New orthopaedic service being developed for all patients living in the Kent & Medway area
Orthopaedics is the branch of medicine that focuses on treating muscles, bones, joints, ligaments and tendons. Procedures include hip replacement surgery, knee replacement or arthroscopic surgery and hand/ wrist and foot and ankle surgery.
The new service will be based at Maidstone Hospital. Patients living in the Kent & Medway region needing to come to hospital will be able to choose to come and have treatment at the centre for planned (non-emergency) orthopaedic surgery. The centre be a dedicated space just for planned orthopaedic surgery and will not cater for emergencies. It will include a day patient and inpatient ward and comprise of a ‘barn-style’ theatre. The unit will also have its own x-ray and therapy space. The term ‘barn theatre’ refers to the design of an operating facility where the main surgical area is open-plan, with each patient being treated in a dedicated space alongside the next, with an ultra-clean air canopy over each station to prevent the spread of infection. The benefits of this open-plan style theatre include faster, better, safer operations. This is partly due to the Increased supervision of the surgeons and sharing of best practice whilst remaining ultra-clean
Patients who choose to come and be treated at the new unit will benefit from shorter waiting times, limited risk of cancellation, small wards and single, private bedrooms and excellent patient outcomes all in a super clean, state of the art facility.
The service development team are keen to find out patient views on the following themes and would invite you to an engagement session on
Tuesday 27th June at 6pm ( held online)
and
Monday 3rd July at 3pm.
The session will last between 60 and 90 minutes.
- What information would help patients choose to come to the new centre for Orthopaedic Surgery
- What information would they want to know about the service once they’ve decided to come
Session on 3rd July will be held either virtually or face to face at Maidstone Hospital. This will be confirmed based on people’s availability. If you are interested in attending the discussion please email: mtw-tr.ppe@nhs.net stating whether you would be able to attend a face to face or virtual session. Expenses for parking will be reimbursed
Support for attendance
If anyone has any accessibility or dietary requirements let them know when making contact.
