Deal with private sector will open up 8,000 beds

NHS patients are being moved into private hospitals as the county prepares for the apex of the coronavirus outbreak. A deal brokered last week between the NHS and the independent sector will see 8,000 beds opened up to the public across the country.

This includes some of Kent’s 14 or so private and independent hospitals - some of whom have announced that they are already pitching in with the effort.

The One Ashford Hospital has confirmed that patients are being transferred to its Kennington Road facility, to make way for new Covid-19 focused capacity.

William Harvey Hospital, situated nearby, is one of many of Kent’s medical facilities ramping up preparation for an increased number of intensive care patients.

A spokeswoman for the East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the William Harvey, detailed the measures last Wednesday. She said: “We are starting to cancel non urgent planned care appointments and significantly increase the use of telephone and video conferencing for outpatients appointments.

“Next week we will have doubled our number of Intensive Care beds from 33 to 66 beds. We are preparing to be able to double this again to 132 Intensive Care beds by mid-april.” Benenden Hospital is also providing support for the nationwide health system.

A spokesperson said: “All of Benenden Hospital’s highly experienced staff and modern new facilities are being made available to provide the additional resources needed by the NHS.” Private hospitals across Kent are being called to action, including KIMS Hospital in Maidstone, which has also started taking on NHS patients. A spokesperson said: “At KIMS Hospital, our mission has always been to provide safe, outstanding quality care for our local community.

We are working closely with the NHS to support them by providing care to those patients that still need urgent treatment for other health conditions. “We have postponed all our non-urgent treatments and surgeries to ensure that we can provide essential support for the NHS whilst they focus on battling the Coronavirus.”

Another location that could be could be considered is the former BMI Somerfield Hospital near Maidstone.