The West Kent Unscheduled Care Navigation Hub (UCNH) Team based in Paddock Wood are celebrating after their work has been formally recognised with a nomination for a Kent & Medway Healthwatch Recognition Award.
While the hub does not see patients face-to-face, its team of Paddock Wood–based Advanced Paramedic Practitioners (APPs) and PaCCS clinicians work closely with teams from Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust, alongside specialist urgent care teams, to review patient needs and agree the most appropriate care plans.
Through proactive telephone assessments, the hub supports patient safety, helps avoid unnecessary hospital attendances and ensures patients are directed to the right care, at the right time.
Since it’s inception in September 2023, the hub has supported more than 10,000 patients through redirecting them to more appropriate settings, such as same day emergency care (SDEC), urgent treatment centres (UTC) and frailty units.
The awards evening, which is taking place on Thursday, 26 February, at Revelation Ashford, could see the team win an award for ‘excellence in enabling local people to monitor standards and make improvements’.
“This nomination is a real credit to the work of the team and the way colleagues collaborate across services,” said Sean Edwards, Practice Development Lead. “The hub plays an important role in supporting safe decision-making and ensuring patients are guided to the most appropriate care.
“Being recognised for enabling local people to help monitor standards and drive improvement makes this particularly meaningful.”