Public consultation launched on proposals for specialised vascular services in Kent and Medway

K&C Hospital

A public consultation has been launched into proposals for the future of specialised vascular services in Kent and Medway.

The consultation being conducted by NHS England and NHS Improvement South East and Kent and Medway CCG covers East Kent, Medway and Maidstone.

Vascular services reconstruct, unblock or bypass arteries and are often one-off specialist procedures to reduce the risk of sudden death or amputation and prevent stroke.

Dr Chris Tibbs, Medical Director Commissioning for NHS England and NHS Improvement in the South East said: “Under these proposals there will be no changes for the majority of patients who would continue to access vascular care where they currently receive it in local hospitals throughout Kent and Medway.

“Only the most complex patients who require an overnight stay in hospital after having vascular surgery or radiological vascular intervention would be affected, with these patients receiving treatment at the Kent and Canterbury Hospital in Canterbury.”

There are three main reasons for the recommended change to services set out as part of the consultation:

Ensure the best outcomes and chances of survival for vascular patients

Ensure more specialists available 24/7 with the right specialist skills, equipment and infrastructure

Meet national standards for vascular surgery

As an inpatient vascular centre, the Kent and Canterbury hospital would have:

a new specialist operating theatre with a better range of facilities and equipment reducing the need for open surgery, and in turn reducing the length of stay in hospital and swifter recovery time

a dedicated vascular ward with extra beds for emergency patients 24 hours a day

vascular nurse specialists – able to support the transfer of patients back to their local hospital/home

out of hours care which includes evenings and weekends, including on call vascular surgeons and interventional radiologists

Around 1,200 vascular treatments are delivered to patients in East Kent, Medway and the catchment area of Maidstone each year. This includes outpatient appointments, planned lower risk day case surgery, such as varicose veins, and the more complex emergency and planned vascular treatments that require a stay in hospital.

Across the area about 700 people need specialist inpatient vascular care each year.

Kent Vascular Clinical lead Jonathan Purday, added: “After exploring the options, all NHS organisations and the clinicians involved in the delivery of acute hospital services in East Kent, Medway and the Maidstone catchment of West Kent accept the proposed recommendation that Kent and Canterbury Hospital should be the medium-term inpatient vascular centre in our region – and we want vascular and kidney patients and members of the public to feedback their views on this preferred option as part of the consultation.

“Through this opportunity to change the current systems, our aims are to improve the overall sustainability of vascular service across the area, deliver excellent patient outcomes and ensure equality of care to all our patients. As well as delivering better access to care and patient choice, this proposal will significantly help with recruitment and retention of staff in this highly specialised service and enable us to invest in these services and our use of technology so that patients spend less time in hospital.”

To find out more about the consultation and to complete a survey on-line visit: jointheconversation.scwcsu.nhs.uk/vascular-services.

Or to request a copy of the consultation on the future of specialised vascular services in East Kent, Medway and the Maidstone is sent to you email – [email protected]  or telephone 01634 974040.

People can also attend one of the following four online events to find out more information from clinical leaders:

Wednesday 9 February 2022: 5.00pm – 7.00pm

Tuesday 22 February 2022: 10.00am – 12 noon

Tuesday 1 March 2022: 10.00am – 12 noon

Tuesday 8 March 2022: 11.00am – 1.00pm

Book your place online at jointheconversation.scwcsu.nhs.uk/vascular-services

7 Comments

  1. These type of Consultations with the public are meaningless as they have already made up their minds what they are going to do. We have seen that with the public consultation over Stroke services in Kent and Medway for instance. They took not a blind bit of notice from the thousands of worried patients who told them not to go ahead.
    It’s all about saving money and nothing to do with saving lives.

  2. Spot on – ‘….we want vascular and kidney patients and members of the public to feedback their views on this preferred option as part of the consultation.’ – in other words ‘this is what we’ve decided, you can’t have any of the other options and we have to tick the ‘consultation’ box for our choice so please be useful idiots’.
    It would have been more credible if patients and public had been involved from the outset, although we all know that might not have come up with their preferred option so we’ve been shut out until this late stage – again.
    Shame on them – again!

  3. Literally every hospital appointment my family and I have is in Canterbury or Ashford. What’s the point of having a hospital on your doorstep that doesn’t serve a purpose to 90% of the local population. My nan’s hip operation is 3 years late, cancelled 7 times and they still expect her to find her way to Canterbury when in excessive pain. Absolute joke!

  4. They will not have given a jot as to how patients from Thanet will get to the Kent Canterbury by public transport! This includes visitors and accompanying relatives. I have been referred to the K & C and the William Harvey on occasion, and refused to go, because it would cost about £30.00 one way by taxi! Patient transport forget it, it doesn’t exist for many people!

  5. It seems that patients wishes have been ignored by these unelected bodies every patient still has a right to have a choice of hospital they want their treatment if you live in Thanet you can insist you want your treatment at the QEQM if the consultants don’t like it they shouldn’t be in the job their duty is to their patients if you ask for these services here you can get it done I will do it at the private hospital the Spencer wing ask your GP to refer you unluckily you can’t see your GP or get a phone call surgeons who work for the NHS should not be doing private surgery for profit.

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