A hospice has come under fire from inspectors for not protecting its staff from bullying, it has been revealed.

In an unannounced visit in June, experts from the Care Quality Commission found staff at the Pilgrims Hospice in Thanet had not felt valued, listened to or supported for a number of years.

In a 2015 staff survey, just 5% of staff said morale in the service was high and 12% that they had confidence in the board of trustees.

The CQC report, which rates the hospice overall as requiring improvement, states: "Staff said the last three years had been very unsettling due to changes in management, in the board of trustees, in the direction of the service and ways of working, and the lack of consultation in these changes which had resulted in low staff morale.

"The senior management team acknowledged that staff had not been listened to and recognised the way they felt."

"They had put in place a range of initiatives to help address these issues."

Inspectors also criticised the storage of medicines of the hospice in Ramsgate Road, Margate.

Medicines which had passed their expiry date were stored with current medicines.

The report says: "This was not safe practice.

"Guidance was not in place for the use of prescribed creams nor if people were able to self-administer their medicines."

The CQC report lavished praise on staff at the hospice and said they are caring.

Inspectors said: "Staff were friendly, kind, caring and passionate. They support people according to their individual needs.

"People were treated with respect and dignity at all times and their privacy was respected.

"Providing support to people and their family was key to the service. This included people's spiritual and emotional needs."

The hospice was received a good rating when it came to providing a caring and responsive service.

Pilgrims Hospices chief executive Cate Russell said they are disappointed with the overall rating.

Mrs Russell, who took over in February 2015, said: "We welcome any commentary that will enable us to improve further, so this report will help to inform our existing quality improvement plan.

"Our staff, volunteers, new leadership team and trustees are totally focused on delivering excellence in end-of-life care in Thanet, as in all our services.”

"We are concerned about the CQC's comments relating to staff morale and bullying and we will be redoubling our continued efforts to understand and address this" - Cate Russell

"We are concerned about the CQC's comments relating to staff morale and bullying and we will be redoubling our continued efforts to understand and address this.

"It is something that will take time to resolve as it is a cultural issue and this was recognised by the inspectors."

Mrs Russell said the inspectors' comments on the correct storage are being taken seriously.

She said: "Patients and relatives should be reassured we are committed to ensuring medicines are consistently stored and disposed of safely."

The hospice is putting together an action plan to tackle the issues and will publish it on its website.

Pilgrims Hospices, which also has sites in Canterbury and Ashford, looks after more than 2,300 people in east Kent with terminal illnesses.

The Canterbury hospice currently has a good rating while Ashford has been rated outstanding.

The CQC changed its inspections regime this year to recognise the fact hospices are centres of specialist palliative care and therefore cannot be compared to nursing homes as they previously were.