A report published today has revealed the worrying pressures on healthcare across east Kent.

The document, named Better Health and Care in East Kent: Time for Change, sets out the hard-hitting reasons why services in Faversham, Canterbury, Herne Bay and Whitstable need to be transformed if they are to be fit for the future.

Some of the shocking statistics include 15% of patients waiting more than four hours in A&E, a rise in the number of people waiting more than two weeks for an urgent cancer referral and many services being over capacity 50% of the time.

GP and chair of the east Kent Strategy Board of the Canterbury and Coastal Clinical Commissioning Group Dr Sarah Phillips said: “People in Canterbury, Faversham, Whistable and Herne Bay are aware that health and care services are under increasing pressure.

"In some areas we are now unable to deliver expected standards of care all of the time.

"We believe services can and should be better.

"Better health and care in east Kent: time to change describes why we need to take action now to make sure health and social care in east Kent is able to meet the challenges and demands of the 21st century.”

The report is a result of discussions over the last six months between doctors, nurses, clinicians, social care works and leaders outlining the changes which need to be made and the services which need to improve.

It says that a lot of services are "no longer fit for purpose", there is not enough staff in hospitals to cover 24/7 rotas and at any one time, there is around 300 patients in acute hospital beds who could be discharged if the right support was available elsewhere.

The document suggests a projected financial deficit of £25 million each year.

It says: "In east Kent, we are not meeting national quality standards all of the time and there is variation in the care we offer to patients".

Health bosses now plan to shift more investment and resources to family doctors and nurses and community care providers and team up health and social care professionals in the community which they say, in turn, should lead to fewer hospital admissions.

Dr Phillips continues: “Big hospitals are often not that convenient for patients, their families and carers and are expensive to run.

"Finding ways to offer more services in the community and to reduce hospital admissions that don’t need to happen and could be better managed at home is key to driving up quality and balancing budgets.

“By focusing on developing community teams of health and social care professionals who all know and understand the needs of individual patients, ongoing health problems can be identified and acted upon much more quickly when they arise, preventing them from getting worse.

“It also means we can offer more care in or close to home, which we know is what most people want.

“Big hospitals will still be there when we need them, and will be able to work more efficiently and to a higher standard as a result of being under less pressure.”