East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust

East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust is one of the largest hospital trusts in England. It runs the Kent and Canterbury Hospital (Canterbury), William Harvey Hospital (Ashford), Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Hospital (Margate), Buckland Hospital (Dover), and the Royal Victoria Hospital (Folkestone) - and some outpatient facilities in the East Kent and Medway areas in England.

It serves a local population of around 759,000 people. It is a teaching Trust involved in the education and training of doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals, with local universities and Kings College University in London.

Development

The Trust, with Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust was jointly procuring an electronic patient record system in a contract worth £10m - £40m in December 2013.^[1]

In April 2014 it was reported that the Trust was looking for a partner to develop a private hospital at the William Harvey Hospital site and enhance the returns from the Spencer private hospital on the Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Hospital site with a contract over the next 15 to 15 years.^[2]

The Trust's proposal to centralise surgery on the Canterbury site in order to manage problems caused by “the increasing sub-specialisation of surgery, the lack of availability of surgeons with skills that are essential to managing high risk and emergency general surgery, and the difficulty recruiting both permanent and locum medical staff" in May 2014 aroused opposition among consultants.^[3]

In May 2018 the trust announced plans to transfer 850 cleaning, catering, switchboard and portering staff who work for Serco and 250 NHS staff working on estates, procurement and facilities to a new limited company owned by the trust and described as a social enterprise.^[4]

Performance

Four-hour target in the emergency department quarterly figures from NHS England Data from https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ae-waiting-times-and-activity/

In 2010, it was named "Trust of the Year 2010" by the healthcare information organisation Dr Foster.^[5]

The Trust was placed in special measures by Monitor (NHS) in September 2014 following an unfavourable report from the Care Quality Commission.^[6]

In 2015 the Trauma Audit & Research Network showed that the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford was the best performing hospital receiving trauma patients in England and Wales, out of 100 hospitals offering trauma facilities across the country, according to survival rates of patients. ^[7] The Care Quality Commission upgraded the Trust from “inadequate” to "requires improvement” and cited significant improvements. Two of the Trust’s five hospitals were rated as “Good”. It was one of 26 responsible for half of the national growth in patients waiting more than four hours in accident and emergency over the 2014/5 winter.^[8] It hit controversy when an RAF sergeant was asked to leave the waiting room in case his uniform upset other patients.^[9] It admitted breaching a patient's human rights when it placed a "do not resuscitate" (DNR) order on the patients notes because the patient had learning difficulties. The trust had not consulted the family about the decision.^[10]

In 2016 the Trust saw improvements in its annual Patient-Led Assessment in Care Environments audits, which were introduced nationally in 2013. All hospitals, hospices and day treatment centres that give NHS-funded care are subject to a PLACE inspection. In April 2016 it admitted that it could not cope with the overwhelming demand on its ophthalmology department, which saw nearly 100,000 patients in 2015/6. 7000 were in need of follow-up and at risk of deteriorating eyesight.^[11]

In October 2017 after months of very poor performance against the A&E four hour target it was clearly the worst performing trust in England on A&E in 2017-18, with around 30%t of patients waiting over four hours. The Chair of the trust, Nikki Cole, resigned and was replaced by Peter Carter.^[12] In 2017-18 East Kent Hospitals saw 74.3% of A&E patients within four hours.^[13]

In August 2018 it announced that planned orthopaedic operations would be moved from the William Harvey Hospital to the Kent and Canterbury Hospital in an attempt to avoid cancellations.^[14]

See also

• Healthcare in Kent
• List of hospitals in England
• List of NHS trusts

References

External links

• Official website

Coordinates: 51°15.9′N 1°5.2′E / 51.2650°N 1.0867°E / 51.2650; 1.0867