A health watchdog is to take action after an unannounced inspection of a Kent hospital’s A&E department flagged concerns.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) visited Medway Maritime Hospital in Gillingham in February and ordered immediate improvements.
Waiting times in A&E at the hospital have previously been recorded as among the worst in the country, with many patients waiting more than 12 hours to be admitted to a ward.
The watchdog has not yet revealed what action it is taking.
A spokesman said: “We carried out an inspection of emergency services at Medway NHS Foundation Trust on February 21.
“The CQC will publish our report on our website when we have completed all the usual quality checks.
“As a result of that inspection, the CQC has taken regulatory action
“The provider has the right to challenge this decision and while the legal process in relation to this is ongoing we are unable to comment further.”
The Medway NHS Foundation Trust said previously that action was being taken to reduce delays and improve patient care.
In its last report on Medway Maritime, published in April 2023, the CQC labelled the hospital as “requires Improvement” in four out of five categories. Only in the standard of caring was it labelled “good”.
Medway NHS Foundation Trust has been contacted by KentOnline for comment.
