A new mum has praised Medway Maritime Hospital’s maternity department after they were rated Good in the latest Care Quality Commission report.

The department was rated Good across the board in areas such as being safe, effective, caring, responsible and well-led in the report, which was published in January.

The maternity unit went into special measures along with the trust in 2013, but have since been involved in a number of projects to put them on the right track.

The department has opened a new enhanced care unit which allows mothers who need medical attention to stay close to their newborns.

They have been involved in pioneering research to screen babies for Down’s syndrome safely, with a blood test, which prevents the need for an invasive test which can lead to miscarriage.

Staff have also been involved in baby-cooling research, a technique which aims to increase the chances of survival, and reduce the risk of brain damage, in babies who are born with a lack of blood and oxygen, and they have built a bereavement suite to allow parents to stay with their baby whilst grieving for their loss.

Lauren Norton from Chatham, gave birth to her daughter Elenor Russel at the hospital in March.

She said: “All the midwives here are amazing; they really put you first which made me feel so comfortable.

"I gave birth to my first baby when the hospital was first found to be inadequate but the changes I’ve seen here whilst giving birth to Elenor have been wonderful - I really couldn’t have asked for more.”

Karen McIntyre, deputy director of nursing for women and children, said: “We took the initial findings in 2013 very seriously. We reflected on the findings and committed ourselves to turning the department around to where it should be, both for us and the community we care for.

“We feel so proud that the steps we have taken in terms of great leadership, team work and staffing has yielded the results we knew we could and would achieve. We are now sharing our developments with the rest of our colleagues and departments within the Trust, who are eager to take our learnings on board.”

The team are now looking to the future and identifying ways to make further improvements so they can be rated Outstanding across the board.