Darent Valley Hospital

Winter is always a challenging time for hospitals. These challenges have been compounded for Darent Valley Hospital by the nearby closure of the A&E and Maternity Departments at Queen Mary’s Hospital. I want to closely monitor the situation, so I have asked Parliamentary Questions of the Health Secretary to ensure that the Government is doing all that it can to help. The Department of Health will ensure that extra funding will follow the additional patients that are being treated at Darent Valley. Yet the challenges are not purely financial.  The closure of the A&E Department at Queen Mary’s has placed a strain on the capacity available at Darent Valley in their A&E Department and the hospital is adjusting its procedures in response.

The Chief Executive and staff at the hospital have worked incredibly hard over many years to ensure that Darent Valley Hospital has a mainly good reputation. It is essential that this is not lost through the current circumstances which includes a flu epidemic, a high number of elderly patients being admitted, a high birth rate across north Kent and the problems caused through the recent heavy snow.

I am in close contact with the Chief Executive, patients, staff and union representatives who all want to provide a local hospital that Dartford can be proud of. I have received a lot of correspondence from people recently who have stories to tell of their experiences at the hospital. Whilst these do mention problems that the hospital is dealing and occasions where the hospital has got it wrong, there are also a large number of people who have very positive stories to tell.