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#Patientfirst
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October 2023
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Trust leads on pioneering hip surgery day
 Our surgical teams in the Maidstone Orthopaedic Unit at Maidstone Hospital recently performed seven hip replacements in one day – the most our Trust has ever performed in this timeframe.
All the patients were able to go home within 24 hours, thanks to minimally invasive surgery which meant less pain after the operation and a shorter recovery time.
Known as HIT (High Intensity Theatre) lists, the approach used for the hip surgery day focuses on just one type of procedure and minimises the turnaround time between operations. The method was inspired by Formula 1 pitstop techniques, aiming for maximum efficiency and safety by minimising delays – in this case, by shortening the turnaround time between patients. This is in turn gives the surgeon as much time as possible to operate, enables more procedures to be completed in one day and benefits more patients.
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Register for our new patient portal!
 Our patients will be able to manage their own hospital appointments with the launch of a new online patient portal this month - our latest initiative to help improve patient care.
We are the third hospital trust in Kent and Medway to launch the new Patients Know Best (PKB) portal, which will give patients a single place to access appointment letters and view, re-schedule or cancel appointments.
Sean Briggs, Chief Operating Officer at our Trust, said: “Our Outpatient departments see over half a million patients every year, and our key priority is ensuring everyone who comes through our doors receives the best possible experience. The portal will play an important role in this and help patients manage areas of their care in an easy and convenient way."
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Consultants host international conference |
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This year’s Women in Medicine International Network (WIMIN) conference recently took place in Tunbridge Wells and was organised by two of our fantastic Consultant Anaesthetists, Dr Helen Burdett and Dr Kate Stannard.
The two-day event welcomed over 120 professionals from our local healthcare systems and further afield, with a number of speakers travelling from as far as New Zealand. Attendees were brought together for talks and workshops on a range of important subjects such as equal pay and misogyny in medicine.
Our CEO, Miles Scott opened the event and spoke of the importance of working together to ensure any forms of misogyny, harassment, abuse, sexism and discrimination are called out and addressed.
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Bringing together our young IBD patients
 Our Paediatric Gastro team recently hosted their first Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) activity days, which were held at the Hollywood Bowl centres in Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells. The events were organised by a parent in the Paediatric Gastro Support Group, with Hollywood Bowl kindly providing VIP places at each venue for families to enjoy a game of bowling.
Our young guests were able to meet other children of all ages who are also living with IBD, and mix with staff from our Paediatric Gastro team. The events were a huge success, with a young patient commenting: “It was great to meet other children the same as me”. Parents were also able to mingle and meet with other families, to share their experiences and provide support to one another.
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There's still time to tell us how we did |
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In last month’s edition of Patient First, we wrote about the work we are currently doing to build a new patient experience strategy. To help shape our strategy, we want to hear from everyone who has recently used our hospital services.
Our quick five-minute survey gives you the opportunity to tell us about your most recent experience with the Trust and the service you received.
We’ve now extended the survey deadline to 22 October, so there’s still time to complete it if you haven’t already done so.
In November, we’ll be holding a small number of workshops to hear more about the experiences and thoughts of our patients – if you would like to attend, please let us know by emailing
mtw-tr.ppe@nhs.net and we’ll be in touch with further details.
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Did you know?
We are committed to being a sustainable Trust and are continuously looking for ways to reduce our carbon footprint. Part of this work includes the recent introduction of a carbon neutral clog for our clinical staff.
Being made of 51% waste sugar cane, the green clogs achieve an impressive negative carbon emission factor, while still providing safe footwear that meets healthcare industry regulations. The use of sustainable materials in the clogs offsets the carbon dioxide that was emitted during production, meaning each step our clinical staff take is one step closer to a greener and more sustainable future.
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