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Health | News Trust hits cancer targets


MAIDSTONE and Tunbridge Wells hospital trust has celebrated hitting the national 62-day target (85%) for cancer treatments in August and September.


After many months of under- performance, the latest figures now put it in the top 30 per cent of trusts, a turnaround from the po- sition for 2018. NHS West Kent CCG says it is encouraged by the results and looks forward to sustained im- provement, so that all patients are seen within 62 days. Staff recruitment is proving a challenge for the hospital trust in all areas. In September and Au- gust, bank and agency availability was limited and sickness rose. This put increased pressures on al- ready-stretched staff and con- tributed to serious incidents increasing in August. Overseas recruitment is well underway, and the first group of nurses are completing examina- tions which will support them to


Good rating for 999 care


THE local ambulance service has improved, especially in timely handling of highest-risk emer- gencies.


SECAmb has now been rated “good” by the Care Quality Com- mission. But although there have been improvements in categories 1 and 2, West Kent CCG says SECAmb has still some way to go improv- ing category 3 and 4 calls. Patients experiencing longer


than four-hour waits will now be individually reviewed for harm and reported to the CCG quality team.


Delays in ambulance handover


of patients to hospitals within the 30-minute standard continue to cause concern and the two trusts are working to meet the target.


Surgery merger


A MERGER has now taken place between Northumberland Court surgery, Shepway, Maid- stone, and the single-handed Grove Park surgery, in Sutton Road, Maidstone. The majority of patients (about 2,000) are moving to Northumberland Court, which has closed its patient list for 12 months to allow a “bedding-in” period.


Vasectomy funding under review


THE future of NHS-funded va- sectomies and reversals locally is under review. NHS West Kent Clinical Com- missioning Group (CCG) stopped paying for the proce- dures three years ago. The CCG received a report es- timating £307,000 had been saved in the three years. If the CCG elects to re-fund these pro- cedures, a saving elsewhere would need to be found. There are three options under


consideration: l The CCG continues not to fund vasectomies l Reinstatement of NHS funding


for vasectomies and vasectomy reversals with immediate effect. The group recommended this option, but it was recognised that there was a risk. l Review the decision to rein- state funding once the Kent and Medway decision was taken. An impact assessment on va- sectomy funding will be carried out to enable a decision to be made. One factor is the cost of health problems for women tak- ing oral contraceptives.


Maidstone East December 2019 27


within 24 hours of admission”. The trust believes this should support an improved picture for the three national standards, which at present remain below ex- pectation, and that it will “‘reduce the risk of harm to patients and improve outcomes”. Ophthalmology - The backlog


of patients requiring follow-up continues to be an issue for the trust.


New guidelines that require pa-


work independently on ward areas.


Stroke services for Maidstone


and Tunbridge Wells hospitals are now centred entirely at Maidstone,


and the hospital trust is reporting “the service is now much safer, with patients receiving an end-to- end service and improvements in seeing a specialist consultant


tients taking some medication for rheumatic conditions to have eye check-ups mean that an extra 20- 40 new patients a month will re- quire this service, along with yearly follow-ups. With the back- log already standing at about 4,000 patients, this will have a signifi- cant impact on the already- stretched service.


Boost for mental health Encouraging


FOUR additional qualified nurses are to be employed by the CCG in west Kent to pro- vide a programme of 12 phys- ical health checks for patients with serious mental health problems. They will work with the cur-


rent mental health local team and liaise with GPs, practice and district nurses. This supports NHS Eng-


land’s approach to increase early detection of physical health problems, which are causing patients to die 15-20 years, on average, earlier than the general population.


more talking WORLD Mental Health Day was marked on October 10 and, in Kent, health organisations are backing Public Health England’s national Every Mind Matters campaign. Britain has been urged to talk


more about the issue of mental health and landmarks across Kent were lit up to boost awareness. Even TV shows got in on the act,


with Britain’s Got Talent falling silent during a recording to encour- age viewers to talk to each other. Maidstone and Mid Kent Mind


has launched a youth mental health programme, Mindfulness and Me.


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