Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust (KCHFT) has taken ownership of two community hospitals following a Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) initiative.
The Queen Victoria Memorial Hospital (QVMH) in Herne Bay and Sevenoaks Hospital will now join Kent Community Health, after the DHSC invited NHS trusts to take ownership of healthcare buildings owned by NHS Property Services.
Six buildings across the Kent area will now be transferred to KCHFT as part of its ‘ongoing commitment’ to community care, the trust says.
Natalie Davies, Director of Corporate Services, KCHFT, said of the new move: “Community hospitals are at the heart of local care. We firmly believe these buildings should be owned locally and developed with the community in mind.
“We now look forward to starting a long-awaited refurbishment programme at Queen Victoria Memorial Hospital as we work with colleagues, patients, and the League of Friends to improve and revitalise the building for everyone who works, visits, or uses the hospital. We have already invested more than £250k in making Victoria Hospital fit for the future with the installation of solar panels, refurbishments and improvements to the surrounding gardens.
“Working together with other healthcare providers, we hope our community hospitals will continue to develop as hub of community care providing a wide range of services from urgent treatment to social prescribing, available for all who need it.”
In other news, Kent and Medway Clinical Commissioning Group has appointed a new Chief Medical Officer (CMO) and Chief Finance Officer, Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust has signed up to a new framework with an aim to measure its’ social impact, and Lincolnshire Community Health Services NHS Trust has launched a new physiotherapy website offering support for patients struggling with muscle and joint conditions.
