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These are the four options as described by the East
Kent NHS Trust in their document "Modernising Hospital Services
in East Kent"
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On the mix of the services to be provided at Canterbury
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OPTION A
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OPTION B
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OPTION C
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OPTION D
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| Medical admissions via GP’s and a Medical Assessment Unit | ||||
| Care of Older People inc acute rehabilitation | ||||
| Coronary Care Unit | ||||
| Critical Care Unit | ||||
| Elective inpatient surgery - hip/knee replacement; urology; and breast surgery | ||||
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Beds at K&CH |
170 |
158 763 774 100 |
272 725 698 100 |
46 781 868 100 |
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OPTION A This is the one agree in 1998 towards which we have been working. However national policy changes of recent years mean it would be difficult to sustain and give us serious recruitment problems unless we change some elements. Some people who are seriously ill, including those with heart problems, would still be treated in K&CH as inpatients, although some may need to be transferred to other hospitals. We would lose out on the benefits of sub-specialisation, 24 hour pathology would be needed at K&CH, stretching this vital service too thinly for safety and reliability. |
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OPTION B This bases joint replacement, urology and breast surgery at K&CH in an environment free of emergency pressures which can frequently divert staff from planned operations. This would be an East Kent wide service so patients from other areas who need treatment would have to travel further. There would be pathology problems and, in the event of an emergency or serious post-operative complication a very sick patient would need to be transferred to a critical care unit at Ashford or Margate. |
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OPTION C It might seem to be the clear favorite with all four services in the chart included at K&CH. It would be the most convenient for Canterbury people, but there would be disbenefits and risks for all our hospitals, as those who have tried this approach elsewhere have found. Expertise would be spread too thinly to allow sub-specialisation; vital support services, such as pathology would not be reliable; opportunities to modernise would be lost; and it would be least attractive to the professionals we hope to attract. |
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OPTION D With none of the services in the chart (above), this would be the least convenient for Canterbury people. This option gives East Kent’s consultants the greatest opportunity to sub-specialise and therefore the makes jobs attractive to the staff we need to recruit. Quality and reliability of services should rise for all East Kent patients. But even though excellent services would be provided and developed at K&CH, this option may be perceived as second best by some because it does not provide the full range of acute services there. |
