Temporary changes to our inpatient ward at Faversham Cottage Hospital
Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust (KCHFT) has taken the decision to temporarily pause the inpatient service at Faversham Cottage Hospital.
Admissions were paused on Friday (27 June) to maintain safe staffing levels, due to a rising number of nursing vacancies and sickness, particularly in critical leadership roles.
On Tuesday, the trust made the difficult decision not to re-open to admissions and to temporarily stop the inpatient service for a month while a full review of staffing is carried out.
Faversham Cottage Hospital, in Stone Street, has a 16-bed ‘Kent’ ward and provides rehabilitation for patients across east Kent to help them regain their independence after leaving an acute hospital.
All other services provided at the hospital are unaffected.
KCHFT Chief Executive Mairead McCormick said: “This is not a decision we have taken lightly. Our priority is, and always will be, the safety and wellbeing of our patients, staff and volunteers.
“During the past couple of months, we have been working hard to bolster staffing; transferring colleagues from alternative hospitals, recruiting to vacant posts, supporting staff to return to work and using our bank and agency workforce.
“Despite these efforts, it is no longer sustainable to continue to use a temporary workforce and re-deploy staff from our other hospitals, placing other services at risk.
“I want to stress this is a temporary pause and in no way reflects on the dedication and professionalism of our team at Faversham, who strive to provide the very best care for our patients.
“Thanks to the hard work of everyone, we hope the remaining three patients will be ready to go home, with support, by Friday. If not, they will be smoothly transferred to another community hospital.
"Today we are launching a new recruitment campaign to attract staff to all our community hospitals and community teams."
The trust will work closely with staff and partners to minimise disruption and offer alternative temporary roles to support more people to receive care in their own homes, or at alternative community hospitals, such as those in Whitstable and Herne Bay.
We will also be working with our dedicated and valued catering and facilities teams, to support them into alternative roles during the pause.
The trust has committed to reviewing the decision within a month.
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