Regulatory action updated at Medway Hospital
Monitor and Medway NHS Foundation Trust have agreed a consolidated and revised set of regulatory actions.
Monitor and Medway NHS Foundation Trust have agreed a consolidated and revised set of regulatory actions which are designed to support the trust as they continue to make improvements to patient care.
The revisions include some new actions dealing with rising patient waiting times for routine procedures and appointments for cancer care. The trust will also ensure its new system for managing information improves how quickly patients move through the hospital, from referrals to treatment and discharge.
This follows the progress of Medway’s enhanced buddying arrangement with Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, which began in February and has seen the two trusts working together across all areas of the hospital to make a number of positive changes. Separately the trust has recently improved how quickly patients are being seen in A&E.
Monitor’s Regional Director, Paul Streat, said:
Given that it has been some time since we originally stepped in at Medway, we want to make sure what we are asking it to do will make a lasting difference for patients. The trust has taken some promising steps in its efforts to improve, both through its improvement plan and as part of its buddying arrangement with Guy’s and St Thomas’, and we wanted to recognise this in our regulatory action.
We therefore took a fresh look at what Medway needs to do to improve, such as making sure that patients aren’t waiting too long, particularly for routine procedures and cancer care. We hope to see the trust continuing to improve services for patients.
Monitor will continue to work closely with the trust to make sure the updated regulatory actions are being addressed and that the buddy arrangement is working well for patients.