NHS patients treated in former private hospital

The former private hospital near Tunbridge Wells enables the trust to support the NHS across Kent and Medway

The first patients have been welcomed at Fordcombe Hospital following the purchase of the site by Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust (MTW).

The trust says the acquisition of the former private hospital near Tunbridge Wells will enable it to support the NHS across Kent and Medway by taking on a significant number of the longest waiting patients.

Almost 1,600 patients have already been transferred to MTW for treatment and the trust will see a total of 2,500 patients by the end of March, the trust says.

Miles Scott, chief executive at MTW, said it was working "to treat those patients who have been waiting the longest".

The trust purchased the hospital in March 2024 from Spire Healthcare and, following a six-month transition period, the first patients arrived on Monday.

The renamed Fordcombe Hospital will provide planned care in ear, nose and throat, trauma and orthopaedics, gastroenterology, diagnostics and endoscopy.

The additional facilities the site provides have also enabled MTW to increase capacity at the trust’s hospitals in Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells.

The 170 staff who worked at the former Spire Healthcare site have transferred to MTW.

Mr Scott said: “The trust is working in collaboration with our NHS partners to treat those patients who have been waiting the longest.

“We are really pleased to be a part of this and are already seeing the impact the increase in capacity is making to patient care and experience.”