Faversham people invited to join community health event

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.

Recruitment opportunities

If you're a registered nurse or nurse associate looking for a great new role in the community, apply online now.

You can find out more about what it's like to work in our community hospitals on our website.

Efforts are continuing to safely re-open the inpatient ward at Faversham Cottage Hospital.

The difficult decision to temporarily pause admissions was made on 1 July 2025, on grounds of patient safety due to staffing challenges, particularly in registered nursing and leadership roles.

Despite efforts to bolster staffing by transferring colleagues from alternative hospitals, recruiting to vacant posts, supporting staff to return to work and using a bank and agency workforce, the situation became unsustainable and was placing pressure on other services.

Chief Allied Health Professions Officer Rachel Dalton said: “This was not an easy decision, but the safety and wellbeing of our patients and staff must always come first.

“Thanks to the professionalism and dedication of our colleagues, most patients were safely discharged; with two being transferred to other community hospitals.

“Colleagues have been temporarily redeployed to other community hospitals or community-based roles and we are incredibly grateful for their flexibility, professionalism and commitment.”

Since the pause, recruitment efforts have been refreshed. Two nurses have been offered positions at Faversham, with further interviews and recruitment continuing to fill vacancies.

Colleagues who have been off sick are being supported with phased returns to work.

Rachel said: “Due to time needed for pre-employment checks and inductions, any of the first phase of new staff recruited are not expected to start until the end of September 2025 at the earliest.

“As a result, it is too early to consider reopening the ward. We will provide a further update in a month.

"We understand how valued Faversham Cottage Hospital is by the local community and our colleagues. We will only re-open to inpatients when it is safe and sustainable to do so.”

Other NHS services on the site, including the urgent treatment centre and GP services, are unaffected by the pause.

The trust confirmed that the impact of the pause on the wider healthcare system in east Kent has so far been minimal, with no reported issues around access to rehabilitation beds, acknowledging the short period of closure.

“We continue to monitor the situation closely,” said Rachel. “At the same time, we’re looking at how we can strengthen services that support recovery at home, where many people would prefer to be and where they can regain independence more quickly.”