A Maidstone hospital has improved the services it provides, according to the independent healthcare regulator.

Inspectors from the Care Quality Commission visited KIMS Hospital in Maidstone earlier this year, and its report, published last week, rates the Newnham Court Way hospital as good in all areas. This is a vast improvement from its previous inspection report in 2015, which said the service required improvement overall.

In the 2015 report, published in early 2016, assessors found problems with safety and leadership, and stated in the report that not all staff reported safety incidents, and that medicines were not being administered according to best practice guidelines. They also found storage of patient records did not comply with the Data Protection Act, but did note that staff treated patients with kindness, dignity and respect.

The most recent report however found that records were written and managed to keep people safe, and were stored in a safe way. The hospital now has an incident reporting process which staff have good knowledge of, enabling lessons to be learned. Inspectors found patients and their families were actively involved in their treatment, and that staff managed and stored medicine safely.

The report also highlighted some outstanding areas of practice, including the KIMS Angels, who spend time in departments talking to patients, a scheme introduced to improve care and support patients.

To improve further, inspectors said the hospital should continue to replace carpets in clinical areas, a negative first identified during the 2015 inspection, and should remove potential trip hazards in areas like the children's waiting room.

Simon Jamescor, CEO at KIMS, said: "I am delighted with the findings of the CQC inspection, but we are not resting on our laurels. This is a clear vindication of the hard work everyone at the hospital has put in, and all our staff should be proud of what we have achieved.

"All of us at KIMS Hospital remain passionate about delivering safe, outstanding, quality care and the next step must be to work towards an outstanding rating across the hospital.”