250,000 people now using MTW’s patient portal for faster access to care | News

More than 250,000 people have signed up to Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust’s (MTW) digital patient portal, marking a major shift in how patients receive information about their care and helping the Trust move away from printing and posting hospital letters.

The portal is giving patients faster, clearer and more convenient access to their care. Appointment details, clinical documents and care plans are all brought together in one secure place, accessible on a personal device.

Patients can already view important clinical information, including radiology reports such as X rays and MRI scans, with more features planned to make managing care even easier.

Since launching in 2023, the portal has enabled over one million letters to be sent digitally. This means patients receive information sooner, while also reducing printing and postage. The environmental impact is significant too — the amount of paper saved is equivalent to a stack twice the height of the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world.

Recent additions include appointment reminders to help reduce missed appointments, and access for parents and guardians to view their child’s health records, giving families greater confidence and involvement in their care.

For many people, the portal – powered by Patients Know Best (PKB) - has quickly become an essential part of managing their treatment, with more than 50,000 people using the service every week.

Laura, a busy mum of two and early years practitioner, began using it shortly after being discharged from A&E at Tunbridge Wells Hospital and found it transformed the way she understood and organised her care.

Laura, 40 from Bearsted, said:

“I’m always on the go, and after a stressful hospital visit I found the portal incredibly valuable. I had a full record of everything that had happened all in one place. It made me feel much more in control and far more knowledgeable about what was going on.”

She describes how, during her follow-up care, she needed to contact several departments while juggling work, childcare and ongoing pain, and how the portal helped her manage this without added stress.

“Attending multiple appointments can be a lot when you’re juggling work, kids and being in pain. Having all the right information in one place, including the extension numbers and who I needed to speak to, made such a difference.”

Laura also found the portal reassuring at moments when appointments felt overwhelming and she now recommends the portal to friends and family, describing it as a simple, reliable way to keep track of everything without the worry of missing key information.

“It didn’t make me more anxious – it actually gave me confidence. When you’re in a stressful appointment, you don’t always take everything in. Being able to go back and check the names, the details, the results… it was really helpful. You’ve got all your information in one place. It just makes everything easier.”

In addition to giving patients quick access to their results, clinical letters and appointment information, the portal also offers a range of features designed to support day-to-day care. Patients can add personal health information, receive digital communications, link their portal to the NHS App, all of which can save patients time calling into MTW’s hospitals.

Further developments are planned over the coming months to ensure patients have clear, timely and convenient access to their information throughout their care.

Chief Executive, Miles Scott, said:

“In just a short time, our patient portal has developed into a hugely valuable tool for patients and staff. It gives people clearer, faster access to their information, supporting families to be more involved in care, and helping our teams reduce unnecessary calls, paper use and administrative pressure.

“The progress we’ve made since launching the portal in 2023 shows how digital innovation can make a real difference to patient experience and we are looking forward to developing the service further to provide even more benefits to patients.”

Dr Mohammad Al Ubaydli, CEO at PKB added:

“Hitting a quarter-million users and making massive administrative savings are fantastic achievements. But what excites me about the team at MTW is their vision for unlocking the full potential of a personal health record platform. 

“Releasing clinical information like test results and radiology reports empowers patients to engage in their health. This is how the NHS gives patients the best care, and patients give the NHS the greatest efficiency. Congratulations to the entire MTW team for their commitment to make it happen.”

More information about the portal and how to register is available at www.mtw.nhs.uk/patient-portal