Coronavirus Kent: NHS patients move into Kent's private hospitals
13:44, 31 March 2020
updated: 16:48, 31 March 2020
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 the National Health Service is relocating patients 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 in Ashford last Wednesday.
She said: "We are starting this week 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."
The One Ashford Hospital - which opened in 2016 following a £30 million construction project - is happy to help the fightback against Covid-19.
Jo Nolan, hospital director of the private hospital, said: "We are proud to have been asked to support the NHS at this time in the fight against the coronavirus.
"We are working closely with East Kent Hospitals NHS Trust to support them in treating patients requiring urgent surgical care, to provide capacity at a time when our healthcare system is under increasing pressure.
"The safety and wellbeing of all patients and staff is our first priority and we have robust procedures in place to protect them.”
Another private hospital in the Ashford Borough, Benenden Hospital, is also providing support for the nationwide health system.
A spokesperson said: "Benenden Hospital is proud to support the NHS in the fight against Coronavirus. Building on its existing strong relationship with the NHS, 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.
"A formal partnership between NHS England and the Independent Healthcare Providers Network enables Benenden Hospital to provide much needed additional capacity for patients needing care that would normally take place in local NHS Hospitals."
Benenden Hospital director and chief nurse Jane Abbott said: “With a strong history of providing quality healthcare for over 110 years, we feel immensely proud that we can provide care and support to patients during a national health crisis.”
Private hospitals across Kent are being called to action, including KIMS Hospital in Wavering, 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.
"Along with other independent healthcare providers across the county, 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 during the COVID-19 outbreak.
"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 for NHS overflow is the former BMI Somerfield Hospital near Maidstone, which closed last April and remains empty.
Cllr Jonathan Purle (Con) at Maidstone Council said: "I wanted to make sure the site was not overlooked when it came to talks considering the capacity of the NHS."
