Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust

Last month we unveiled a memorial in honour of those who flew over Tunbridge Wells Hospital during wartime. Unveiled by His Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of Kent, the Lady Colgrain, it commemorates First Lieutenant William M. McDermott, an American fighter pilot whose plane crashed close to the hospital on 10 June 1944. McDermott was flying a P-47 plane from a US Air Force base in Duxford, Cambridgeshire, supporting Allied Forces in the D Day landings when he collided with another plane. He crashed close to the old Pembury Hospital and is buried at Cambridge American Cemetery. Kent Police were able to contact members of McDermott’s family, including his niece, who attended the event, alongside members of our Executive team and Armed Forces Network. We also welcomed representatives from Kent Police, the United States Government and the Imperial War Museum Duxford, as well as the Mayor of Tunbridge Wells, Councillor David Osborne. Dr Sara Mumford, Chief Medical Officer and Executive Lead for veteran awareness, said: “It is important to recognise the rich history of our hospital and the role it has played in the region over many generations, including during wartime. "As an NHS Veteran Aware organisation, we are committed to supporting our armed forces community, and this new memorial is an important symbol of our respect and ongoing work in this area.”

Celebrating with our amazing Maternity teams at Tunbridge Wells Hospital yesterday! 🎉 👏 We're so pleased your dedication and hard work has been recognised with a rating of 'good' by the Care Quality Commission. Thank you for your commitment to providing the best possible care for babies, families and our communities, and for your culture of kindness and compassion which was praised in the CQC's report. 💙 #ExceptionalPeopleOutstandingCare

Welcome to the 79 new F1 doctors - our newest resident doctors - who joined our trust this week! 👏 They are all qualified doctors in their first level of clinical training, and will complete two years (F1 and F2) of the foundation programme. After the foundation programme they can apply for further study and training in different specialties. This cohort includes the very first graduates from Kent and Medway Medical School (KMMS) as well as new graduates from City St George’s, University of London and from the School of Health & Medical Sciences, City St George's, University of London. In the coming weeks and months, we'll welcome more resident doctors at different stages of their training, and we're delighted to be part of their journey. Welcome to #TeamMTW!

The Maternity service at Tunbridge Wells Hospital has been rated ‘good’ by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). The CQC’s new report recognises a range of improvements, including: ✅ Strengthened oversight and management of governance ✅ A positive safety culture where incidents are investigated thoroughly, and learning is embedded to promote good practice and outcomes ✅ Routine monitoring of care and treatment to continuously improve outcomes for mothers and babies ✅ A culture of kindness and compassion, with staff making sure people’s care, support and treatment meet individual needs and preferences ✅ Improved focus on equality, diversity and inclusion, and personalised care plans based on individual needs and preferences for all women and birthing people. The maternity unit at Tunbridge Wells Hospital provides care and support for more than 5,000 births a year. Since the inspection in October the team have continued to make improvements: 🛏️ a new bed management system to help manage capacity and give clinical staff more time to provide high-quality care 📈 reviewing our structure for monitoring and improving quality of care 👩🏫 enhancing antenatal education for parents-to-be 🤰 fostering a culture of listening to women and birthing people. Chief Nurse, Jo Haworth, said: “We’re delighted to have been upgraded by not one, but two CQC rating levels within just 14 months. "I’d like to acknowledge how proud I am of our teams, who have worked tirelessly to implement such an incredible amount of positive change, which is reflected in our new report. “We’ll continue to focus on improving the service, providing safe, compassionate and high-quality care to local families in order to reach our ambition of being ‘outstanding’.” Read more on our website: https://lnkd.in/g-ugsnA8

Our Leadership Development team and Exceptional Leaders for All (ELfA) programmes have been shortlisted for a HPMA Healthcare People Management Association Excellence in People award! 👏 The awards celebrate the achievements and innovation of healthcare people and organisational development teams across the country. The Leadership Development team has been shortlisted for the Hill Dickinson Award for ‘Passionate about Organisational Development’, which rewards innovative initiatives "led with passion and exceptional commitment". Now assured by ILM, the ELfA programmes support participants to develop their leadership skills through understanding self, impact and how to enable high performing teams as well as a culture of compassion. The team work with internal and external partners to ensure the content of the programmes remains up to date, relevant and led by research. Hundreds of leaders at all levels in the trust have taken part in our ELfA programmes so far. Head of Leadership Development, Sarah Cadlock said: “I am so proud of the team for the continued passion and professionalism they commit to developing our programme and supporting leaders across the Trust. “We are also excited to be extending the ELfA programmes to colleagues from across Kent and Medway, enabling collaboration beyond MTW and ensuring the communities we serve benefit from fantastic leadership in our organisations.” The winners will be announced at a ceremony in November. Good luck to the team! 🤞 #ExceptionalPeopleOutstandingCare

Innovative robotic surgery is set to help hundreds of women living with severe endometriosis and other gynaecological conditions. This month, our first robot-assisted hysterectomy was performed by a surgical team led by Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, Mr Ahmed El Gohari, a specialist in endometriosis, pelvic pain and complex gynaecological surgeries. Robot-assisted surgery has many benefits for patients – it is less invasive, leads to less pain after the operation, and can mean a faster recovery time. The robot is controlled by the surgeon and gives them greater precision, as the robotic arms mimic their hand movements. This allows complex procedures to be performed with smaller incisions, reducing damage to surrounding tissues. Mr El Gohari said: “This pioneering surgery is an important step in setting new standards for women’s healthcare. "We are one of the first NHS trusts in the region delivering this cutting-edge surgery which will help women who suffer with common gynaecological conditions such as endometriosis. “Offering robot-assisted gynaecological surgery means our patients are benefiting from the latest advancements in this area, allowing us to deliver the highest levels of care and improve outcomes for our patients.” Read more: https://lnkd.in/ejnJPD_N #ExceptionalPeopleOutstandingCare

In recognition of our commitment to the Armed Forces community, we've received the Gold Defence Employer Recognition Scheme Award! 🏆 This honour - the scheme's highest - celebrates organisations going above and beyond to support veterans, reservists, cadet force adult volunteers and military families in the workplace. We are one of only 202 organisations across the UK – and just 16 in the south east – to achieve this award this year. The award follows our recognition as a #VeteranAware organisation, highlighting our support for veterans, reservists and their families. The Gold Award is testament to our drive to be a leader in workplace inclusivity and our commitment to ensuring Armed Forces personnel and their families are supported every step of the way. #ExceptionalPeopleOutstandingCare

Following a huge rise in demand, Radiotherapy teams in the Kent Oncology Centre are now providing an amazing 60,000 treatments a year! ⏱️ Despite the increase, we're consistently achieving all three national cancer waiting time standards, and the Kent Oncology Centre provides some of the fastest access to cancer treatment in the country. This achievement is thanks to the work of teams like Radiotherapy, who have taken to the national stage recently to speak at two major conferences, sharing their hard work and the innovative ideas which have improved performance. Radiotherapy Planning Clinical Lead, Norma Simpson; Radiotherapy Physics Education and Training Officer, Holly Tant; and Deputy Head of Radiotherapy Services, Bronwyn Van Blerk shared their insights at the Society and College of Radiographers (SCoR) conference and at last month’s UKIO (UK Imaging and Oncology), a leading international conference attended by over 2,100 healthcare professionals. 🛣️ After the pandemic we saw an increase in patients needing treatment and the team saw an opportunity to adapt the ‘pathway navigator’ concept, a single point of contact for patients through their cancer pathway, helping with improved patient triage and reducing unnecessary visits to hospital. From urgent suspected cancer referrals and screening, to treatment, they make sure cancer patients are getting the very best care, as quickly as possible. The team's presentations have led to conversations with other radiotherapy providers about potential changes in practice to improve safety, quality and efficiencies. Other providers have been in touch to find out more, and the team are hoping other radiotherapy services around the country will incorporate these new ways of working and use the expertise of other professions to help more cancer patients. #ExceptionalPeopleOutstandingCare

Our next Trust Board meeting takes place tomorrow, Wednesday 30 July at 9.45am. Members of the public and staff are welcome to join the meeting in person at the Education Centre in Tunbridge Wells Hospital, or online via Teams – visit https://lnkd.in/eVfPDGr2

Making the leap from primary to secondary school can be a daunting prospect but for children living with diabetes, a new school can bring new challenges. 👩⚕️ A new diagnosis for a child can be confusing and frightening, and they often need long-term specialist help from a multi-disciplinary team of experts. 🎒 When they move schools they often need to take a more active role in managing their condition, and a group of 10 and 11-year-olds living with type 1 diabetes recently attended an event organised by our Paediatric Diabetes team to help them adapt to this change. 💉 Known as a ‘627 day’ (because of the move from year 6 to 7), the events use learning and play to support them with monitoring their blood glucose and injecting or using insulin pumps; how to recognise signs of hypoglycaemia/hyperglycaemia; and how to manage their diet. 🗣️ Group discussions with a specialist psychologist help children voice worries about starting a new school and how to explain their condition to new people. 💙Paediatric Diabetes Youth Worker, Nicola Davis said: "It's a great opportunity to have fun and make new friends with other young people going through similar experiences. And, of course, it’s so rewarding for us as their support team to see their confidence and independence grow!" Thank you to The Paula Carr Diabetes Trust and local parents for supporting the event! #ExceptionalPeopleOutstandingCare