Changes to services at Sevenoaks Hospital
Following a planned fire evacuation exercise earlier this year, Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust (KCHFT) made urgent temporary changes to move inpatient rehabilitation beds from Sevenoaks Hospital to other sites, due to a fire safety risk.
During the past couple of months, a full-scale review of the work needed to make the 100-year-old building safe to return for both patients, staff and volunteers has been completed.
The cost is in the region of £6million for the fire safety work and the maintenance – exceeding the funds available, at a time of unprecedented financial challenge across the NHS.
KCHFT has therefore reluctantly taken the decision to pause investment, until a county-wide review of community rehabilitation can be completed. This will be led by NHS Kent and Medway Integrated Care Board.
KCHFT Deputy Chief Executive Pauline Butterworth said: “The safety of our patients, staff and volunteers is always our number one priority.
“Even if we invested in the fire safety works, it will not change the evacuation plans and the need to evacuate frail elderly patients from the first floor would remain a significant risk.
“We are committed to delivering the very best care for the people of Sevenoaks and west Kent and we want to modernise how we deliver rehabilitation in the future so we can improve outcomes for patients.
“Until we can involve patients and carers, public and wider partners to develop what this looks like, it is wrong to invest many millions of public money in a building that would still not give us the option to deliver the rehabilitation our communities need in the future.
“Therefore, reluctantly, our Board has taken the decision to pause any work on Sevenoaks Hospital until the review has concluded.
“We have opened a 15-bed ward at West View Integrated Care Centre, in Tenterden and this will remain open in the interim.”
Sevenoaks hospital is made up of two buildings; a main building which was previously home to the 19-bed inpatient ward as well as some other services and an outpatient building, across the road.
Given the decision to pause the fire safety works, the remaining services based in the original inpatient building, will move to other buildings on the Sevenoaks site during the next couple of weeks and months. This includes the Urgent Treatment Centre and some outpatient clinics. Patients will be kept informed if they need to attend a different building for their appointment.
The evacuation exercise followed a survey and fire safety audit earlier this year, which highlighted issues with fire compartmentation in the 100-year old building.
The Kent and Medway Integrated Care Board (ICB) will lead the review of rehabilitation services, working with partners, including KCHFT. No timescale has yet been set.
