Virtual Ward reaches 1,000 patients

Our Virtual Ward team have celebrated the incredible milestone of caring for their 1,000th patient.

Launched in 2022, our Virtual Ward helps to treat patients in the comfort of their own home when they can’t be discharged because they need active monitoring. The patients regularly check in with personal or Trust-issued devices so that they can speak virtually with a team of clinical staff. Wearable devices ensure their symptoms and condition are monitored in real-time.

The service runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and has received excellent feedback, with patients telling us that it has ‘given them their life back’. Many have been able to attend family events and spend time with friends, safe in the knowledge that our teams are on hand night or day at the press of a button if they need help.

Inspiring the next generation

Year 12 and 13 students recently took part in a seven-week work experience programme at the Trust, inspiring them to explore careers in the NHS.

Pupils from Invicta Grammar School, Maidstone Grammar School for Girls, Cornwallis Academy, Valley Park School, Kent College Pembury, The Lenham School and Trinity School Sevenoaks were shown around clinical and non-clinical departments, talking to staff about their career paths.

Staff from our nursing, therapies, pharmacy, radiology and radiotherapy, medical engineering, orthoptics and theatres teams all took part and got the students involved in hands-on activities. They had the opportunity to create plaster casts, take blood pressure readings and wear 'empathy suits', designed to show wearers what it’s like to live with certain medical conditions.

Students really enjoyed the event, with one pupil describing the programme as ‘informative and inspiring’, and another saying it confirmed that nursing was the right career choice for them.

Hospital volunteer shortlisted for BBC award

Maidstone Hospital volunteer, Mike Williams has been selected as a finalist for the BBC Radio Kent Make a Difference Awards, in recognition of his incredible 44 years of volunteering.

Mike has been a League of Friends (LoF) volunteer at Maidstone Hospital for 30 years. In the last five years, he said, the League of Friends have raised over £600,000, testament to the work of the many volunteers who give their time and talent to support their local hospital.

Mike has also volunteered with other local support groups and charities, including Maidstone Lions and his local foodbank, where he was a volunteer driver for nine years. 

We have over 250 volunteers across our hospitals. Like Mike, they are a vital part of our day-to-day work and make a real difference to our patients and staff.

Life-changing surgery and home in a day

Orthopaedic patient Damien was admitted to Maidstone Hospital for a hip replacement, and was on his feet and back home later that same day. 

Damien was one of many patients benefiting from a high intensity theatre (HIT) list. HIT lists aim for peak efficiency and safety, removing delays and maximising the time a surgeon has to operate. This means our teams can carry out up to 50% more surgeries each day, helping us treat more patients, more efficiently. 

Supported by an expert team including anaesthetists, pharmacists, radiographers and physiotherapists, our incredible Orthopaedic team are able to perform hip surgeries on up to seven patients in one day, with most of them going home within 24 hours. 

It’s a thumbs up from Dame Kelly

Did you know? The Trust has a dedicated breast screening service as part of Kent’s NHS Breast Screen Programme. The service screens in the Peggy Wood Breast Unit at Maidstone Hospital and also in two mobile breast screening vans that travel to locations in west Kent including Sevenoaks, Tunbridge Wells, Cranbrook and Edenbridge.

Double gold medal Olympic champion, Dame Kelly Holmes recently shared a selfie on her Instagram account, standing outside ‘Blossom’, one of our mobile units. Dame Kelly captioned her photo: “Don’t know the results but grateful to have this facility in my local town for a routine mammogram breast check.”

Top performing Stroke Unit hosts conference

The Trust’s Stroke Unit recently hosted the first Kent and Medway Stroke Conference, titled ‘Regional Innovations and Research in Stroke’, and welcomed just under 100 healthcare staff working in stroke services across Kent, Surrey and Sussex. 

The event featured a number of guest speakers, including NHS England National Clinical Director, Dr David Hargroves, who spoke about the Thrombectomy Service at East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust where he is Stroke Consultant Physician and Clinical Lead. 

The event gave healthcare professionals working in stroke services across the south east the opportunity to meet, talk about their experiences and share best practice, ensuring stroke patients in Kent and Medway are receiving the best possible care.

Makeover magic at Maidstone

The Oncology garden at Maidstone Hospital has had a summer glow-up thanks to our friends at British Gas.

We recently welcomed 14 fantastic volunteers who work for British Gas across the UK and gave the garden some much-needed TLC to get it looking better than ever.

The Kent Oncology Centre is one of the most successful cancer units in the country, providing services for up to two million people across Kent, Medway and East Sussex. Our amazing Oncology teams treat around 600 patients every day, and the courtyard garden at the heart of the centre provides the perfect quiet place for patients, staff and visitors to sit and reflect.

If you or your organisation would like to make a difference to our hospitals, find out what you can do to support our fantastic MTW Hospitals Charity.

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