The chief executive of Medway NHS Foundation Trust which runs Medway Maritime Hospital is leaving her post.

Lesley Dwyer, is quitting the organisation to return home to Australia where she has got a new job.

Ms Dwyer will leave the trust at the end of November to become chief executive of the Central Adelaide Local Health Network, which is a large integrated health organisation.

Since she joined the trust which manages the Gillingham-based hospital in early 2015, it has seen significant improvements in the safety and quality of care.

In March last year the hospital's rating was upgraded by the Care Quality Commission, and it exited special measures.

Since then improvements have been sustained and the trust is now driving transformation to further improve care for patients.

Ms Dwyer said: “This has been an incredibly difficult decision for me, and not one I have taken lightly, but I need to be closer to my family, so the time has come to hand over the reins.

“I am extremely proud of what we have achieved here at Medway, making it a safer, better place for our patients and staff, and restoring confidence and ambition in this organisation.

"Although many challenges remain, we have demonstrated that we have the best of people to deliver the best of care.”

The trust’s chairman, Stephen Clark, added: “Lesley has done an incredible job since she came to Medway nearly three and a half years ago.

"At that time there was so much required to make the hospital safer and improve the quality of care for our patients.

"All of that has been achieved, and having our rating upgraded and exiting special measures last year was such a highlight for us all, and a tribute to Lesley’s leadership.

“So much has changed, and now we have a stronger leadership team in place, with continuity and stability, and I am confident that those improvements will continue, and we will go on to become the ‘brilliant’ organisation we are aiming to be.”

When she leaves in November, to ensure continuity James Devine, the trust’s deputy chief executive, will step into the chief executive role on an interim basis.