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#Patientfirst
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October 2024
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Patients treated at new multimillion-pound surgical centre
 The Kent and Medway Orthopaedic Centre has welcomed its first patients.
Based at Maidstone Hospital, the Centre has three state-of-the-art operating theatres and 24 beds, expanding capacity across the region for routine orthopaedic operations. This will include up to 2,000 more knee and hip replacements each year, helping Kent and Medway patients who need planned surgery on bones, joints and muscles.
Megan Liebthal (pictured) from Maidstone was the centre’s first patient. Megan had knee surgery in the morning with Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon, Mr Craig Zhao to repair a torn meniscus and was ready to go home later that day.
News of the Centre’s opening was featured in a special report on BBC South East Today, the BBC’s flagship regional news programme.
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Hospital volunteer wins BBC ‘local hero’ award
 In the August edition of Patient First, we brought you the news that Maidstone Hospital volunteer Mike Williams had been shortlisted in the BBC Radio Kent Make a Difference Awards.
The awards ceremony has now taken place, and we are delighted that Mike scooped up the Volunteer Award in recognition of his four decades of volunteering. Speaking after the event, Mike said: “It feels wonderful to have won a Make a Difference Award. I have been volunteering for 44 years and it feels great that my work has been recognised. Volunteering is really good for your wellbeing, and it allows you to connect with other people and make a real difference. I just really enjoy helping people in any way that I can.”
There are over 250 volunteers at MTW, and they each make a real difference to the lives of our patients and staff.
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Trust welcomes first patients at Fordcombe Hospital |
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The first patients have arrived at Fordcombe Hospital, following MTW's purchase of the site earlier this year.
Located near Tunbridge Wells, the Hospital enables MTW to support the NHS across Kent and Medway by taking on a significant number of the longest waiting patients. Almost 1,600 patients have already been transferred to MTW for treatment and the Trust will see a total of 2,500 patients by the end of March 2025.
Fordcombe Hospital will provide planned care in Ear, Nose and Throat, Trauma and Orthopaedics, Gastroenterology, Diagnostics and Endoscopy. The additional facilities the site provides have also enabled MTW to increase capacity at the Trust’s hospitals in Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells.
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A voice for women in medicine
 This year’s Women in Medicine International Network (WIMIN) conference, organised by two MTW consultants, was recently held at Cambridge University.
Consultant Anaesthetists, Dr Helen Burdett and Dr Kate Stannard, who founded WIMIN, welcomed a range of prestigious speakers to the event including Professor Sharon Peacock CBE, who was responsible for the COVID19 vaccine gene sequencing.
The annual WIMIN conference brings together professionals from across the healthcare sector, giving a voice to the experiences of women working in medicine and raising awareness of issues such as representation, discrimination, harassment, and mental health.
Speaking about the event, Dr Stannard said: “We were delighted at the success of our most recent WIMIN conference. It was a complete sell-out, and attendees were really enthusiastic about the event and the schedule of inspiring speakers. Our conferences offer an essential platform for women in medicine to address difficult issues and celebrate our successes.”
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A birthday surprise in Intensive Care |
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 A wonderful team effort led to a surprise 69th birthday for one of our patients in the Intensive Care Unit at Maidstone Hospital.
The celebrations were the first time Keith was able to see all his family members together since his admission to Intensive Care. The ICU nursing and occupational therapy teams worked with his family to arrange the surprise, and make it a birthday to remember.
Many happy returns, Keith!
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Every small sustainable step counts
National No Disposable Cup Day last week encouraged the country to protect the environment by replacing throwaway cups with reusable, sustainable alternatives. It is estimated that up to 5 billion disposable takeaway cups are used every year in the UK, contributing hugely to the pollution of oceans and waterways, and leaving billions of cups in landfill.
In November 2023, MTW introduced a 25p charge for cups in staff restaurants, in a bid to encourage our staff to think green and bring in their own reusable alternative. Since that time, the Trust has saved an incredible 141,000 cups – equating to two tonnes of waste saved!
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