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downsmail.co.uk Hospital asked for op report
LAWYERS representing patients who died or suffered complications after specialist surgery at Maidstone Hospital have called for a report by the Royal College of Surgeons to be made public.
Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells
NHS Trust agreed to share the rec- ommendations of the college’s in- vestigation into its practices regarding upper gastrointestinal laparascopic surgery – thought to be responsible for five deaths and delayed recoveries at the hospital in 2012-13. The trust’s medical director Paul Sigston said:“We have now spoken with families of patients who died following complications after their
Poor rating
for trust food THE food served up to hospital pa- tients by Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust has been voted among the worst in the country. The results from 353 patients
who completed the Care Quality Commission survey between Sep- tember and January this year showed itwas one of the few areas where the trust failed to improve. Other areas where patients said
there was room for improvement included information given in A&E, the availability of handwash gels and the number of nurses on duty, which all warranted a small dip in patient satisfaction. Pain control, post-operative ad-
vice and the use of understandable language in letters to patients also showed a slight slip in the rating given to the trust by the CQC. However, the trust did improve
in 44 areas on the previous year’s results, covering patient treatment, safety and privacy. The trust’s chief nurse,Avey Bha-
tia, said: “We are really pleased with the results of the latest inpa- tient survey, which show that the trust is continuing to build on the good work and improvements we made in 2012. “Our staff have worked really
hard over the past year, particularly around admissions and discharge planning and this has been re- flected in the survey’s positive pa- tient feedback.”
Get ready to run
RUNNERS – both novices and vet- erans – are invited to take part in the sixth Staplehurst 10k run in June. The flat and scenic course has
made the race popular with those keen to set a personal best, as well as those just starting out. The race, on June 15, starts at
10am, with a children’s 800m race starting at 9.30am. All those finishing the race re- ceive a medal.
20 Maidstone South May 2014
A 200-year old oak tree was felled in Lenham Road
Chainsaw ‘massacre’ of trees in Headcorn
RESIDENTS in Headcorn are furi- ous at what they have dubbed a “chainsaw massacre” by developer Wealden Homes. The company felled a 200-year
old oak tree in Lenham Road ear- lier this year, claiming it was dan- gerous and overhanging the highway, as well as being diseased and dead. But the parish council challenged
the developer and brought in its own tree surgeon who concluded the stump was that of a healthy tree. “It might be reasonable to con-
clude the treewould have obscured a new access road for Wealden Homes’ planned housing develop- ment for the site,” according to one resident. The parish council has asked
Wealden Homes to plant a replace- ment tree but now the company is seeking permission to fell trees with tree preservation orders (TPOs) and hedgerows behind Knaves Acre. The council is asking residents to
help keep an eye on other trees in the vicinity, fearing more could fol- low a similar fate and is looking at getting other valued specimens made the subject of TPOs. The parish council has been re- searching hedgerow legislation, which states “You should not cut/trim hedgerows between March and July 31 – the main nest- ing season for birds. Exemptions apply where a hedgerow over- hangs a public highway or public footpath, or obstructs the view of drivers.”
upper gastro-intestinal (GI) cancer surgery during 2012 and 2013, and have apologised for the failings in care that occurred. We are now making the recommendations of the Royal College of Surgeons re- view publicly available.” But Thomson Snell & Passmore,
who is representing the husband of one patient who bled to death after a laparoscopic operation to re- move a tumour from her oesopha- gus, says releasing only the report’s
recommendations only partly an- swered the questions of affected families. The firm’s Sharon Lam said: “The families deserve to know the full circumstances of their loved ones’ deaths.” The report recommends more
than a dozen improvements to the upper GI cancer surgery at Maid- stone Hospital to improve patient safety, including changes to the practices of the three upper gastro-
intestinal surgeons working there in 2012-2013. They are still em- ployed by the trust, but no longer carry out complex cancer resection surgery. The hospital added that the re-
view did not identify any wider is- sues pre-2012-13 and mortality rates for the servicewere within na- tional levels. GI surgery is temporarily taking
place at St Thomas’ Hospital in London.
Mixed bag for patient satisfaction
OUT-of-hours services at Tun- bridge Wells Hospital in Pembury need improvement, says the Care Quality Commission. The inspection found that while standards of care, treatment and management were being met, when it came to standards of staffing and caring for patients safely, more needed to be done. Inspectors studied A&E, surgical assessment unit, medical assess- ment unit, intensive care, theatres and wards.
The report noted patients were pleased with the treatment and care they received and how nurs- ing staff were keen to protect pa- tients’ dignity. The report said: “We heard that patients had been shown how to operate their beds and the call bells on admission to the ward. A relative told us that staff had been ‘very good to Mum’and that when she was in severe pain, staff responded straight away with analgesia.”
However, while appropriate arrangements were in place to en- sure medicines were available, in- spectors said they were not stored or managed safely. Their report continued: “We
found that staff were supported and that the trust monitored the quality of care that patients re- ceived. “However, we found that there
were not enough qualified, skilled and experienced staff to meet peo- ple’s needs.”
Cricket plans
forge ahead STRONG support was expressed again for a return of Maidstone Cricket Festival at the annual meet- ing of Kent County Cricket Club. Kent chief executive Jamie Clif-
ford said ground facilities had to be improved first and The Mote Cricket Clubwas making progress. Kent chairman George Kennedy invited life member Dennis Fowle, chairman of The Mote Develop- ment Committee, to update the crowded meeting. Mr Fowle said a residential de-
veloper had made a good bid for four acres of the 24-acre site and a planning application for a new pavilion and other significant im- provements should be submitted to Maidstone Council later this year. The club was disappointed that Maidstone Rugby Club had voted against relinquishing its lease be- fore expiry in May 2016. Cricket had offered rugby a new lease, ex- cluding the upper field and now planned construction work could start in summer 2016. The Kent club reported an im- proved financial position and was upbeat about playing successes with Rob Key returning as captain.
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