Hospital A&E ordered to improve after inspection
Ambulances wait outside the Emergency Department at Medway Maritime Hospital
- Published
The A&E department at a Kent hospital has been ordered to improve after an unannounced inspection earlier this year.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has taken action at the Medway Maritime Hospital in Gillingham following it's visit in February.
The CQC said it will not give details of the action until it is "legally able".
The hospital trust said it has made "significant progress" following the feedback from the watchdog.
Between January and March 2023, more than 2,500 people waited 12-hours or more at the hospital's A&E after a decision was made to admit them to a ward.
The A&E waiting times during that period put Medway among the worst 20 hospitals nationally.
''Quality checks'
Medway NHS Foundation Trust chief executive Jayne Black said: "To help reduce delays and improve care across the hospital, we have identified areas of improvement and made significant progress, with much of this work in place prior to the CQC’s feedback.
“This includes opening a new ward for people with serious breathing or heart conditions and introducing new models of care.
"As a result we have reduced overcrowding in the department, allowing patients to be treated more quickly, in areas most suitable for their needs. “
The trust has an overall rating of “requires improvement,” based on an inspection in 2021.
The CQC said in a statement that it would publish the report on its website when it has completed "all the usual quality checks".
It added: "As a result of that inspection, the CQC has taken action and will report on this when legally able to do so.”