The chief inspector of hospitals has announced Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust - which runs Darent Valley Hospital - will be among those receiving a "radical" new inspection.

CQC's new chief inspector of hospitals, Prof Sir Mike Richards, is introducing changes to the way hospitals in England are inspected.

They will be introduced by the end of next month.

Sir Mike said he will lead "significantly bigger inspection teams" headed up by clinical and other experts that include trained members of the public.

They will spend longer inspecting hospitals and cover every site that delivers acute services and eight key services areas: A&E; maternity, paediatrics; acute medical and surgical pathways; care for the frail elderly; end of life care; and outpatients.

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The inspections will be a mixture of unannounced and announced and they will include inspections in the evenings and weekends.

Each inspection will provide the public with "a clear picture of the quality of care in their local hospital", exposing poor and mediocre care and highlighting the many hospitals providing good and excellent care, he said.

Sir Mike will decide if hospitals are to be rated as outstanding, good, require improvement or inadequate.

Where there are failures in care, Sir Mike will work with NHS England, Monitor, and the NHS Trust Development Authority to make sure a programme is put in place to deal with the problems.

Sir Mike said: "I need to know and to be completely open about where good and bad care is being delivered. That is why I am publishing my first wave of inspections today.

"There is too much variation in the quality of care patients receive - poor hospitals will need to up their game and learn from the best. I will not tolerate poor or mediocre care.

"These new-style inspections will allow us to get a much more detailed picture of care in hospitals than has ever been possible before in England.

"Inspections will be supported by an improved method for identifying risks and with much more information direct from patients and their families, and hospital staff.

"Today I am issuing a call to action for clinicians and members of the public to join our inspection teams. We welcome people with a wide range of experience and expertise."