Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust#History
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{{short description|NHS hospital trust}}
{{Infobox NHS organisation
| name = Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust
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| logo = File:Dartford & Gravesham NHS Trust.svg
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| start_date = 1 November 1993
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| headquarters = Darent Valley Hospital, Dartford, Kent, England
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| type = NHS trust
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| hospitals = {{Plainlist|
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| chair = Jackie Craissati
| chief_exec = Jonathan Wade
| staff = 4,399 WTE (2023/24){{cite web |title=2023 2024 ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS |url=https://www.dgt.nhs.uk/application/files/2817/2422/5969/Spreads_NHS_23-2024_Annual_Report.pdf |website=Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust |access-date=10 April 2025}}
| website = {{Official URL}}
}}
Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust is an NHS trust which runs Darent Valley Hospital in Dartford and provides some services at Erith and District Hospital, Gravesham Community Hospital in Gravesend and Queen Mary's Hospital in Sidcup.
History
The trust was established on 1 November 1993 and became operational on 1 April 1994.{{cite web |title=The Dartford and Gravesham National Health Service Trust (Establishment) Order 1993 |url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1993/2642/made |website=legislation.gov.uk |access-date=10 April 2025}} A proposed merger with Medway NHS Foundation Trust was called off in September 2013.{{cite news|title=Dartford and Medway hospital trusts pull out of merger|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-24102217|accessdate=9 November 2013|newspaper=BBC News|date=15 September 2013}}
Performance
It was named by the Health Service Journal as one of the top hundred NHS trusts to work for in 2015. At that time it had 2593 full-time equivalent staff and a sickness absence rate of 3.68%. 78% of staff recommend it as a place for treatment and 76% recommended it as a place to work.{{cite news|title=HSJ reveals the best places to work in 2015|url=http://www.hsj.co.uk/leadership/best-places-to-work/hsj-reveals-the-best-places-to-work-in-2015/5087434.article#.VgJD8ejkJv4|accessdate=23 September 2015|publisher=Health Service Journal|date=7 July 2015}}
Darent Valley Hospital had the highest rate and number of MRSA cases for NHS trusts in England in 2015. There were 14 cases of patients being infected between 1 April 2015 and 29 February 2016.{{cite news|title=Dartford's Darent Valley Hospital 'failing in MRSA control'|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-35962710|accessdate=6 May 2016|publisher=BBC News|date=4 April 2016}}
In 2018 it forecast a deficit, for the fourth year in a row. It expected to make a loss of deficit of £20.4 million in 2018/9.{{cite news |title=Trust to miss financial plan for fourth straight year |url=https://www.hsj.co.uk/finance-and-efficiency/trust-to-miss-financial-plan-for-fourth-straight-year/7023871.article? |accessdate=25 December 2018 |publisher=Health Service Journal |date=23 November 2018}}
It signed a five-year contract with Medirest in 2021 for catering, cleaning and security services, with 300 staff members transferring to the group. The company provides a robot used for the cleaning of the main corridors. There have been complaints that the contractor has cut supplies down "to the absolute basics" so it is difficult to get hand towels to fill the dispensers, bags to fill the bins or soap to fill the dispensers. The company denies this. It also says it has introduced free meals for all employees at Darent Valley who are able to access packed lunches.{{cite news |title=Joke-telling vacuum robot under-fire at Darent Valley Hospital in Dartford |url=https://www.kentonline.co.uk/dartford/news/joke-telling-hospital-robot-accused-of-missing-the-mark-276938/ |access-date=13 November 2022 |publisher=Kent on line |date=13 November 2022}}
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Official website}}
- [https://www.nhs.uk/services/acute-trust/dartford-and-gravesham-nhs-trust/RN7 Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust] on the NHS website
- [https://www.cqc.org.uk/provider/RN7 Inspection reports] from the Care Quality Commission
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