Help us recognise the fantastic work of our staff and volunteers

It’s time to celebrate the wonderful work of our staff and volunteers - and we need your help!

Nominations are now open for our ‘Exceptional people, outstanding care Star Awards’. If you feel one of our colleagues, teams, volunteers or services has made a real difference to you, then we would love to hear from you.

Has a member of staff impressed you with their exceptional kindness? Have you met a hospital hero whose enthusiasm supports everyone around them? If so, now is the time to let us know. Our staff and volunteers work incredibly hard, and this is a wonderful opportunity to recognise the care and dedication they show every day.

There are eight categories to choose from, and a judging panel will have the difficult task of picking the winners, who will be celebrated at the Star Awards ceremony in April. You can find more information about each award and a nomination form on our website. We've received over 75 nominations so far, so if you want to have your say then hurry - nominations close at midnight on 28 February!

One-hundred-year-old grandmother knits to bring comfort to our young patients

A 100-year-old grandmother and her family have knitted over 300 teddy bears for unwell children at Tunbridge Wells Hospital. Kate Smith began knitting the bears just before the pandemic. Her granddaughter, Tracy Taylor, a Junior Sister at our Trust, came up with the idea when trying to think of ways to help children cope with their anxieties around staying in hospital. The bears are given to young patients and have little notes hidden in their pouches. The children can then write down their worries on the piece of paper which they place back inside the pouch, so that the teddy can take their worries away. News of Kate’s knitted bears reached ITV Meridian, who recently featured Kate and her family in their evening news programme. Our heartfelt thanks to Kate for all the comfort she and her family are providing to our young patients!

Edith Cavell remembered on 125^th anniversary of infamous Maidstone Typhoid Outbreak

Last Monday marked the 125^th anniversary of the end of the ‘Maidstone Typhoid Epidemic’, the largest typhoid outbreak in the UK.

Edith Cavell, who trained at the Royal London Hospital, transferred to Maidstone to join the fight against the disease.  The epidemic, which claimed 143 lives, was the first outbreak to have a recorded trial of immunisation.

Edith was awarded the Maidstone Medal, and went on to work at other hospitals across the country. She moved to Brussels and cared for soldiers fighting in the First World War, before being arrested by the Germans for helping to smuggle out allied soldiers trying to escape. She was sadly executed on 12 October 1915.

Edith’s incredible work has not been forgotten, with a ward being named after her at Maidstone Hospital.

Life after a hip fracture

Around 76,000 people sustain hip fractures each year in the UK. As the most common reason for older people to need surgery, there is a growing focus on rehabilitation and recovery. Over the past three years, we have been collaborating with Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust (KCHFT) to help hip fracture patients get home and into familiar surroundings as soon as it’s safe for them to do so.   Surgery takes place at Tunbridge Wells Hospital, with all patients receiving a physiotherapy assessment the day after their hip surgery. Together, the two trusts ensure that patients moving to the next phase of their rehabilitation are seen within 24 hours, exceeding the standard of 72 hours set by the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy. All patients moving to one of the community hospitals, which are often closer to their home, receive daily physiotherapy in the first seven days, meeting another of the standards for high quality rehabilitation.

Showcasing our ground-breaking approaches to care

We’ve welcomed a number of high-profile visitors through our doors over the past month. Our guests have been intent on finding out more about the innovative ways we’ve been working to get our patients seen faster while still providing exceptional care.

NHS Chair Richard Meddings stepped into our busy Emergency Department at Tunbridge Wells Hospital to experience first-hand the increase in attendances. Mr Meddings spoke with staff about our new Same Day Emergency Care (SDEC) facility. We are currently seeing 500 patients each week through SDEC, helping to reduce pressure on our Emergency Departments and support quick ambulance handovers.

NHS England Chief Executive Amanda Pritchard soon followed in Mr Meddings’ footsteps. She visited Maidstone Hospital to observe how our bed management system is working alongside SDEC to ease the pressure of increased attendances and provide a high standard of care to our patients. 

Wealden MP, Nusrat Ghani, also recently met with staff at our Crowborough Birth Centre, which delivers midwifery-led care with the support of maternity support workers for those with low-risk pregnancies. The centre offers antenatal and postnatal care, with staff providing breastfeeding support, birth place assessments and tests such as newborn and infant physical examinations.

World Cancer Day 2023

World Cancer Day was held on 4 February, an initiative of the Union for International Cancer Control. The day was created at the World Summit Against Cancer for the New Millennium, which was held in Paris in 2000. The Paris Charter aims to promote research, prevent cancer, improve patient services, raise awareness and bring together the global community to make progress against cancer.

As one of the leading cancer centres in the country, the Kent Oncology Centre turns 30 years old this year and continues to offer our patients some of the fastest possible access to treatment. The Trust has nearly 8,000 colleagues working together as one team to ensure our cancer services offer patients the best possible outcomes. This World Cancer Day, we caught up with some of them to find out more about what they do.

Did you know?

Last year we performed around 30,000 operations and cared for 800 people in our intensive care units at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells hospitals. We reduced the number of patients waiting for surgery or an outpatient appointment from 1,000 after the second wave of COVID-19 to zero. Our new Community Diagnostic Centre at Maidstone has enabled us to increase our diagnostic capacity. In 2022, we completed more than 90,000 MRI and CT scans. We also reduced the time patients are waiting for a whole range of diagnostic tests.

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