A NUMBER of patients and staff at Maidstone Hospital are to be screened for tuberculosis after a man was diagnosed with the disease in December.

Letters were sent out this week to 20 patients and a small number of nurses who came into close contact with the infected man in Cornwallis ward in December.

Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust spokesman Darren Yates said the screenings were standard procedure in the case of TB and were only a precautionary measure.

He said: “This only affected patients and staff who had prolonged close contact with the man. This is not something people should be concerned about.

"All of the people who would require screening have been identified and contacted. The tests will be carried out in due course.”