THE trust which runs the Alexandra Hospital is the seventh worst in Britain and Ireland for outpatient waiting times, according to a new survey.

But Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust is also in the top 30 nationally when it comes to patient satisfaction.

The figures were revealed in The Good Hospital Guide, produced by The Sunday Times, which profiles all the main NHS and private hospitals.

An analysis of Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust stated one in five inpatients waited longer than six months to be admitted, putting the trust in the bottom 30 in England.

But outpatients fare even worse. More than one in three wait longer than 13 weeks to see a specialist, a poor record exceeded in just six trusts," it stated.

However, the guide stated 74 per cent of patients were satisfied with their treatment, 85 per cent trusted the doctors and 88 per cent felt they were treated with dignity.

Trust chief executive John Rostill welcomed the figures showing patients had a high level of trust in doctors and had above average standards of privacy and dignity at the Alexandra.

He also said mortality rates were better than average.

"This is welcome confirmation of my belief that we have a dedicated and highly skilled team of doctors, nurses, health professionals, managers and administrative staff at all our hospitals working hard to maintain and improve the services we provide," he said.

Mr Rostill said the trust was one of just a few to be working closely with Dr Foster, who helped compile the guide, to develop a new system to analyse performance.