Foundation Focus - January 2009 Edition - Kent and Medway NHS ...

MAJOR PROJECTS
East Kent Redesign
A critical milestone was reached in the East Kent
Redesign programme in December. The local
council’s planning committee gave approval to
the development principles for the western half
of the St Martin’s site.
This is the half of the site
where the old hospital
currently sits and is the part of
the site the Trust may dispose
of. The development principles
outline the way in which it
might be developed in the
future, but do not go into
detail. This approval paves the
way for the next stage of work
to begin, focusing on looking
at the size and shape of the
new build that will be needed
on the eastern half of the site.
The plans do not make the
assumption that the revenue
from the western half of the
site is needed to complete the
work on the eastern half of the
site. The next steps will look at
utilising the work that has
already been done on building
design.
The Eastern and Coastal Office
remains earmarked for a range
of clinical services and the
future use of this building is
central to site development
plans for St Martin’s. The newbuild
and refurbishment
options for St Martin’s will be
developed with staff and
service users in the coming few
months, with a provisional
start-on-site for the
construction in March 2010.
New plans being drawn up for
inpatient services may
necessitate the building being
used in a different way to that
expected earlier this year and
this may affect groups
previously identified as future
occupants of the building.
www.kmpt.nhs.uk/
ekmhredesign
Redesign
in Medway
Two conferences were held
in Autumn 2008 to establish
what a good acute mental
health service looks like; the
reports from these events
can be downloaded from
www.kmpt.nhs.uk/
medwayredesign .
A Project Board, to review
and redesign Medway's
acute mental health services,
has now been established.
The first meeting took place
on 16 January 2009. As the
project structure is
developed, more news about
the work will be published.
This will include how service
users and carers will
continue to be involved and
engaged throughout the
process.
The Trust and PCT remain
committed that the current
inpatient services are
improved and that, in the
future, services are provided
in a modern and fit-forpurpose
environment that
complements new and
emerging models of service
delivery
West Kent Redesign
A report of the results of a listening exercise
undertaken, in the second half of 2008, to
understand patient needs with regard to
planning mental health services in West Kent
is due to be published shortly.
The exercise, led by Sevenoaks Area Mind on behalf of NHS
West Kent, involved the people of West Kent and asked
them to comment on how primary and community mental
health services should be delivered, asking questions via
group discussions and a questionnaire on key areas of
service delivery. Responses were gathered from around 250
people across a broad cross section of the population,
including current service users, carers, and a wider more
general audience.
The results of the exercise are now being considered by
West Kent NHS, in partnership with the Trust, and plans will
be put into place to ensure that future service delivery
addresses these areas of concern. We will bring you the
findings from the report and the steps to be taken in the
next issue of Foundation Focus. Further information can be
found at www.kmpt.nhs.uk/wkredesign.
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Foundation Focus January 2009