Medway Hospital removed from special measures

Medway NHS Foundation Trust, which serves a population of over 400,000 in Medway and Swale, was originally put into special measures in July 2013, and has since received significant turnaround support from NHS Improvement, including via a formal buddying arrangement with top London teaching trust, Guy’s and St Thomas’.

The improvement in the services the Trust offers patients was recognised by the independent Care Quality Commission, which had previously rated the trust as inadequate. The CQC particularly highlighted the maternity unit, which it rated as outstanding.

To ensure that improvement continues at the Trust, and that the improvements already made are long-lasting, NHS Improvement will continue to provide the Trust with additional support and guidance.

NHS Improvement executive medical director, Dr Kathy McLean, said: “Staff should be immensely proud of this news. Exiting special measures is a significant achievement and reflects a better experience for patients. It is the result of extremely hard work by everyone right across the trust from ward staff, clinicians, admin and support teams, and the trust’s leadership team.

“We’ve been clear there is much work still to do to improve performance and restore financial balance, but patients should be confident that the Trust has a robust base on which to build, as it moves towards realising its ambition of improving its overall rating from inadequate to good.”

Anne Eden, NHS Improvement’s executive regional managing director (south), added:

“I am really pleased that Medway NHS Foundation Trust is ready to exit special measures. The improvements made by the Trust to date, working together with NHS Improvement are great news for patients. Local patients want to be able to access high quality care quickly. The hard work of all the staff at the Trust under the leadership of Lesley Dwyer and her board over the last two years has enabled this to happen.”