Hospitals in Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells - and the trust that runs them - have all been rated as requiring improvement by inspectors.

Both the Maidstone Hospital and the Tunbridge Wells Hospital at Pembury, along with the Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust, were all given the rating by the
Chief Inspector of Hospitals today, following an inspection by the Care Quality Commission in October.

Overall, the trust’s services were rated as Good for being caring, but Requires Improvement for being safe, effective and responsive and Inadequate for being well led.
Inspectors said improvements needed to be made at both sites.

The CQC’s Chief Inspector of Hospitals, Professor Sir Mike Richards, said: “When we inspected the hospitals run by the Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust, we saw that quick work was needed to improve the governance of the trust and of a number of the core services we inspected.

“While the trust acknowledged immediately that these improvements needed to be made when we told them so, we should not have needed to tell them – which highlights how much this work is needed.

“Across both hospitals, we saw staff treating people with dignity and respect, and we noted their willingness to engage with the inspection process.

"People are entitled to receive treatment and care in services which are consistently safe, effective, caring and responsive to their needs.

"The trust has told us they have listened to our inspectors’ findings and begun to take action where it is required. We will return in due course.”

The improvements needed included making sufficient ward rounds on the intensive care unit at Maidstone Hospital; that people are admitted and discharged within four hours, and that patients are not moved to other wards at night.

They also found there needed to be adequate consultant cover at weekends in the intensive care unit at Tunbridge Wells and people should ideally not be discharged at night.

Glenn Douglas, trust chief executive, said: “We are disappointed not to be rated Good on this occasion and have taken immediate steps to address the actions within this report.

“We have been open and transparent with the CQC to help identify our strengths and weaknesses, welcome their recommendations, and are driving through further improvements for our patients.

“It is clear that our staff are providing kind, compassionate care, are treating patients with respect and dignity, and that we have areas of good and outstanding practice.

“We have come a long way as a trust, and are committed to going a great deal further.”

Immediate action the trust had taken included ward rounds at weekends on critical care units and a new leadership programme for managers and the executive team leadership being developed.

The inspection also found staff were caring and compassionate, and treated patients with dignity and respect. Both hospitals were also visibly clean, with falling infection rates and patients felt they had sufficient information to make decisions about their care.

At Maidstone, the birthing centre came in for praise but the lack of single rooms in the hospital itself impacted on people’s privacy and dignity.

Maternity and gynaecology was rated as Good, while urgent care, medical care, surgery, children’s care, end of life care and outpatient services were Requires Improvement, and critical care was found to be Inadequate.

The Tunbridge Wells Hospital at Pembury was also rated as Requires Improvement overall with critical care being rated as Inadequate.

Healthwatch Kent's Steve Inett said: "Naturally we are disappointed to hear that Maidstone & Tunbridge Wells Trust have been rated as Requiring Improvement by the Care Quality Commission today.

"However we are already working with them to make improvements in some of the areas that were identified in the report and we are confident that they will make the necessary changes.

"We would encourage anybody who has received treatment at either Pembury or Maidstone Hospital to call us and share their experience so we can ensure the hospitals are fully aware and can build your feedback into their future plans.”

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