KENT Ambulance NHS Trust is to go under the microscope when the independent Commission for Health Improvement begins an assessment next week.

The trust provides both emergency treatment and transport and non-emergency patient transport and as part of the review the CHI wants to hear from people prepared to talk about their experiences of these services.

Individual or small group meetings will be held in Maidstone on Monday, January 13, in Canterbury on Tuesday, January 14, and in Folkestone on Wednesday, January 14. All meetings will be private and confidential.

The overall assessment of the trust will take about 17 weeks and is part of a rolling programme that involves CHI visits to every NHS organisation in England and Wales. The assessment will look at the management, provision and quality of service provided by the trust and identify good practice and areas for improvement.

It will be carried out by a trained team that includes an NHS doctor, a nurse, a clinical professional such as a paramedic, a lay person, and NHS manager and a CHI manager who co-ordinates the process.

CHI chairman Dame Deirdre Hine said: "We want to hear from people who have used the ambulance services, as well as people who work there, so we can help the NHS to improve."

* To arrange an appointment for one of the meetings, to send comments or for more information, telephone the CHI on 0845 601 3012 (calls are charged at local rate) quoting reference: Kent Ambulance Service. Comments can also be e-mailed directly to: joe.walker@chi.nhs.uk