A man suffered serious injuries after falling from a window on a ward at a hospital.

The 52-year-old patient is being treated for fractures at King’s College Hospital, a specialist centre in London, after the incident at Medway Maritime Hospital.

It happened on Thursday, January 17, at Keats Ward where the man had been admitted for medical attention.

It is believed he suffered a fractured skull, hip and jaw after falling 20 feet from a toilet window.

Karen Rule, executive director of nursing at Medway NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We can confirm that a patient on one of our wards fell from a ledge earlier this month after forcing a window open and climbing out.

"The window was fitted with restrictors which met all the required health and safety standards to ensure that our patients are protected.

“However, the patient used significant and sustained force to break through these restrictors.

“The safety of our patients is our number one priority and we have robust, well-established processes in place to ensure their wellbeing.

“An investigation is now under way to understand how this incident occurred.

"The patient used significant and sustained force to break through..." - Karen Rule, Medway NHS Foundation Trust

"We are in regular contact with the patient’s family and are offering them our full support.”

Ben McArdle, communications and media manager, said the internal inquiry was being dealt with under the hospital’s “serious incident policy”.

The outcome of the investigation would be published about the middle of next month. Nobody has been suspended pending the inquiries.

The man is married and lives in Strood.

Keats Ward is a general medical ward specialising in stomach disorders at the hospital in Windmill Road, Gillingham.