Hospital chiefs came under fire from councillors after a report revealed mothers and babies are being put at risk because its maternity services are not meeting the required standards.

Councillors called a meeting after Medway Maritime Hospital was given multiple formal warnings and told it must make urgent improvements following an unannounced inspection by health watchdog the Care Quality Commission.

Inspectors said they had serious concerns about care and the shortage of midwives. They found emergency equipment going unchecked, lack of staff training and poor management.

The hospital is already in special measures following the Keogh review earlier this year.
Cllr Adrian Gulvin (Con) called for failing management to lose their jobs after the report revealed basic functions, such as checking the temperature of fridges, properly storing medicine and ensuring staff records and training were up-to-date, were not happening.

He said: “When I read this report I was quite amazed. The more I read it the more angry I got. In my work, on a daily basis I had to make sure fridges were running and staff records were up-to-date. There was a safety management system in place.

“These are basic building blocks of a large organisation’s management structure. It just beggars belief this situation developed. Why weren’t managers aware that equipment sent off for repairs was not coming back for months?

“These are such basic managerial functions that have gone wrong. I’m just staggered.
“What were your senior managers doing? It seems to me they have been living in an isolated bubble.

“People in this management structure who are not up to the job need to be found out and replaced because it can’t carry on like this.

“If this is happening in the maternity sections what is happening across the entire hospital?
“It is a damning indictment and this is an appalling situation. People in Medway deserve far better than this.”