News | Health


downsmail.co.uk Missed cancer targets ‘harmful’


EVIDENCE is arising of patient harmas a result ofMaidstone and TunbridgeWellsHospital Trust seriouslymissing cancer targets. The trust, under ongoing pres-


sure from NHS England andWest Kent Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), is operating a “ro- bust harmreviewprocess”. To date, four cases of low-level


harm have been identified and these relate to “continuance of symptoms – butwith no impact on outcome or treatment plan”. Work is ongoing to consider a


trust proactive harmreviewfor pa- tients earlier in their pathway. The NHS says cancer perform-


ance inWest Kent “is of particular concern at highest levels in the na- tional team”. Fortnightly meetings are being


held between the CCG’s cancer commissioner and the GP clinical leadwith the trust’s cancer clinical lead and associate director of can- cer. The trust now has a worrying


history of missing cancer targets, and by this summer the percentage for treatment within 62 days of re- ferral fell to 59.8%, against a na- tional target of 85%. Latest figures showan improvement to 72.51%.


GP boundaries THE CCGhas approveda request to reduce theboundaryofAylesfordGP practice.A change has also been ap- provedtoreducetheboundaryfor the Sutton Valence practice as patients from new residential development live closer to another practice.


Bed blockers ONAVERAGE 21 beds a week (639 bed days) at Maidstone and Tun- bridgeWellshospitalswereoccupied in August with patients awaiting transfer to other services.


The trust is also missing the tar-


get for patients to be seenwithin 14 days of a GP referral. The national target is 93%, but latest figures show the trust falling to its lowest level for a year (79.78%). The pathway with worst per-


formance is breast cancer, largely due to staffing issues in the trust. The trust is continuing with im- mediate measures of increasing


clinic and diagnostics capacity using current staff working longer hours, appointment of clinical as- sociates and is in-sourcing an en- doscopy team. There are longer termplans to in-


crease sustainable capacity and ad- ditional resources have been identified. A shared approach to funding has been agreed between the CCG and the trust.


Training for GP referrals


TRAINING sessions for local GPs on cancer referrals are being arranged by the GP-led NHS Kent Clinical Commissioning Group, both to ensure timely referrals and to avoid unnecessary referrals which increase pressure on the hospital trust. Almost 20 per cent of cancer pa-


tients in the greater Maidstone area are diagnosed with cancer only after an emergency admis- sion to hospital, according to Pub- lic Health England. The annual Cancer Patient Ex-


perience Survey shows 23%of pa- tients in West Kent who visited their GP with cancer concerns be- fore they were diagnosed said they saw their doctor between three and five times before going to hospital, but this did not neces- sarily mean symptoms were missed by GPs.


Staff parking charges ‘a scandal’


FIGURES released by the local NHS reveal that hospital staff paid more than £1million in parking fees and fines last year, which unions have described as a “run- ning sore of a scandal”. Medway, Maidstone & Tun-


bridgeWells (MTW) and Dartford &Gravesham(DG) trusts collected in £1,078,006 from NHS workers parking across all their sites this year. The statistics also reveal the trusts made an additional


£4,296,925 from parking charges paid by patients and visitors in the same financial year. This brought the total parking in-


come generated by three trusts to more than £5.3m. Unite, the union representing


health workers, said parking charges amounted to a “tax on hard-pressed” employees. MichaelCott,Unite regional offi-


cer, said: “NHS bosses … are rak- ing in enormous sums ofmoney in the form of carparking charges


from hard-pressed and dedicated NHS staff. It is a running sore of a scandal.” A Maidstone and Tunbridge


Wells NHS Trust spokesman said: “Income generated from car park- ing goes towards the maintenance and improvement of our car parks. Income thereafter is used to sup- port our hospital services.” NHS staff have the option to pay


to park at the hospital at a cost of £17.33 amonth.Alternatively, staff can pay £1 per 24-hour period.


Improved GP access proves popular


AS PART of the General Practice Forward View (GPFV) the govern- ment has launched an initiative to improve access to general practice. Funding has been provided to


support the provision of extended opening hours and extra appoint- ments via GP surgeries. On October 1, NHS West Kent


CCG launched its Improvements which give access toGP services to all local patients until 8pmMonday to Friday, at weekends and on bank holidays. West Kent GPs work in clusters


38 Maidstone December 2018


and, to ensure the service has local patients’ needs inmind, each clus- ter has developed its own model. The service allows access to doc- tors, nurses, physios, pharmacists and health care assistants so that there are a variety of appointments available for patients just as in core hours (8am to 6.30pm Monday to Friday). Patients wanting to make an ap-


pointment should phone their GP surgery and speak to the recep- tionist, who has been trained in care navigation, andwill ask if they


are happy to be asked some simple questions tomake sure they see the right person for their needs. Receptionists now offer the new


appointments routinely, but pa- tients are asked to tell themif they particularly need a weekend or evening slot. This may not be at the surgery


where the patient is registered, but will be within the locality and the patient has the choice of the date, time and location. Sunday services are held in two locations, one in the Tonbridge


area and one inMaidstone.Athird is set to open early next year to in- crease availability and choice. Bob Bowes, CCG chairman, said:


“This is a very exciting initiative as general practice is nowavailable 365 days a year. The servicewill be eval- uatedandpatient feedback sought to help shape and develop it to meet their needs. So far, take-up is good and the service appreciated. It is hoped it will relieve some of the pressure on general practice in core hours andsupportpatients by offer- ing improved access. ”


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