Maritime Hospital has been given £4.7m from the Estates Safety Fund to pay for much-needed improvements.

The money forms part of £750m of capital funding recently announced by the Government to address critical infrastructure and safety risks in NHS hospitals.

At Medway Maritime Hospital, the funding will cover the cost of installing new cooling equipment to prevent equipment failure; replacing an on-call system on the maternity ward to improve patient safety; replacing old flooring to comply with infection prevention and control standards; and making improvements to the neonatal intensive care unit.

It will also help to create changing facilities in the maternity areas, and make adjustments to working and storage space to make them compliant.

Neil McElduff, Medway NHS Foundation Trust’s director of estates and facilities, said: “Our estates and facilitates team has worked hard over the last few months to secure this much-needed investment.

“This funding is crucial to help us make sure our patients, visitors, and staff, are in buildings that are safe, comfortable, and fit for purpose, and aligns with our vision to continually improve our services.”