William Harvey Prospectus

William Harvey Hospital 

East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trusts

Trust Contact Details

William Harvey Hospital, Kennington Road, Ashford, Kent TN24 0LZ  

Trust switchboard: 
01233 633331 

Trust Medical Education Website: 
https://meded.ekhuft.nhs.uk/  

Foundation Training Programme Director  
Dr Robert Hone (F1) – rhone@nhs.net
Dr Laura Crisan – l.crisan@nhs.net

Director of Medical Education  
Dr Ciaran Crowe – ciaran.crowe@nhs.net

Medical Education Manager  
Mrs Susan Kennedy – susan.kennedy18@nhs.net

Foundation Programme Administrator  
Amelia Hall – amelia.hall5@nhs.net

Facilities

Postgraduate Centre

Our Education Centre is based on site with a well-equipped Clinical Skills Lab, Seminar Room for teaching and Tutorial Room all with dual screen projection and facilities for power point.  

There is an air-conditioned Lecture Theatre which seats 96 people with facilities for a full range of media and video conferencing facilities.  

There is also a large Conference room which can be used by individuals and groups for meetings and teaching sessions, a projector screen and audio system are also installed in this room. 

New Medical School 

Since 2020 Kent has had its own medical school in the shape of the Kent and Medway Medical School, which will combine the expertise of the University of Kent and Canterbury Christ Church University. East Kent, along with other Trusts in Kent, have a major role to play in offering secondary care placements and teaching opportunities, with the aspiration that future medical students qualifying from the Kent and Medway Medical School will take up recruitment opportunities in East Kent. 

For foundation doctors, this will open up opportunities to provide mentoring and shadowing to the medical students as well as “peer” teaching and more. 

East Kent is also keen to support quality improvement opportunities and hosts an annual Quality Improvement Project competition for foundation doctors to showcase their projects. 

Leadership opportunities e.g. year group representatives are also available. 

Accommodation

Accommodation is on site with both single and married accommodation available.  
Accommodation is charged at current rates. Please contact: ekhuft.accommodationwhh@nhs.net  

For all enquiries and information on rooms or visit our accommodation website at https://accommodation.ekhuft.nhs.uk/Accommodation_Portal  

Library facilities 

Library and Knowledge Services staff work closely with all healthcare staff, trainees, and students, providing their expertise to support individuals and teams with clinical decision making, research, and lifelong professional development.  

There is an Education Library at KCH, WHH, and QEQM, featuring comprehensive book stock available for loan, PC access, study areas, as well as 24-hour access. Library staff are on hand to answer any questions you may have about finding research, books and articles, and to demonstrate the information resources that we offer to all staff. Remote services are also available, including evidence search requests, article sourcing, and a comprehensive collection of information resources such as UpToDate, ClinicalKey, and BMJ Best Practice, ensuring that the best knowledge and evidence is always at the fingertips of staff and learners. 

Our Clinical Librarian teams work closely with clinicians and their departments, attending clinical meetings, medical decision meetings, educational ward rounds, as well as department journal clubs. 1-to-1 and team training sessions are also available in effective literature searching, evidence-based practice, critical appraisal, and understanding statistics.  

We also provide support for research, appraisal, career planning and other academic and professional activities as well as assisting and advising with the preparation of content for publication. 

To find out more about our services, including how to register as a Library Member, please visit our website: https://www.ekhuft.nhs.uk/gps/library-services/ 

IT facilities 

Open access computers are available in the library and resource area for all doctors providing access to Microsoft Office products. Wi-Fi is available for Trust devices to connect to the NHS network. There is also a separate system for Public Internet access. The teaching rooms and Lecture Theatre also have Internet access The Medical Illustrations department is available to support doctors in producing posters, storing images and using more sophisticated technology. 

Parking arrangements 

There are several staff car parking areas around the hospital close to the main reception. 

It is the responsibility of staff members to apply for a parking permit prior to commencing placements. This can be done via the website. Please note that if you are in accommodation, you do also still need a parking permit  

Local Area

Social activities and Doctors’ Mess

The Medical Education directorate at EKHUFT has seen other Trusts adopting its innovative Social Induction Programme for foundation doctors. Organised by the outgoing FP doctors, this sees a programme of events and activities in the induction week evenings/weekend that allows new FP doctors to socialize with those whose jobs they are taking over. The programme of social events includes a trust-wide social evening to enable new doctors to meet up with the F1s from all 3 sites. The Doctors mess also organises ad-hoc events including evenings out and a Summer Ball.

William Harvey Hospital boasts an extremely active mess that is popular with all Doctors including medical students. With sofas and a pool table, it is busy at all times of the day. Mess events are regularly organised, and the committee is very pro-active in providing entertainment. The mess is located next to the hospital restaurant and is easily accessible. The mess subscription fee is £10 per month.

Transport links 

The hospital is located on the outskirts of Ashford not far from the Ashford International Station (less than 40 minutes from London) and adjacent to junction 10 of the M20. Transport links to London are quick, direct and frequent.  

Travelling to West Kent, Canterbury and the coast is also straightforward, allowing you the freedom to explore more of Kent at your leisure.  

Local amenities/attractions

Ashford is a growing town which is within a few miles of some of the most beautiful countryside in the South of England and also within easy reach of the sea. The hospital is close to the M20 with very convenient access to Dover, Folkestone and the Channel Tunnel (for the car shuttle). There are many attractive and interesting places to visit, including Canterbury, Tenterden, Rye, Dover Castle, Leeds Castle and many unspoiled villages and areas of interest such as Romney Marsh. 

The town itself has a recently extended leisure centre, bowling alley, and a high street with shops, restaurants, pubs, and bars. 

A cinema with parking for 600 cars is situated just a few minutes away from hospital off junction 9 of the M20 with a variety of places to eat, a gym and a night club. 

Ashford Designer Outlet mall is within walking distance of Ashford International station.  

See www.visitashfordandtenterden.co.uk.

Foundation Specific

Teaching programme

Foundation doctors have protected teaching. 

Foundation Teaching for all doctors is the last Thursday of the month (excluding December, April and June/July). It is a full day of teaching.

Trust Information

Overview of Trust 

East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust (EKHUFT) is one of the largest hospital trusts in the country, with more than 6,000 staff serving a population exceeding 700,000 and provides integrated patient care in East Kent with over 80 clinical specialties. Established on 1st April 1999, EKHUFT has three acute hospitals at Canterbury, Margate and Ashford, with smaller out-patient only hospitals in Dover and Folkestone. 

William Harvey Hospital 

The William Harvey Hospital (WHH) based in Ashford, Kent just off j10 of the M20. 

WHH has just opened a new ITM Unit and an extended and improved Emergency Department, there is also a recently expanded cardiac catheter laboratory which undertakes therapeutic interventions including angiograms and angioplasties, permanent pacemaker insertions and intraventricular defibrillator insertions. Cardiothoracic Surgeons visit the hospital every fortnight to hold joint meetings with cardiologists and discuss cases.

The Kent Cardiac Centre is also based at William Harvey Hospital. A satellite Renal dialysis centre is also on site and the hospital has the single Head & Neck unit which includes ENT, Ophthalmology and maxillofacial services. There is a dedicated Day surgery unit (Channel day surgery), as well as Endoscopy and Chemotherapy units. The WHH includes robotic facilities both in the Pathology department as well as Pharmacy.