The new chief executive of Medway Maritime Hospital has said she is disappointed with recent events but is positive things will improve.

Speaking to Kent Online this afternoon, Lesley Dwyer said she was very disappointed about the concerns raised from the latest CQC inspections but that the hospital will be "much better and strong for that”.

She was speaking on the day ambulances were diverted away from Medway to other Kent hospital to help it cope.

Ms Dwyer said: "We do take [the CQC's concerns] seriously. Did we do something well enough? Is there something else we should have done?

"How do we know our emergency department is a safe environment and how do we know that our staff are really well supported?"

On Monday, Medway NHS Foundation Trust was found by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to be unable to cope with the number of patients visiting the department, leading to the trust asking for support from neighbouring healthcare providers.

This morning saw patients needing emergency treatment diverted to other hospitals. Of the 10 ambulances operating from Medway, six were taking patients elsewhere.

People who would normally go to the A&E department at the Gillingham hospital have instead been taken to one of three other Kent hospitals, in Maidstone, Canterbury and Dartford.

Ms Dwyer said there were a lot of patients in beds at the hospital who no longer require acute care but there was nowhere to move them on to. This had caused problems with the flow of patients through the hospital.

She said: "As a trust what we have asked the system to do is [give us] a little bit of breathing space for two reasons.

"Firstly it ensures that our community providers are working with us to actually discharge people into the best place for their care and secondly allows us to take really seriously the concerns that have been raised by the CQC."

Ms Dwyer said this morning was used to look at their practices and policies. Staff had been using the hospital's simulation room which allows them to create situations and talk through specific concerns.

Medway NHS Foundation Trust which runs the hospital, has been in special measures since July 2013 following the Keogh review into death rates.

Subsequent inspections from the CQC in April and May 2014 found urgent improvements were needed to the maternity and the A&E departments. A further inspection in December 2014 found the hospital was still not making enough progress.

Ms Dwyer was appointed as the new chief executive in May and A&E has been undergoing a series of restructuring work funded by £13.4m from the Department of Health.

The partial diversion will continue from 7am until 12pm tomorrow.

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