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November 2022 |
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MTW takes over Radio 4 airwaves
 MTW hit the airwaves as Radio 4 'PM' host Evan Davis was welcomed in at Maidstone Hospital recently as the BBC heard about our improvements in patient flow.
During the visit, Evan spoke with our CEO Miles Scott before stepping into our Care Co-Ordination Centre (CCC) to talk with colleagues including Director of Operations, Nick Sinclair. They discussed how our TeleTracking bed management system has reduced the amount of time a bed is empty and the time a patient spends in the Emergency Department (ED) before they are transferred to a bed.
The BBC also spoke with colleagues in our Emergency Department to find out more about Same Day Emergency Care (SDEC), an approach which has helped patients receive speciality care on the same day and reduced the number of patients needing to be admitted.
You can listen to the report by clicking the link below, selecting the 1 November episode and fast-forwarding to approximately 46 minutes in.
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London to Lisbon fundraiser hosts charity quiz night
Back in August, fundraiser Naomi Skinner set off on an epic 1700km run from London to Lisbon with just a backpack full of clothes, a few essentials and the open road ahead of her in hopes of hitting her £10,000 target to support our Kent Oncology Centre. Fast forward two months and Naomi has overcome rising temperatures, crossing borders and difficult terrain and raised nearly £6,000!
Sadly, soon after crossing the border into Portugal, Naomi had to call time on her challenge after bravely struggling with a nasty ankle injury for much of her run.
Naomi said: “I am absolutely gutted that I have been unable to complete this challenge. The bad news: I have shin splints and tendon and ligament damage. My diagnosis has confirmed that I did the right thing in stopping my challenge when I did. If I had tried to continue, it could have led to stress fractures and longer term damage. I want to say a huge thank you for all of the kind messages I have received and thank you to everyone who has donated so far!”
But – she isn’t stopping there! Determined to reach her £10,000 target for our charity, Naomi has organised a quiz night on 26 November at Westborough School with all proceeds going towards her final total. If you would like to enter, or know someone who might, you can find out more below. Sign up and lend her your support!
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An introduction to our new Head of Charity and Fundraising… Claire Ashby!
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Have you ever wanted to give something back to your local hospitals? Well – our new Head of Charity and Fundraising, Claire Ashby is just the person to help point you in the right direction! Born and raised in the Black Country and now firmly settled in Kent with her husband, two sons and Mabel the Cavapoo, self-confessed Take That superfan, Claire can often be cheering on her beloved West Brom. We sat down with Claire to find out a little more about her and her brand-new role…
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What does your new role involve?
My role is twofold – firstly I am working to raise the profile and awareness of the Charity both internally with staff and externally with our local community to ensure that everyone knows about our Charity and the opportunities available to help support us. Secondly, I am working with all departments within our sites to enable them to understand charitable funds and how these can help to support the outstanding work already being carried out by providing additional resources.
Favourite sports?
I love football, rugby and Formula 1 – supporting West Brom, Northampton Saints and Lando Norris.
Best holiday?
New York. Central Park in the snow is something else!
How has your first month been in this role?
It’s been better than I could have imagined. I have loved meeting everyone and deciding how to take the Charity forward and how I can embed it as intrinsic part of life at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust to continue improving every day for everybody.
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Health Play Specialist recognised with charity award
Health Play Specialist Vicki Belton has been recognised as the runner up in the Mentor of the Year category at this year’s Starlight Health Play Awards, which mark the start of National Play in Hospital Week (10 to 14 October).
Run by the UK’s leading health play charity, Starlight, the Awards recognise the dedication, ingenuity and resilience of play specialists and other health professionals who are changing the experience of hospital treatment for seriously ill children.
Heath play specialists work directly with children in hospitals, hospices and other health settings, empowering them to understand more about their treatment, develop coping techniques, distract them during procedures and support their mental health whilst they’re undergoing treatment. Mentors such as Vicki help develop the next generation of health play specialists.
Explaining what her new award means to her, Vicki said: “It’s so amazing to be nominated, especially as a mentor because it means you’re doing a good job atinfluencing future health play specialists. Having a mentee to teach gives you the ‘yes I do know this’ feeling and gives you a real boost for the importance of your role. it’s a really positive thing to do and ignites the fire again.”
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 "We strive for excellence and always put our patients and their needs first". - Raquel Gonzaga, Advanced Clinical Practitioner.
As the world marks #AdvancingPractice2022 week, we're celebrating just some of our fantastic Advanced Clinical Practitioners (ACP) across the Trust!
Our ACPs come from a range of professional backgrounds such as nursing, pharmacy, paramedics and occupational therapy. They are healthcare professionals educated to Master’s level and have developed the skills and knowledge to allow them to take on expanded roles and scope of practice caring for patients.
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Researchers study how lungs recover from COVID-19
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Healthcare research is essential to find out which treatments work better for patients. It plays an important role in discovering new treatments, makes sure that we use existing treatments in the best possible ways, and changes the way that healthcare professionals work.
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MTW has recruited over 2,300 participants to studies since April 2022, the highest across Kent, Surrey and Sussex. The Trust currently has over 100 studies open across 27 different specialties.
Consultant Respiratory Physician Dr Tuck-Kay Loke has led one such research project, known as COVIDLUS, aiming to understand how patients recover from COVID-19, a virus that has caused millions of infections worldwide.
Dr Tuck-Kay Loke said: “The research project recognises that the ultrasound of lungs is not only useful for patients when they get COVID-19, but it’s also helpful in their recovery after hospitalisation. Perhaps most importantly, our patients can also be reassured when they see the ultrasound as showing improvement in terms of their lung infection.”
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