HEALTH Secretary Alan Johnson has announced that Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust will receive £350,000 to carry out a deep clean of the hospital at the centre of the C-diff scandal.

Mr Johnson made the announcement on Thursday during a visit to Maidstone Hospital.

He said the hospital was one of the first in the country to get the money for a deep clean.

"Since the C-diff outbreak in 2005 the trust has taken significant steps to bring down the incidents of infections but it is vital that standards continue to improve at all three hospitals."

Mr Johnson's visit comes less than a month after a damning Healthcare Commission report revealed that 90 people had died after contracting the superbug C-diff at the three hospitals run by the Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust.

Former chief executive, Rose Gibb, stepped down from her post before the report was published.

During his visit Mr Johnson said work was expected to begin on the £228 million hospital in Pembury in the New Year.