just turn up at the hospital unannounced and go round carrying out the audit.

"There will be a number of boxes to tick to say what we think of different areas."

It will be the first time the CHC has been allowed to just turn up for spot checks unannounced.

But Mrs Morris said members would carry identification at all times in case they were challenged.

She said: "We will be there to observe and report on how we find all aspects of the hospital - from the car park to the attitude of staff towards patients.

"And we will say what we find. If we think a floor is dirty and looks like it has not been cleaned for two weeks, we will note it down in the audit."

Mrs Morris added: "The CHC has already done an audit in Worcester and now it is the Alexandra Hospital's turn.

"The trust wants to see where the hospital has got it right and where it could be improved."