This page contains a Flash digital edition of a book.
Trust hits back at hospital critics


IT is six months since Maidstone andTunbridgeWellsNHSTrust fully opened themagnificent new hospital building at Pembury – but it ap- pears to have been a far from happy operational startwith many se- rious patient and public complaints. These complaints started within the first few days and pinpointed organisational chaos, serious delays in several departments impact- ing massively on patients, significant shortage of surgical beds, poor staff care and consideration for patients. DownsMail is reporting these cases as they arise.Manywere aimed


at the overstretched A&E in the new TunbridgeWells Hospital and, by January, theCareQuality Commissionmadean unannounced visit and spent a day investigating. Its report on compliance is awaited. Maidstone Action for Services in Hospital (MASH) has become so concerned about the level and seriousness of complaints it is launch- ing a new website – www.mashmaidstone.co.uk – and a section will help patients and public present views.


MASH chairman and president of Downs Mail, DENNIS FOWLE, sought a top level meeting with the trust and a tour of the new hospi- tal’s key departments. Chief executive GlennDouglas led the trust team – and these were the main answers:


CHAOS: He said it was a very big site and admitted the trust under- estimated some problems, including staff inductions, orientation for public and staff and level of signage. The need for fine tuning was quickly recognised.


UNCARING:MrDouglas claimed, inthe main, staff were very caring. Due to some public comments the trust had made clear to staff it had high expectations and would not tolerate inadequate standards. He was surprised about delays in administering painkillers and said these drugs were stocked on wards as well as in the pharmacy.


STAFFSHORTAGES: Hesaid that with 500-plus single-room wards at Pembury, the trust now employed more staff than before the new hospital fully opened. Buthe accepted more staff were stillneeded and said there was no financial constraint. Seventy extra nurses were being appointed (35 each for Maidstone and Pembury) with an emphasis on A&E. ByMarch, he expected a full complement of midwives.


SHORTAGE OF SURGICAL AND EMERGENCY BEDS:Mr Douglas said the trust was considering re-allocation and use of some hospital beds, especially for general surgery and emergencies. He considered NHS patients were not unduly impacted by reserving now 30 of 500- plus beds in the hospital (theWells Suite) for private patients.


Claire with husband Phil and baby Madison


Ambulance chaos for pregnant Claire By Dennis Fowle


A MAIDSTONE family has told of serious ambulance delays and confusion when Claire Whitall (27) needed an emergency trans- fer from thenewMaidstoneHos- pital midwife-led birthing unit to the consultant-ledmaternity de- partment at Pembury Hospital. When an ambulancewas called:


There was a 55-minute delay because the ambulance had to come from Dover.


As thedriver arrived he said he had not known the way to Maid- stone Hospital.


He then said he did not know where Pembury Hospital was – but “the satnav will find it”.


The ambulance tried to leave Maidstone Hospital by entering the car park before turning round to exit correctly in to Hermitage Lane.


Claire was fi- nally


lighted”


“blue- to


Pembury but in- correctly taken to A&E. She had to be transferred by trolley to thema- ternity unit. Claire’s hus-


band Phil and mother Lisa Cope, of Bearsted Park, accompa- nied


Claire


pleaded to be transferred, as she could not deal with the pain with only gas and air to relieve. At Pembury the anaesthetist


made 10 attempts before fitting the epidural. More than 24 hours after Claire first reported to Maidstone the decision was made for a Caesarean section. Baby Madison was safely and healthily delivered and after three days all the family were at home in Highridge Close, Grove Green. Mrs Cope said: “All ex- pectant mums should carefully consider Claire’s experiences when making birthing choices. Claire was recommended for the birthing unit after a straightfor- ward first pregnancy. “The ambulance chaos was to-


Missed target time THE hospital trust said it had already complained to the am- bulance service about the delay. South East Coast Ambulance Service said the call was cate- gorised as a non-life threaten- ing category C call. It claimed the trust had responded in 44 minutes, which fell below the required standard of 30 min- utes. Thiswas due to a number of higher priority calls around that time.


through a “very frightening” 27- hour ordeal. It began in the early hours


when labour started three weeks early. The birth did not progress well and by the afternoon Claire


24 Malling


tally unacceptable and we shall be calling for a full investigation and report. We all expect much better from such a vital front- line emer- gency service.” A trust spokesman said: “Mrs Whitall’s midwives ad- vised that she should be transferred


because her labour wasprogress- ing slowly. An experienced anaesthetist administered Mrs Whitall’s epidural and more than one space was attempted for clinical reasons.”


A&E: Mr Douglas said some of the long patient delays at Pembury A&E were not acceptable. The department had been busier than ex- pected, especially in winter.He agreed too many patients who should go to the fully-operative Maidstone A&E were still not being taken to Maidstone and he sought patient co-operation in trying to ensure full and appropriate use of Maidstone. Discussions continued with the ambulance service over correct se- lection of an A&E. He reiterated Maidstone A&E was not being “run down” – its long-term future was vital in trust plans. He expected a drop in use ofMaidstone of no more than 4% year-on-year due to the transfer of trauma and emergency orthopaedic cases to Pembury. He felt one significant advantage of the changes was that elective non-or- thopaedic operations werenowprogressing well without cancellations.


PARKING: Extra parking was now available at Pembury with 1,300 spaces on site by February (350 for patients, 950 for staff). In addition there were 320 staff parking places at nearby Notcutts. Early com- plaints had fallen to zero.


FOODANDDRINK: Complaints about absence of food and drink for visitors in evenings and overnight were being overcome with new vending machines.


ZIMMERFRAMES:Hesaid there were plenty ofZimmer frames and therewas no reason for one frame to be shared between two wards.


WOMEN AND CHILDREN’S SERVICES: He felt these had settled well, including the new midwife-led birthing unit at Maidstone.


Hospital Trust slammed in care commission report


Continued from page one


told inspectors that, while on an average day staffing levels should be sufficient, they sometimes struggled on busy days. Staff also raised con- cerns that the skill mix was not always right, and that staff were spread out across the de- partment. Inspectors found that wait-


ing times in the department were subject to significant de- lays. While no major incidents had been assigned to the hos- pital that day, three ambulance crews were waiting in a corri- dor, unable to transfer patients due to a lack of beds in the major injury unit. Ian Biggs, Deputy Director of


CQC in the South, said: “It was clear from our inspection that patients visiting the Accident and Emergency department at the hospital had towait far too long for attention. “Providers have a duty to


make sure that the care and treatment they deliver meets


the essential standards. This warning sends a clear message that the issues at the Tunbridge Wells Hospital at Pembury need to be addressed as a mat- ter of priority. “The trust has accepted the findings of inspectors and have told CQC they are taking action to make the improve- ments required. “Our inspectors will return


in the near future to carry out another unannounced inspec- tion. If we find that the trust is not making the required progress we will consider fur- ther use of our enforcement powers to protect the people who depend on this service.”


THE BMI Somerfield Hospi- tal in Maidstone has been awarded an overall satisfaction score of 99.2% by its patients who rated overall quality of care as either good, very good or excellent. The independent survey studied 1,028 com- pleted patient questionnaires returned last year.


You can e-mail the Downs Mail — info@downsmail.co.uk


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40