Healthcare inspectors made a two-day follow-up visit to the trust

The Healthcare Commission said patients infected with C.diff were also receiving better care at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust in Kent.

It follows a two-day visit this month by inspectors to assess how the trust was implementing recommendations, after a damning Healthcare Commission report.

Trust chief executive Glenn Douglas said he welcomed the feedback.

Unannounced checks

Inspectors visited 22 wards and interviewed 20 members of staff during the visit on 12 and 13 December.

The commission said it would carry out "further unannounced checks" to ensure improvements were sustained.

It also wanted to ensure the trust continued to work on recruiting more nurses and learning from cases of infection.

It will also report on the trust's progress next year.

We'll be keeping a close eye on how the trust is managing infections Dr Heather Wood

Commission spokeswoman Dr Heather Wood said: "We cannot expect wholesale change overnight and these are still early days.

"But the trust prepared well for the announced visit and we saw some encouraging signs of improvement."

She added: "It is obvious that infection control is now a very high priority at the trust and that C.diff is beginning to be recognised as a serious diagnosis in its own right, not just a clinical complication.

"The key now is for the trust to sustain improvements and to continue to implement the recommendations we made in October.

Chief executive Glenn Douglas said he welcomed the feedback

"We'll be keeping a close eye on how the trust is managing infections and will be making at least one unannounced visit to check on progress."

She said the trust now had "new leadership", and new systems for recording aspects of care for C.diff patients.

Mr Douglas said the feedback showed that "real improvements" had been made.

He said: "They told me that the visit went well, and [they] were encouraged to see real signs of improvement, especially around cleanliness and infection control.