Hospital: where will you go now?


IF you live in the Maidstone area and need a hospital now that both Maidstone and TunbridgeWells (Pembury) hospitals are fully operational, where can you normally expect to go? In most instances it will still be Maidstone Hospital. Readers should note that most hospitals are now increasingly the home of spe- cialised centres of expertise and they may be advised to have care there – or be taken there in an emergency. DENNIS FOWLE has produced the following Downs Mail guide to the most impor- tant services after consulting Maidstone and TunbridgeWells NHS Trust.


A&E. Maidstone A&E is fully operational, 24/7 (averaging 1,100 patients a week). You should go there or request an ambulance to take you there for almost all treatments, in- cluding simple fractures, but now exclud- ing serious trauma cases. The ambulance service says that, while pa-


tients are taken to their nearest A&E, clinical needs are most important and patients may be taken further to a centre of excellence.


HEART ATTACKS (CARDIAC ARRESTS). Patients are usually taken toMaidstone A&E


A MAIDSTONE man who bat- tled relentlessly through “chaos” for a fortnight as his Maidstone consultant tried to fix a date for an urgent collar bone operation at Pembury Hos- pital (Mail, January) reported more “shambolic chaos” when he arrived for the big day. He was told not to eat in preparation for an operation and that he would spend the night of the operation in a hos- pital ward. On his arrival around 7.30am


he was told his operation would now be day case surgery and had been delayed until about 5pm. Also, because no beds


prior to care in Maidstone Hospital. On oc- casions an ambulance will take a patient straight to a specialist cardiac centre. Near- est toMaidstone isWilliam Harvey,Ashford.


STROKES. Initially, patients are taken to Maidstone A&E. Maidstone now has a ded- icated stroke unit providing immediate ur- gent care and rehabilitation.


CHILDREN. Specialist inpatient care patients nowgo to Pembury – and such children taken to Maidstone are stabilised before transfer to Pembury.


were available he would return home that evening. He relaxed in a larger ward


with a group of patients due for operations. At about 9am he was told to “gown-up” immediately because his operation was next. He came round in that ward


in the early afternoon and says by 4pm about four other gowned-up patients were told to dress and go home. Their op- erations were cancelled because of bed shortage problems. As the anaesthetic wore off he


says he was in great pain, needed care and insisted he could not return home in such a state. He was then found a bed


THE trust claimed in December only 21 operations had been cancelled for non-clinical reasons at the last minute since Pem- bury opened in late September. This is out of 4,000 elective pro- cedures in September, October and November – 0.5% compared with a national standard of 0.8%. All operations were per- formed within 28 days.


ANOTHER Maidstone patient and her family say they are distraught due to “appalling chaos” at Pem- bury Hospital and uncaring staff attitudes. Tracey Wiggins (39), who lives at Cleveland House, Woodford Road, Maidstone, was in severe pain with appendicitis butwas told she should catch a bus home from Pembury. When her long-delayed operationwas carried out, staff told her afterwards “it was critical and just in time”. Tracey first visited her GP, but when


the pain increased in the evening, the NHShelpline advised her to go to Maid- stone A&E. But Maidstone A&E staff indicated it


could not assess her as it was now a “minor clinic”.Her elder sisterAnntook her by car on an hour’s journey to Pem- bury, arriving around midnight. She waited for about four hours for a


A short-stay paediatric day care ward now operates at Maidstone, 8amto8pmweekdays. This unit also provides all outpatient care.


MATERNITY. Nowmaternity services have been transferred to Pembury, there is just a midwife-led birthing unit at Maidstone. Antenatal and postnatal check-ups are available at Maidstone and in the commu- nity.


The Early Pregnancy Assessment Unit is


to be based at Maidstone but is temporarily at Pembury.


Operation plans were ‘a shambles’


PLANNED SURGERY. Complex inpatient operations, with the exception of inpatient orthopaedic procedures and ear/nose/ throat, are performed atMaidstone, now the area’s centre of expertise for this surgery. This can range from cancer to eye surgery. Maidstone has a purpose-built laparoscopic theatre for specialistminimal invasive (key- hole) surgery ranging from major gastro-in- testinal surgery to hernias.


in an overnight ward. “It was a very painful night


and I felt the nursing was too uncaring about correct pain management,” he said. “I was told later my notes had not been read properly.” He is impressed with the high quality of surgery and was soon back towork. “But management at that hospital is shambolic,” he complains. “Just about everything I was told was con- tradicted. The impact on pa- tients is appalling.” The trust said the man’s oper-


ationwould normally be treated as day case surgery and itwould investigate any complaints he wished to make. Three operations were can-


celled that day due to shortage of beds caused by unusual pressure of emergency admissions.


Patient in pain told to ‘catch bus home’ More hospital news - p29


“But then no one expected us in A&E,” Tracey


said. “It took so long for them to sort it out and find me a bed.” The operation took place around 12.30pm and


Tracey was amazed when she was discharged in pain that evening and not given painkillers. She requested a porter but in the end


had tomake the walk, which took her 45 minutes, to their car parked outside re- ception. “It was a very painful night,” she said


doctor and was told she would have to wait for the day staff.Hewanted to find a bed for her but nothing was available. By 11am the next day Tracey was still waiting. She was advised to go home and return for an op- eration twodays later (Sunday) and because no fam- ily transport was immediately available it was suggested she catch a bus. “I could hardly walk,”she said.


28 East


TraceyWiggins and daughter Becky


of the evening of the operation. “The pain went on for so many days that I returned to my GP.He contacted my consultant at Pembury and I was asked to go there im- mediately to see him and for a scan.” Ann took her and they arrived at 5.30pm. They were still waiting at 11pm and there were doubts about inwhat part of the hospital a scan should be con- ducted.There was no food or drink avail-


able after 6pm and Tracey decided she must get home to her eight-year-old daughter Becky. Tracey again returned to her GP and he set up a


scan at Maidstone Hospital, just five minutes from her home. “That was fast and very efficient,” a re- lieved Tracey said. The trust said it would investigate the complaints


Ann picked upTracey at 5am on the Sunday and met the 6am deadline for an early operation.


fully and respond to MrsWiggins. It added theA&E department had been under great pressure at that time.


PLANNED DAY SURGERY. (The majority of all types of routine planned day opera- tions) continues at Maidstone as well as Pembury, so most people are treated locally.


CANCER/CHEMOTHERAPY. Maidstone continues as the re- gional cancer centre, based in Kent Oncology Centre.


CHRONIC PAIN. Maidstone is now the main chronic pain treatment centre in the trust.


DIABETES. The diabetes cen- tre continues to operate at Maidstone.


OPHTHALMOLOGY. Maid- stone continues as the trust’s main ophthalmic centre.


EAR, NOSE, THROAT. Outpa- tient care is still available at Maidstone, with Pembury still the main ENT centre.


THE following are the key services previously available at Maidstone and now trans- ferred to Tunbridge Wells Hospital at Pembury.


TRAUMA. Serious trauma cases are now taken to a cen- tre of excellence for specialist surgery, normally Pembury. Previously these were taken to Maidstone A&E.


OTHER EMERGENCY GEN- ERAL SURGERY. Also con- ducted at Pembury. This could include broken hips and other joints, appendici- tis etc. A patient first taken to Maidstone needing urgent surgery will be stabilised and transferred by ambulance to a specialist hospital.


WOMEN/MATERNITY.This includes inpatient care for maternity and gynaecology.


CHILDREN. Those needing inpatient care and the spe- cial care baby unit.


ELECTIVE ORTHOPAEDIC SURGERY. Pre-planned in- patient surgery for proce- dures such as knee and hip replacements, shoulder and elbow is carried out in the new purpose-built or- thopaedic centre.


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