Facing big downgrade

‘You will get care in an east Kent hospital that can provide the best treatment for you’

public consultation before any decision is made .

He said: “We are looking at a model of care which makes best use of all our hospitals.

“Providing services across our sites in different ways means we can provide better care and outcome for patients because we can give them the specialist care they need from a single expert team, instead of stretching every specialist service across multiple sites.

“While in future you may not be treated at your closest hospital, you will get care in an east Kent hospital that can provide the best treatment for you.”

The trust estimates there could be a £141 million hole in the area’s NHS and social care budgets over the next five years if it does not act.

Chief executive Matthew Kershaw says having all the specialities on one site will concentrate expertise and provide a better service for patients.

He said: “At the moment we run some services and specialist care spread over all three sites, which we believe, for reasons around medical staffing, specialist staff and resources, is not the best way forward.

“We are suggesting changes in an emerging set of ideas where essentially we are looking at a model which focuses all our specialist care at one site.

“Another site would still have maternity and accident and emergency but wouldn’t have the full range of specialist services.

“The third site we are talking about will have planned care like elective operations and likely some rehabilitation as well, but not an emergency service like the other two.

“There is a risk that if we won’t do what we are proposing, service changes happening everywhere else will make it difficult for us to maintain providing the highest quality care for patients in east Kent which we need to protect.”

Mr Kershaw insists there is “still a lot of work to do” before the plans are put out to public consultation next summer.

He says the proposals can only work in conjunction with GPS and community services, which would need to take on bigger roles in local healthcare.

What do you think? Email kentishgazette@thekmgroup. co.uk or write to Gazette House, 5-8 Boorman Way, Wraik Hill, Whitstable CT5 3SE