§ Lord McColl of Dulwichasked Her Majesty's Government:
Why they are proposing to downgrade Kent and Canterbury Hospital, which has a bed occupancy of 98 per cent. with the loss of 250 acute beds, resulting in cancellation of surgical cases every week. [HL3104]
§ Lord Hunt of Kings HeathThe decision on the reconfiguration of acute services in East Kent was made to ensure that all residents of East Kent have access to high quality, safe and effective healthcare services fit for the 21st century.
There will be an overall reduction of 148 acute beds in East Kent as a whole, with a reduction of 138 acute hospital beds at the Kent and Canterbury Hospital. Eighty-five per cent of patients who would currently expect to be treated at Kent and Canterbury Hospital will continue to receive treatment there after the reconfiguration. This approach has been independently assessed and agreed with by the York Health Economics Consortium.
East Kent Health Authority will continue to monitor and review bed numbers closely.
The average weekly number of cancelled electives in East Kent has reduced from 139 between January and March 2000 to 54 between May and June.