Kent Community Health – Keeping our patients connected with loved ones

So, KCHFT has invested in five tablets for each of our community hospitals to continue support and look after our patients. The tablets mean patients can make video calls with their families and friends while they are in hospital.

After each patient has used a tablet, they are cleaned following infection prevention and control guidance, ready to be used again.

Chief Nurse Mercia Spare said: “I am so happy that we have been able to offer this to our patients. It is important that they feel connected to their families even though we are not able to offer normal visiting at the moment.”

Richard Lawrence, IT Service Support Centre Manager, said: “In the IT department, we normally indirectly help with patient care by resolving issues with NHS computing equipment. By providing these 50 tablets around our community sites, we get the chance to directly help our patient care, helping patients to communicate with their loved ones and to improve their time spent within our services.

“We have installed the Zoom application on the tablets so patients can visually connect with their families, not just hear them on the phone. This is an essential and important tool to keep them in touch with each other during lockdown and to help towards maintaining their health and mental wellbeing.”

The trust’s community hospitals have a number of patients with dementia. Rachel Daykin, Specialist Nurse for Dementia Care, said: “It is important that we support our patients at this time of social isolation from their loved ones. Colleagues also thought of the idea of a wobble room, doodle boards and fortnightly socially distanced meetings for colleagues to talk about their concerns and ask for support.”

“We also plan to use the tablets for poetry recitals and music therapy for patients, on an individual basis but also as part of reducing social isolation in our patient bays. It has been distressing for colleagues to see our patients unable to have visitors, so we hope the tablets will bridge the gap for our patients and allow our colleagues to feel more positive about they care they are providing.”

The nine community hospitals are:

• Edenbridge and District War Memorial Hospital
• Faversham Cottage Hospital
• Hawkhurst Community Hospital
• Queen Victoria Memorial Hospital
• Sevenoaks Hospital
• Tonbridge Cottage Hospital
• Victoria Hospital, Deal
• Whitstable and Tankerton Hospital
• West View Integrated Care Centre