Health survey

This morning I went to the Medway Maritime Hospital for a meeting with the Chief Executive Andrew Horne and Chairman of the Foundation Trust Vernon Hull. It was my first meeting at the hospital and it was extremely encouraging. Both Andrew and Vernon are delighted at their Foundation Trust status, and rightly so. Being a Foundation Trust really brings the hospital closer to its patients and the local community and it is clear that its status reflects the high standard that staff strive to deliver.

I learnt a lot about the hospital, how it works and the services it provides, and took the opportunity to share with them some of the results from the Health survey in my last newspaper. They were rightly quite pleased with the results - although they were very open about how there is always room for improvement - most people who had been in the Maritime were either very or fairly satisfied, whereas only a handful were not satisfied. I imagine that these survey results, although only small in their number in comparison to the huge number of people they see every year, reflect the time and effort that the hospital makes to consulting with patients on their needs - and long may it continue.