Kent Institute of Medicine & Surgery (KIMS) welcomed Rt Hon Hugh Robertson, MP for Faversham & Mid Kent, and Minister of State in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, to see construction work going on at the £85m state-of-the-art hospital.
Being constructed on land at junction 7 of the M20 at Maidstone, KIMS is set to transform acute and specialist healthcare provision in the county when it opens its doors to patients in April 2014, and will employ more than 400 people on the seven-acre site.
KIMS will be the first and only private and NHS tertiary care centre in Kent. It will provide high quality complex procedures and specialist advanced healthcare services for NHS and private patients.
Through the work of 350 world-class clinicians, patients at KIMS will be able to access cardiology, cardiac surgery, neurology, neurosurgery, complex orthopaedics and surgical oncology care. It will also provide the only cardiothoracic and neurosurgery tertiary care beds in Kent.
Commenting at the end of his tour of the site, which was conducted by KIMS’ CEO Jayne Cassidy, Hugh Robertson, said: “It was a great pleasure to have the opportunity to be shown around KIMS.
“This will be a fantastic new medical facility for the people of Maidstone and, indeed, the wider area.”
The visit was hosted by Franz Dickmann, President at KIMS, who added: “It was a pleasure to show Hugh Robertson how KIMS is being built and equipped. Everything has been designed with the help of our clinicians, with the single focus being on how best to deliver world-class care for our patients.
“With construction on budget and on schedule, we are very excited about delivering a world-class centre of excellence in terms of private and NHS healthcare for the residents of Kent.”
Cllr Malcolm Greer, Cabinet Member for Economic & Commercial Development for Maidstone Council, said he welcomed the Minister’s visit and the chance to show him the major project, which he said will bring untold economic benefits to the Borough.
“The jobs this project will bring to Maidstone when it opens in 2014 are to be welcomed, along with the world-class medical facilities for to the residents of Maidstone.
“KIMS will greatly enhance the economic base of Maidstone.”
Hugh Robertson also met representatives from Maidstone Medical Campus (MMC), which recently secured outline planning permission from Maidstone Council on 44 acres of land adjacent to KIMS.
Designed to create a world-class medical facility alongside KIMS, Maidstone Medical Campus includes plans for a specialist neuro-rehabilitation village comprising more than 100 dwellings for patients with neurological conditions requiring support, as well as 250 accommodation units for doctors, nurses and visiting consultants, and 200 beds in halls of residence for students.
Other proposed facilities at Maidstone Medical Campus include the development of a medical university to train graduate and post-graduate students in Kent, featuring extensive research facilities clinics and consultation rooms, education and training facilities and research laboratories.
For further information on KIMS visit www.kims.org.uk
For further information on MMC visit www.maidstone-medical.co.uk