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Community Engagement Update
November 2023
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Join us at our virtual public event |
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 Join us at our next virtual public event on Wednesday 15 November at 6pm, where our focus will be on common frailty problems and the recent investments the Trust has made to improve care for our frail, elderly patients.
Our keynote speaker will be Dr Sanjay Suman, Clinical Director and Consultant Physician within the Therapies and Older Persons’ Care Group. He will be joined by colleagues from our multi-disciplinary team, offering advice on staying well and healthy this winter.
The event will also share the success stories of Sheppey Frailty Unit, which opened in January 2023 at Sheppey Community Hospital, and the £1.74 million refurbishment of Harvey Ward on our main hospital site.
To book your place, please email met-tr.members-medway@nhs.net
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Hospital team welcomes students to Medway
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Starting university can be daunting, and finding out about local healthcare services is just one of many things on the list for freshers.
That’s why staff from Medway Maritime Hospital took time to join welcome fairs in September, meeting students, signposting services, and letting them know how they can get involved.
Members of the hospital’s Engagement Team held an information stand and were joined by the Trust’s Lead Governor, Cllr David Brake, to give students a warm welcome. As well as helping young people find out more about accessing local health services, they also shared historical facts about the hospital, originally built to care for sailors from the Royal Navy.
During 2023, the Engagement Team is focusing on engaging with young people throughout Medway and Swale, building on partnerships with local schools, colleges and universities, in order to ensure that young people are represented and have a say.
Students were able to find out more about the benefits of becoming a member of the Trust and 70 signed up during the welcome fairs. A few shared their reasons for doing so:
‘It would be a great opportunity to be associated with the NHS Trust. I am very keen on joining the Trust and learning from it.’
'I signed up as I am interested in the community as well as Primary Pharmacy. I would also like to volunteer.'
'I’m studying Pharmacy and would love to broaden my knowledge of healthcare.'
Meet Foday Samura
During the Welcome Fair, we spoke to nearly 200 students and had meaningful conversations with 24 students. One was Foday Samura. After meeting us, Foday attended our Annual Members’ Meeting (more on his below) and during the public questions at the end, he took the opportunity to stand up and explain why he felt compelled to come along in person.
He said: “I met with Cllr David Brake at the Welcome Fair at the Medway Campus, University of Greenwich. He spoke to me about what the Trust is doing and trying to help students about what is going on. David gave me information and I signed up. But it’s not just about signing up, I asked myself the question, what else can I do?
“I decided to come here and meet the wonderful people who have been helping lives, to help me answer this question, so that at least I can contribute also to the lives of people, who are around my community. I am studying Pharmaceutical Science and I am in my final year. I am planning to do a lot of research to save lives.’
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Lead Governor reflects on the past year at Annual Members' Meeting |
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'I am delighted to have been re-appointed as Lead Governor for a third year. Governors represent the interests of our constituencies and hold the Non-Executive Directors to account for the performance of the Trust Board, who must take into account our views when they plan and make decisions about the future of the hospital.
'We actively engage with audiences and share information through our public events and engagement sessions, and at our quarterly public Council of Governor meetings.
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'We are invited to take part in a variety of activities, including assessments of various areas of the hospital, and attending Board meetings and various other committees and groups.
'We also attend the Trust’s Annual Members’ Meeting, which took place on Wednesday 27 September 2023. More than 80 people attended the meeting in person or virtually. The Chief Executive Jayne Black spoke about the achievements of the past year, including improved CQC ratings in various services; the introduction of a Virtual Hub; improved care for patients with hip fractures and the launch of our new medical model.
'I also gave an update on the valuable work Governors have done to support patient, public and community engagement over the past year. Thank you to all who joined us.'
Cllr David Brake, Lead Governor
If you would like to find out more:
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Interested in representing the Trust? |
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Engaging on our future Data, Digital and Technology Strategy
The Trust is asking for your views about how you use, or may wish to use digital technology to support your care and experience in our hospital.
We want to deliver high quality care to the population of Medway and Swale, using digital, data and technology to improve safety and efficiency, reduce inequalities and improve access to healthcare.
Our new Digital, Data and Technology Strategy will set out how we plan to do this and will reflect feedback received from all stakeholders through engagement, including our staff, partners, patients and our local population.
For more details, and to take part in the survey before 13 November, please visit our website here.
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We're teaching lifesaving resuscitation skills to young people in our community |
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Our Resuscitation Service Team has been out and about teaching lifesaving skills to young people in our community.
They visited Deanwood Primary School on Monday 16 October to teach cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to Year 3, 4, and 5 pupils as part of Restart A Heart Day.
The next day, they joined our Engagement Team in the hospital’s main entrance where they demonstrated CPR on basic life support dolls and answered questions from patients and visitors.
Also, on Friday 6 October, the Trust’s Acute Response Team attended Miers Court Primary School, in Silverspot Close, Rainham, to train Year 6 pupils and 10 members of staff how to deliver CPR.
Sadly, the survival rate for an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest is less than one in 10 people and only 30 to 40 per cent of people receive bystander CPR in the UK. Thanks to our Resuscitation Service Team going out into the community and educating people about how to do CPR they’re helping to give those who have a sudden cardiac arrest the best chance of survival which is fantastic so well done team.
The teams have been delivering CPR training across Medway and Swale to schools and clubs - such as football and swimming clubs – since 2016. The session is designed to be fun and interactive while providing children and young people with the vital resuscitation skills needed to help save a person’s life.
You can watch a video of the CPR training being delivered to pupils at Deanwood Primary School here.
If you think the CPR training session may be of interest to your child’s school or club please ask them to email medwayft.resus.service@nhs.net
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There is a new neuro-café in town.
Neuro-cafés provide social and psychological support to anyone with or affected by a neurological condition.
The Bread of Life Neuro-café (17 Darnley Road, Strood, ME2 2EU), launched on Tuesday 24 October. It will then be open on the fourth Tuesday of each month, 10am to 12pm. It is a bakery as well as a café and some months they plan to offer a cookery class to cook our own refreshments.
For more information on their Neuro-cafes visit: Medway Neuro-Cafes » Medway Neurological Network
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Can you help?
Swale Community and Voluntary Services are looking for befriending volunteers and volunteer drivers, who can make a huge difference to someone's life.
To contact the Volunteer Centre team ring Sean, Louise or Zoe on 01795 473828 or zoe.deveson@swalecvs.co.uk
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Engagement opportunities coming up at Medway Maritime Hospital
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We will be having two engagement sessions in the main entrance of the hospital this November. Governors will have the chance to talk to people about their role and our Trust membership, as well as our upcoming public event.
On Wednesday 8 November we will be joined by our Strategy and Partnerships Team, who will be looking for patient views to help shape our future Data, Digital and Technology Strategy .
Wednesday 8 November 11am to 1pm
Monday 13 November 11am to 1pm
We will also be at the Christmas market on Tuesday 5 December - see below for more details!
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Get festive with The Medway Hospital Charity!
 The Medway Hospital Charity is holding a series of Christmas markets and a Christmas Fair to raise money to support patients, staff and volunteers at Medway Maritime Hospital.
There will be a variety of stands selling cakes, crafts, pre-loved toys and more - not forgetting The Medway Hospital Charity Christmas raffle. We hope to see you there!
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Organ donation is the gift of life.
Grab some time to talk about it today with loved ones and add your decision on the NHS Organ Donor Register.
This is the official record which specialist nurses check if a person dies in circumstances where organ donation is possible, so it’s important to register your decisions here and share them with the people you love.
Recording your decision takes just a couple of minutes online – click here to do it: https://bit.ly/4169cXu |
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