A health watchdog is to take action after an unannounced inspection of a Kent hospital’s A&E department flagged concerns.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) visited Medway Maritime Hospital in Gillingham in February and ordered immediate improvements.

Waiting times in A&E at the hospital have previously been recorded as among the worst in the country, with many patients waiting more than 12 hours to be admitted to a ward.

The watchdog has not yet revealed what action it is taking.

A spokesman said: “We carried out an inspection of emergency services at Medway NHS Foundation Trust on February 21.

“The CQC will publish our report on our website when we have completed all the usual quality checks.

“As a result of that inspection, the CQC has taken regulatory action

“The provider has the right to challenge this decision and while the legal process in relation to this is ongoing we are unable to comment further.”

The Medway NHS Foundation Trust said previously that action was being taken to reduce delays and improve patient care.

In its last report on Medway Maritime, published in April 2023, the CQC labelled the hospital as “requires Improvement” in four out of five categories. Only in the standard of caring was it labelled “good”.

Jayne Black, the chief executive at Medway NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We received some feedback about the care provided in our Emergency Department following a visit from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in February.

“To help reduce delays and improve care across the hospital, we have identified areas of improvement and made significant progress, with much of this work in place prior to the CQC’s feedback.

“This includes opening a new ward for people with serious breathing or heart conditions, and introducing new models of care.

“As a result we have reduced overcrowding in the department, allowing patients to be treated more quickly, in areas most suitable for their needs. Meanwhile we are awaiting a draft copy of the full report of the CQC’s findings, which we expect to be published this summer.’’