Inspectors have raised concerns and will be deciding whether to take enforcement action over the safety of maternity units at the centre of a baby deaths scandal.

The Care Quality Commision (CQC) says an unannounced inspection of the East Kent Hospitals Trust revealed "areas of concern" regarding patient safety.

They made a surprise visit to maternity units at the QEQM in Margate and Ashford's William Harvey Hospital last week and will decide whether enforcement action is needed once they hear back from trust bosses.

Following the visit on January 10 and 11, the CQC says it has now written to the trust to "ensure people are safe and protected from risk".

Deanna Westwood, CQC’s director of operations for the south, said: "We inspected maternity services at East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust on January 10 and 11 and identified some areas of concern.

"We have written to the trust to request evidence of the steps it is taking to ensure people are safe and protected from risk.

"We will review the trusts response to determine whether the use of our enforcement powers is required.

"We will report on our full inspection findings and any action we take in due course."

It comes less than four months after a harrowing report revealed the devastating scale of failings at the trust which resulted in unnecessary deaths and injuries in babies and mothers.

Dubbed the Kirkup report, the large-scale investigation showed that if care been given to nationally recognised standards, the outcome could have been different in 97 of the total 202 cases reviewed - a total of 48%.

• Read more about the scandal and the human cost attached to it here.

The data showed that 45 of 65 baby deaths could have been prevented if appropriate care had been given. In relation to cases of injury to babies, the panel found the outcome could have been different in 12 of the 17 cases of brain damage.

When it came to maternal injuries and deaths, it was found the outcome could have been different in 23 of 32 such cases.

Sarah Shingler, Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer and Deputy Chief Executive, said: “We continue to work hard to improve our maternity services, including our work to listen to and act on feedback from those using our care. Although a number of changes have been made, we know there is a lot more to do.

“While the CQC recognised some of the improvements as a consequence of that work, they also identified some areas of concern following their inspection last week.

“We are taking immediate action to respond to the CQC and address these concerns to ensure we are delivering the high-quality care we and our patients expect.”