Last year was a busy one for the Trust and as we move into 2025, what better time to reflect on some of the exciting stories and developments that took place across MTW through the lens of the media.
From opening the doors to the new West Kent Community Diagnostic Centre to a visit from the Chancellor of the Exchequer, 2024 was full of achievements made possible by our dedicated teams and supportive community.
In January we hit the ground running, with Kent Online reporting on the opening of our new multimillion-pound West Kent Community Diagnostic Centre at Hermitage Court in Maidstone. The centre, which provides faster access to x-rays and ultrasound scans including CT, MRI and DEXA, was officially opened by the then Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Victoria Atkins. Our Emergency Department at Tunbridge Wells Hospital also featured in season five of Channel 5’s A&E After Dark, offering a behind-the-scenes look at one of the best performing emergency departments in the country.
February marked another busy month, with BBC South East featuring our collaboration with South East Coast Ambulance Service (SECAmb) on a clinical hub trial that helped hundreds of patients avoid A&E. Kent Online covered Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells hospitals receiving ACSA Accreditation from the Royal College of Anaesthetists, in recognition of high standards of care across the Anaesthetics department in areas such as patient experience, safety and clinical leadership. Meanwhile our innovative acute virtual ward, which cares for patients in the comfort of their own homes, was featured in the Health Tech Newspaper.
In April, the Trust announced it was purchasing the Spire Hospital in Fordcombe, near Tunbridge Wells, to create extra capacity and reduce waiting times for local NHS patients. The news was covered by BBC South East, the Health Service Journal and Kent Online, who shared stories again in October when the transfer of the site was complete and the first MTW patients were treated there.
More new facilities opened in May, with BBC South East covering the opening of the new Hyper Acute Stroke Unit at Maidstone Hospital. The unit includes a dedicated Stroke Assessment Bay, where 90% of suspected stroke admissions are directly brought on arrival, so patients can quickly get the care they need. Together with the newly developed Acute Stroke Unit, the Trust now has capacity to care for over 1,200 stroke patients a year, an increase of 55% since 2020.
Channel 5 were back in July and August to film another series of A&E After Dark in the Emergency Department at Tunbridge Wells Hospital, which is currently airing on 5STAR. August also saw the first ‘Harvey’s Lab Tour’ at Maidstone Hospital, where 10-year-old Archie Branyik, who was receiving chemotherapy, visited the Blood Sciences laboratory with his parents to help him better understand his treatment.
The first patients were treated in the Kent and Medway Orthopaedic Centre at Maidstone Hospital in September. The new multimillion-pound theatre complex, which will deliver 2,000 more operations each year, is helping Kent and Medway patients needing planned surgery on bones, joints and muscles. BBC South East visited the centre in its first week, speaking to staff and patients while also filming in the open-plan theatre. In the same month, Maidstone Hospital volunteer, Mike Williams won the Volunteer Award in the BBC Local Make A Difference Awards in recognition of his incredible 44-year volunteering career.
The first patients were welcomed at Fordcombe Hospital in October, helping the Trust support the NHS across Kent and Medway by taking on a significant number of the longest waiting patients. This was widely covered by local media including the BBC, who also reported in the same month on the Faxitron machine, a vital piece of new equipment at Maidstone Hospital. The machine was donated by a fundraising team including MTW Consultant Breast and Oncoplastic Surgeon, Deepika Akolekar, and Dame Tracey Crouch, who climbed Mount Kilimanjaro and raised £153,000.
October also saw the Trust’s biggest-ever MTW Hospitals Charity event, where over 100 NHS staff, volunteers and members of the local community abseiled down the side of Tunbridge Wells Hospital. Over £43,000 was raised to support projects benefiting staff and patients, and the event was widely reported in local media.
In November, patient Suzgo Nyirenda spoke to BBC South East about the importance of Black men being tested for prostate cancer, with consultant clinical oncologist, Dr Kathryn Lees also featuring in the report.
The work of staff at ‘one of the top performing trusts in the country’ was praised by Rachel Reeves MP, the Chancellor of the Exchequer during a visit to Maidstone Hospital in December. The visit, which coincided with the launch of the Government’s Spending Review, received widespread national media coverage including on the BBC, ITV and Sky News. Later that month, the announcement that the Intensive Care Unit at Tunbridge Wells Hospital received HU-CI and AENOR Certification of Good Practices in Humanization of Intensive Care was covered by a range of local news outlets including Kent Online and the Kent and Sussex Courier.
It was a busy year for our hospitals, and these stories are just some of the many achievements that shaped a year of progress and impact. We’re looking forward to sharing many more stories in 2025!