MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Falklands commissioning first independent inspection of Stanley's Hospital, KEMH

Lay out of KEMH, in Stanley, has already received external oversight from UK's Ministry of Defense

Falklands Islands King Edward VII Memorial Hospital (KEMH) is committed to providing good quality, cost-effective and evidence-based health services that address the identified needs of the population we serve, in order to preserve life, treat illness and promote lifelong well-being within the resources that are available in the Falkland Islands.

One way of ensuring that we are delivering good quality care and doing the best job possible in serving the community is for periodic external inspection or review to occur. The KEMH does already benefit from some oversight from the UK's Ministry of Defense (MoD), through assurance visits in relation to certain services that are provided to the MoD. However, there are some areas of the hospital that have not been inspected as frequently as would typically occur in many countries.

To address this gap the KEMH are pleased to announce that they are currently commissioning the first independently-arranged inspection.

The KEMH is very fortunate to be well-supported by the UK’s Health Security Agency (UKHSA), which falls under the Department of Health and Social Care of His Majesty’s Government. The UKHSA are assisting the KEMH by facilitating a group of suitably experienced independent experts to undertake this inspection of the KEMH; the UKHSA itself is not delivering the inspection.

As this is a first inspection it is not proposed to inspect all the services that the KEMH provides. This is likely to require too broad a range of experts and a longer period of time than is available. It has therefore been decided that the areas where the most critical care is provided will be where the inspection will focus, this will include: The Ambulance Service, Casualty, Ward, Intensive Care, Theatre, and the Medical Treatment Overseas (MTO) process.

The KEMH acknowledge the concerns held by some members of the community around data handling, and the previous data breaches that have occurred. It is normal practice for an inspection of this nature to assess an organization's data handling processes, and we can confirm that this will form part of the inspection. Additionally, the KEMH also intend to release an update to the community on the changes that have been made since the previous data breaches shortly.

During the inspection there will be five key questions that will be addressed:

1. Is it safe?

2. Is it effective?

3. Is it caring?

4. Is it responsive to people’s needs?

5. Is it well-led?

On completion of the inspection a report will be developed by the independent experts. This report will be made available to the public in order to ensure transparency of a government department and allow for the public to read a balanced assessment of the only civilian healthcare facility in the Islands. It is to be expected that areas for improvement will be identified, and it is hoped that the document will serve as a useful starting point for future service improvements. It is also probable that the report may identify areas of the service that are noticeably better, or more accessible, than for instance in the UK.

It is currently anticipated that the inspection will occur before the end of 2024. Once an agreed inspection date is confirmed more information will be released, including a timeline for the release of the report. It is expected that the inspectors will engage opportunistically with service users during the assessment process; there will however be absolutely no compulsion to speak with the inspectors for anyone that does not wish to.

It is hoped that this proactive approach to inspection will be a useful tool for future service improvement.

The report that is produced is expected to also recommend a regimen for future inspections, so that areas not covered in this inspection are eventually inspected, and so that recommendations made in the first report can be reviewed for progress.