page_title: East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust
section_title: Performance
hierarchical_section_title: East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust / Performance
caption_attribution_description: English: Four-hour target in the emergency department quarterly figures from NHS England Data from https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ae-waiting-times-and-activity/
context_page_description: East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust is one of the largest hospital trusts in England. It runs the Kent and Canterbury Hospital, William Harvey Hospital, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Hospital, Buckland Hospital, and the Royal Victoria Hospital - and some outpatient facilities in the East Kent and Medway areas in England.
  It serves a local population of around 759,000 people. It is a teaching trust involved in the education and training of doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals, with King's College London and, since 2018, Kent and Medway Medical School.
context_section_description: In 2010, it was named "Trust of the Year 2010" by the healthcare information organisation Dr Foster.
  The Trust was placed in special measures by Monitor (NHS) in September 2014 following an unfavourable report from the Care Quality Commission.
  In 2015 the Trauma Audit & Research Network showed that the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford was the best performing hospital receiving trauma patients in England and Wales, out of 100 hospitals offering trauma facilities across the country, according to survival rates of patients. The Care Quality Commission upgraded the Trust from "inadequate" to "requires improvement" and cited significant improvements. Two of the Trust’s five hospitals were rated as "Good". It was one of 26 responsible for half of the national growth in patients waiting more than four hours in accident and emergency over the 2014/5 winter.  It hit controversy when an RAF sergeant was asked to leave the waiting room in case his uniform upset other patients. It admitted breaching a patient's human rights when it placed a "do not resuscitate" (DNR) order on the patients notes because the patient had learning difficulties. The trust had not consulted the family about the decision.
  In 2016 the Trust saw improvements in its annual Patient-Led Assessment in Care Environments audits, which were introduced nationally in 2013. All hospitals, hospices and day treatment centres that give NHS-funded care are subject to a PLACE inspection.  In April 2016 it admitted that it could not cope with the overwhelming demand on its ophthalmology department, which saw nearly 100,000 patients in 2015/6. 7000 were in need of follow-up and at risk of deteriorating eyesight.
  In October 2017 after months of very poor performance against the A&E four hour target it was clearly the worst performing trust in England on A&E in 2017-18, with around 30%t of patients waiting over four hours.  The Chair of the trust, Nikki Cole, resigned and was replaced by Peter Carter.  In 2017-18 East Kent Hospitals saw 74.3% of A&E patients within four hours.
  In August 2018 it announced that planned orthopaedic operations would be moved from the William Harvey Hospital to the Kent and Canterbury Hospital in an attempt to avoid cancellations.
  In 2018 it had 214 estates and facilities related incidents. It runs more than 100 buildings, some of which date back to the 1930s, and appealed for £34 million in emergency capital funding in January 2019.
  The trust commissioned 28 beds from a residential home, Ami Lodge in Deal, Kent, to support patients medically fit to leave hospital but not able to return to their own home.  It was forced to abandon the scheme when the Care Quality Commission rated the home "inadequate" in November 2018.
  In 2020 the BBC found 7 cases of babies either stillborn or who died shortly after birth since 2016, these cases should have been prevented with better care.   The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists found in 2015, consultants, failing to do labour ward rounds, failing to review women, make care plans or attend out of hours when asked, consultants, rarely did CTG training, and reportedly were, "doing their own thing rather than follow guidelines"  Staff alleged at the review, the board did not consider maternity services a priority and no action would be taken over concerns raised.  In 2014 the trust was put into special measures after Care Quality Commission rated its care, including maternity care inadequate.  Since then the CQC rated it as requiring improvement.
  From 2016 to 2019 the trust had to close one of its two maternity units, which are nearly 40 miles apart, to new births 111 times. At least 120 women in labour were diverted.  Although it is not unusual for maternity units close or divert for short periods these closures were unusually frequent.
caption: Four-hour target in the emergency department quarterly figures from NHS England[6]
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