We're a top three trust!

The fantastic work of our colleagues has been recognised once again after the Trust ranked in third place in The Telegraph's NHS data tracker.

The national newspaper has been ranking all acute trusts in England according to performance for the past year. The tracker focusses on metrics including length of waiting lists, number of patients being seen in A&E within four hours, mortality rates, ambulance response times, how quickly cancer treatment is started after diagnosis, length of wait for diagnostic tests and wait time for face-to-face GP appointments.

Earlier this year we ranked as fifth best performing trust and thanks to the hard work of our staff, we've now moved up even further. At a time when our sites are becoming busier than ever, this is an incredible achievement and wouldn’t be possible without the dedication of the exceptional people who work here at the Trust.

Meet our fundraising heroes

Our MTW Hospitals Charity has received some fantastic support over the summer, helping us to continue providing outstanding care to our patients.

Six-year-old twins Amelia and Polly, who spent four weeks on our Special Care Baby Unit when they were born, raised an incredible £915. The twins and their parents scaled mountains in the Lake District, totalling an altitude of 2,500m, to raise funds for the Unit.

Steve Tricker, our Head of Temporary Staffing and eRostering, completed the gruelling 100-mile North Downs Way challenge. Steve ran from Farnham in Surrey to Ashford in Kent, finishing the race in 26 hours. The funds he has raised will go towards new scalp cooling machines for our chemotherapy patients, in commemoration of the Kent Oncology Centre’s 30^th anniversary.

Isobel and her family held a sponsored walk and raised just over £12,000 for our Paediatric Oncology Unit at Tunbridge Wells Hospital, smashing their original £2,000 target. Isobel was diagnosed with Acute Lymphatic Leukaemia in 2022, and her mum has described the team in the Unit as being their lifeline while the family have navigated treatment.

Seventeen-year-old ErinJean pulled an eight-tonne truck over a distance of 20 meters, raising over £2,000 to support our Paediatric Units. ErinJean was diagnosed with pilonidal cysts which have required ongoing surgery and treatment since 2019. She's hoping to use her experiences to become a paediatric nurse. 

Our MTW Hospitals Charity supports the Trust through amazing fundraising initiatives such as these, which help to enhance the services and facilities provided to our patients, relatives, visitors and staff. 

Small things make a big difference

Our Occupational Therapy teams are providing patients with a range of useful aids to support their independence. In collaboration with NHS Kent and Medway, we can now supply items which patients would have previously had to source themselves, such as elastic shoelaces, dressing aids and adapted cutlery.

Those benefiting from the scheme include patients who have had surgery for conditions affecting the bones and joints, as well as stroke patients and people being cared for in our Intensive Care Units.

The aids help to improve wellbeing, and can be used temporarily while the patient recovers in hospital or at home, or over a longer period depending on individual needs.

New wheels for our Phlebotomy teams

The Leagues of Friends for Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells hospitals have generously donated £8,000 to fund brand new phlebotomy trolleys.

Phlebotomists are a vital part of our hospitals, taking blood samples from patients to be examined in a laboratory. The results can be used to quickly and safely diagnose diseases and conditions.

The new trolleys for our Phlebotomy teams have up-to-date monitors, keyboards and printers for labelling samples. Since the trolleys have been in place, there has been much positive feedback from staff about how easy they are to use and how efficiency has improved.

Tell us how we did

We want our patients and their families to be involved in every aspect of their care as we continue to focus on ensuring the needs of every person walking through our doors are met. As part of our drive for continuous improvement, we are currently in the process of building our new patient experience strategy and we want to hear from everyone who uses our services. This will help us to build our strategy and shape the care we provide to our patients going forwards. If you have used our services, we would love to hear about your most recent experience with the Trust – simply complete our quick five-minute survey and let us know your thoughts. All answers are anonymous, so you won’t be asked for any personal information.   If you need this survey in any other format, please contact mtw-tr.ppe@nhs.net.

Did you know?

We work closely with emergency services across the region, including HM Coastguard. While our hospitals in Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells may be a bit of a trek from the sea, the Coastguard also carry out search, rescue and transfers on land too.

The crew of Rescue 163 HM Coastguard, who featured on Channel 5’s TV series ‘Coastguard’, recently flew in to Tunbridge Wells Hospital to meet with colleagues from our Emergency Planning, Facilities and Emergency Department teams.

They were joined by representatives from Kent Fire and Rescue to share their experiences and give safety advice to prepare for a real-life incident. In an emergency situation, every second counts, which is why this kind of partnership working is so important.

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