We're here to help you, not punish you – that’s the message from the head of a team probing high death rates at Medway Maritime Hospital.

Reviewers will continue this week to tread the wards where hundreds more people than expected have died in the past two years.

The team arrived in Medway on Thursday and spent two days making planned visits around the hospital, which is one of 14 being reviewed by NHS chiefs in the wake of the Stafford Hospital scandal.

The review panel will make unannounced spot checks this week on areas flagged up by patients, staff and their own data. A full report could be out as soon as the end of June.

Meanwhile, more bad news has hit Medway – with new figures showing 3,700 people waited for more than four hours at A&E in the past six months.

Desperate waits at Medway A&E were also a key complaint raised at a public meeting held as part of the investigation.

Several patients and relatives came to Chatham’s Brook Theatre on Thursday night to air their experiences directly to the investigators. Some complained of long queues just to start the four-hour clock ticking and a lack of checks on seriously ill patients.

Every comment was noted by the 14-strong team, led by the south of England’s chief nurse Liz Redfern.

She spoke to the Messenger after the meeting and said the review was about improving care, not naming and shaming hospitals.

She said: “What I heard was a real rich mix of opinion and personal stories. That gave us some very positive feedback on the areas the public think should be improved.”

When questioned how the team could only spend a few days in Medway, she said: “The first phase has been looking at the data, that’s where we start from, but these events and focus groups and meetings with staff are all part of the process.

“I do feel the balance is right. It may look to the public that it’s not a very long time – everyone has a view – but in terms of the method, it’s something that’s known to work.”

A&E fails to meet waiting time targets

Medway Maritime Hospital is consistently failing to meet national targets for A&E waiting times, according to the latest figures.

NHS data shows the hospital failed to meet the bench mark target of 95% of A&E patients being seen within four hours for 19 of the past 26 weeks.

In the past six months, 3,671 patients have waited more than four hours to be seen in A&E, an average of 141 patients each week.

Cllr Tristan Osborne (Lab), who obtained the A&E figures, said they were a “serious and pressing concern” adding: “You cannot trust Conservative MPs with the NHS.”

A hospital spokesman said: “The last year has been one of the busiest we have seen. The prolonged winter has exacerbated the situation and demand for services across the hospital has been high.

“Patients who arrive at the emergency department are assessed and seen based on their clinical need. Our staff have done tremendously well in ensuring patients receive the treatment and care they need, despite the high demand.

“The emergency department is for critical or life-threatening injuries. Patients should ensure they use the right service to enable an efficient service that will not only benefit them, but frees staff to see and treat patients even more promptly.”