Controversial plans to halve the number of hospitals admitting stroke patients in Kent and Medway could face judicial review after mounting concerns from councillors about the proposals.
The NHS’s recommended preferred option would create combined hyperacute and acute stroke units at Darent Valley Hospital in Dartford, the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford and Maidstone Hospital. However, this would mean Medway Hospital and the Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother Hospital in Margate would lose their existing stroke services.
The plans are expected to be signed off by a committee representing all eight clinical commissioning groups in Kent and Medway in January – but have been criticised for not placing units in the deprived areas of Medway and Thanet. Medway Council leader Alan Jarrett said the council’s cabinet would be asked to back a judicial review at its meeting tomorrow.
Full story in the HSJ, 17 December 2018