Issue - meetings

(Dr A Russell, Chairman of the League of Friends of Edenbridge and District War Memorial Hospital, and Julian Ross, Director of Public Engagement and Sharon Jones, Director of Community Services, West Kent PCT, were in attendance for this item)

(1)       A petition from the League of Friends of Edenbridge and District War Memorial Hospital regarding the Minor Injuries Unit at the hospital (attached as Appendix 1 to these Minutes) was tabled, along with information supplied by West Kent PCT (attached as Appendix 2). The Chairman welcomed Dr Andrew Russell to the meeting and invited him to address the Committee.  Dr Russell made the following points:-

·              The Minor Injuries Unit at Edenbridge had been a nurse-led unit for the past nine years and had worked satisfactorily.

·              On 24 May the West Kent PCT at their Board meeting had decided, on safety grounds, that the unit should be renamed a “Treatment Clinic” with immediate effect.

·              A consultation period on the future of the Clinic was due to run from 2 July for three months and he expressed concern that the name change had occurred one month before the official consultation period had started.

·              The PCT had given the reason for the renaming as the low throughput of patients, which did not give staff adequate exposure to all types of case for the safety of patients.

·              He made the point that there had never been any question of poor safety; the unit had a 100% safety record, with no complaints.

·              He highlighted the important support given to the unit by Dr Julian Webb, the A&E consultant who covered this unit and others in the area. He audited the unit’s work regularly and visited the unit weekly to discuss the work with nurses; in the view of Dr Webb, the unit was safe.

·              The nurses at the unit rotated with colleagues at the Sevenoaks Hospital Minor Injuries Unit and, therefore, saw the same case-mix.

(2)       In conclusion, Dr Russell stated that he believed that the name change at this time, before a consultation on possible closure of the Unit, would lead people to believe that the Minor Injuries Unit had already ceased to exist.  This would prejudice the consultation that was about to take place and, therefore, was unfair.  He suggested that the question of the final closure of the Unit might be a subject for further consideration by the NHS Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

(3)       Ms J Ross was invited to speak and stated how disappointed she was that the good news in relation to community hospitals had been overshadowed by more minor issues.  She made the following points in relation to the Minor Injuries Unit at Edenbridge:-

·              The PCT had taken legal advice and they had the right to change the name of the unit.

·              Out of the 11 patients a day that were seen in the unit, 50% were sent by GPs for re-dressings or Electrocardiograms (ECGs). ECGs had actually already been paid for in the General Medical Services contract  ...  view the full minutes text for item 33