|
|
#Patientfirst
|
September 2024
|
|
|
Super Saturday reduces waiting times
 Our Ophthalmology team recently welcomed 47 patients on a 'super Saturday', where they were treated for issues affecting their vision or quality of life in some way.
Focussing on safety and efficiency, the innovative super clinic enabled the team to perform 35 procedures in just one day, ranging from eyelid biopsies and drainage of styes to the removal of eyelid cysts.
The day helped more people to get the care they need as soon as possible, and means that the team now has more capacity to support other patients.
|
|
Young patient goes behind the scenes
 Tunbridge Wells Hospital recently welcomed 10-year-old patient Archie Branyik for an exclusive tour of the Blood Sciences Laboratory.
Archie, who is receiving chemotherapy for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, visited the lab with his parents for an interactive experience to help him better understand his treatment.
This was the first ‘Harvey’s Lab Tour’ at the Trust, an initiative named after Harvey Baldwin, a seven-year-old keen to know what happened to his blood samples during his treatment for leukaemia. Led by the Institute of Biomedical Science, tours take place for children in hospitals at over 140 laboratories across the UK in Harvey’s memory.
Wearing his very own lab coat and NHS ID badge, Archie’s day was packed with activities, including running his own blood sample, using microscopes to look at different blood cells and helping to prepare a unit of blood for transfusion.
|
|
|
Following the success of A&E After Dark season 5, which aired on 5STAR earlier this year and featured our brilliant teams in the Emergency Department (ED), filming has wrapped on the latest series!
The production crew returned to Tunbridge Wells Hospital over the summer to film ED colleagues in action and interview them about their experiences of working on the front line of emergency care.
Keep an eye on upcoming issues of Patient First to find out when the new series will air…
|
|
Newborn Café turns one
 Maidstone Birth Centre has celebrated the first birthday of their Newborn Café, which provides feeding support to new parents in the local area.
Run by a team of experts including midwives, maternity support workers, and infant feeding and tongue tie specialists, the Café has already supported hundreds of parents and caregivers. It’s also been a chance to meet other parents, share ideas and receive moral support in the first few weeks of having a baby.
The Café is free to attend and takes place every Tuesday at Maidstone Birth Centre (run by MTW and based at Maidstone Hospital) 9.30am-12.30pm, offering feeding support for babies up to 12 weeks old. Partners, friends and older siblings are welcome, and there’s no need to book.
|
|
Trust shortlisted in prestigious national awards |
|
Our teams' outstanding contributions to healthcare have been recognised in the shortlist for this year’s HSJ Awards.
The Awards are considered the largest annual benchmarking and recognition programme for the health sector, with over 1,350 entries received for this year’s event.
The top performing Stroke team were shortlisted in the Acute Sector Innovation of the Year category for the Stroke Assessment Unit. One of the first in England at the time it was developed, the Stroke Assessment Unit at Maidstone Hospital means the Stroke service are now able to care for over 1,200 patients a year with a stroke diagnosis.
The Trust’s Care Coordination Centre was shortlisted in the HJS Partnership of the Year category for its work with healthcare tech company Teletracking on the Trust’s electronic bed management system. The technology provides real-time information about bed occupancy 24 hours a day, seven days a week, significantly reducing the amount of time a bed is empty and the time a patient spends in the Emergency Department before they are transferred to a bed.
The winners will be announced at a ceremony on 21 November.
|
|
|
Help shape and improve local mental health services
 |
|
We're reviewing the care people with mental health conditions or psychological needs receive when they use our services, and your feedback will help us to shape a new mental health strategy.
If you have a mental health condition or psychological need and have recently used our services at MTW, we would love to hear about your experiences of the care we provided in a short survey.
The survey will only take a few minutes to complete and all responses are anonymous. Your feedback will help us to ensure our new mental heath strategy is in line with the needs of our patients and their carers.
|
|
|
Teamwork makes the dream work
 A live emergency exercise last week simulated a fire with casualties at Maidstone Hospital. Smoke effects were used to make it feel as real as possible, and staff were able to test evacuation procedures alongside health and safety measures.
Emergency services including Kent Police, Kent Fire and Rescue and the South East Coast Ambulance Service all took part in the exercise, in partnership with MTW. The simulation was a huge success, with all parties working together to respond to the scenario, making sure we are prepared for real emergencies.
Live exercises are a vital part of ensuring the Trust and emergency services can deal with incidents while maintaining services and keeping patients and staff safe.
|
|
|
|
