A patient survey has ranked aspects of care at Medway Maritime Hospital’s A&E department in the bottom 20 per cent in the country.

The survey, conducted by the Healthcare Commission, asked nearly 300 patients to give their views on 33 factors, including the cleanliness of toilets and the easiness of parking nearby.

Despite rating nearly all of the services positively their scores still ranked most aspects of the department in the lowest 20 per cent in the country.

Patients said they were not well informed on how long their wait for treatment would be.

They were also concerned about the lack of information given when leaving the department, including the side effects of their medication and how long they should rest after treatment.

But for some aspects patients rated the department well. They felt staff spoke to them respectfully, they felt safe and secure while being treated and they said it was easy to park at the hospital.

Jacqueline McKenna, director of strategy and planning at Medway NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We recognise improvements are needed in our emergency department and plans are already in place to address this.

“We are investing £1.5m in A&E over the next three years to increase our nursing, medical and other administrative support staff.

“Medway NHS Foundation Trust runs the busiest emergency department in Kent and as such, the demands on our resources are great.

"Last year more than 80,000 people came through the doors in our emergency department. And we never close our doors to admissions.”

The nationwide survey quizzed nearly 50,000 patients at 151 NHS Trusts.

The overall trends showed patients trust doctors and nurses and felt well cared for.

Anna Walker, chief executive of the healthcare commission, said: “This is important feedback that Trusts should listen to.

"We hope all trusts will compare their results with others and act to ensure they match the best.

“Understanding and responding to experiences of patients is critical in a modern NHS.”