In this issue

• Welcome message
• New facilities offer health tests
• ‘Forget me Not’ area improves ED for dementia patients
• Families return to celebrate fourth anniversary of life-saving clinic
• Great reasons to become a member of our Trust

Welcome message from Bernie Mayall and Carl Shorter

Dear Trust members and supporters,

We are delighted to let you know that we have been elected as the Lead and Deputy Lead governor for a third year running.

It is a real honour and a privilege to fulfil these roles and to offer warm support and challenge in equal measure to our Trust.

This is a Trust that is making progress. We are delighted that the CQC recognised the improvements that have been made in maternity care and has upgraded the service from Inadequate to Good. This has been the result of a lot of skilled and focussed hard work from everyone in the service working together to improve the care local families rely on. The Council of Governors would like to thank every one of those involved for that work and for their talent and energy.

We have a new Chair in Dr Annette Doherty and two new Non-Executive Directors Robert Musgrove and Ffion Griffith and we warmly welcome them all. It is recognition of the Trust’s progress that we are attracting highly skilled and experienced new colleagues and it was a pleasure for us as governors to participate in the recruitment process as part of our role and duty.

The Trust ended the financial year having met a cost reduction target of £49m, a phenomenal task. This current year is even more challenging but the efforts of teams across the Trust provide more confidence that they can continue to improve what has for many years been a difficult financial position. A massive well done from Council to all who have contributed to this achievement.

In the urgent and emergency departments, last month more than three-quarters (76.2%) of all patients were seen within 4 hours, and the Trust is consistently above 50% for admitting, transferring or discharging type 1 (the sickest) patients within the four-hour standard. We are still very aware of the challenges in the emergency departments and that is a priority for us.

The percentage of patients having diagnostic tests within six weeks was 82.8% in April and the Trust continues to perform well in all key Cancer standards.

This is good news to report but no-one is complacent, there is much more to do to make sure all patients are seen in a timely way and that all services are performing at a high standard. But even while firmly understanding the further challenges ahead we should take a moment to recognise the work that has been done, the achievements reached, and the dedicated and talented people who will take things forward and continue to strive and work towards excellence.

We also wanted to share some news from across the patch so you can see what is happening in your areas.

We hope you enjoy reading our newsletter.

Bernie Mayall, Lead Governor and Public Governor for Dover, and

Carl Shorter, Deputy Lead Governor and Public Governor for Folkestone, Hythe and Romney Marsh

New facilities offer health tests

More options for east Kent residents who need diagnostic tests will be available later this year when a new Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC) opens, as part of a new Thanet health hub.

The Thanet CDC, located at the Carey building, in Northwood Road, Broadstairs, will initially offer a range of diagnostics, including MRI, phlebotomy, respiratory and echocardiogram (ECHO), bringing further capacity, resilience and sustainability to diagnostic services across east Kent.

While building work is underway, a mobile MRI unit is being set up temporarily in the car park at Victoria Hospital in Deal, to offer an alternative option to residents needing diagnostic tests, and reducing the requirement for patients to travel to the QEQM Hospital in Margate. For more information, see New facilities offer health tests closer to home by Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust.

‘Forget me Not’ area improves ED for dementia patients

The emergency department team at WHH have been making continual improvements for our patients based on patient feedback received from the Friends and Family test.

Having identified themes from this feedback, they recently created a new 'Forget Me Not' area, specially designed for patients living with dementia.

Working in collaboration with our dementia team, the area has comfortable chairs and is in a quieter area of ED.

Families return to celebrate fourth anniversary of life-saving clinic

The pre-term birth clinic at the Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Hospital in Margate and William Harvey Hospital in Ashford has helped more than a thousand families welcome healthy babies who were at risk of being born early.

Some of them were invited back to help celebrate the clinic’s fourth anniversary, and say a personal thank you to lead consultant Dr Aylur Rajasri, pre-term lead midwife Jess Toohey, and fetal wellbeing midwife Poppy Corrall.

People who have had previous premature births, or who have other risk factors including surgery to their cervix, or previous miscarriages, can be referred to the clinic by their midwife and will be seen until they reach their third trimester. Complex cases are discussed with colleagues in London for their advice and input.

The team have also analysed the outcomes of their patients and published research around developments to reduce the risk of pre-term birth. They hope to secure funding for more of this work.

Great reasons to become a member of our Trust

Everyone’s motivation for joining their local NHS Trust is different. You or a relative may have had hospital treatment or might simply be passionate about the NHS.

We want more people to sign up as a member of our Trust. Already a member? Why not share this newsletter with friends and family and encourage them to join too.

East Kent Hospitals is your local Foundation Trust providing acute hospital care in east Kent. Foundation Trusts have a wide membership of local people, patients and staff, aged 16 and over. Members vote to elect local Governors to represent them.

We want to listen and use your feedback to help us improve services. Trust members can be involved as much or as little as you want, from just receiving updates or asking your governor to represent your views, to helping us redesign services or even standing as a Governor yourself.

There are lots of other reasons to sign up:

• Have your say on NHS services
• Get the latest news straight into your inbox
• Vote for your local governor to represent your views
• It’s free and you get high street discounts normally only available to NHS staff
• Get an invite to our events and annual meeting.

For more information on how to get involved, you can visit our members information, email foundationtrust@nhs.net or phone us on 01233 616806.

We hope you have enjoyed our newsletter.

With best wishes
Bernie Mayall and Carl Shorter

Find out more about the Council of Governors at East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust

Visit our Council of Governors information to learn more about what we do, and how to get in touch.

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