Our vibrant Emergency Departments at William Harvey Hospital, Ashford, and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Hospital, Margate, offer an exciting and supportive environment for ambitious professionals who are passionate about emergency care and want to work at the top of their game.
We secured £6.42m in national funding for new observation wards at both departments and a further £7m to increase the size of the departments in 21/22. We are investing significantly in medical, nursing and support staff throughout the emergency floor, including specialist paediatric nursing.
We have 24/7 access to CT and stroke thrombolysis, and benefit from interventional radiology services in our sister hospital at Canterbury. William Harvey Hospital is the primary PCI hospital for Kent, and has trauma unit status. We are part of the top-performing South East London, Kent and Medway Trauma Network, with the local major trauma centre being King’s College Hospital.
Ian's story
From the Armed Forces to Acute Care Nurse Consultant
Ian Setchfield served 13 years in the RAF as a Sergeant in the Critical Care Air Support Team –retrieving and transporting critically ill servicemen and women around the world.
He is now settled in East Kent with his family and enjoying his role as Acute Care Nurse Consultant at our Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Hospital in Thanet.
“Military nurses bring crucial skills which are of huge benefit to the NHS,” said the 47-year-old father of two, who lives in Westgate-On-Sea near Margate. “Obviously we are good in a crisis with our operational experience, but we also have great leadership skills and flexibility. When my wife and I decided to settle in Thanet I approached the Intensive Care Unit at the hospital and they recognised the transferable skills and experience that I could bring to a role here. They supported me from the start and encouraged me to complete a Master’s degree, and I am now about to embark on a PhD in systems leadership.”
Ian progressed rapidly through the ranks at QEQM, and is now an Acute Care Nurse Consultant after completing a unique ‘Aspiring Practitioner Programme’, which was developed by EKHUFT and allowed Ian to carve out his current role. “EKHUFT is a forward-thinking Trust, I have always felt that my experiences are valued and listened to. It’s a teaching trust too so it means that we are at the forefront of new research and development.
“The Trust has always encouraged and supported me to develop my NHS career,” said Ian. “My daughter and son are now teenagers and have benefited from great local schools and a wonderful way of life in east Kent.”
Learn more about our Inter-professional Faculty of Urgent and Emergency Medicine
Dr Jonathan Leung
Consultant in Emergency medicine with special interest in intensive care and Pre-hospital emergency medicine, Honorary Lecturer (QMUL, School of Medicine )
After my training in North East London, I worked as a Pre-hospital emergency medicine doctor for Air Ambulance Kent, Surrey and Sussex and consultant in emergency medicine in Bart’s Health.
I am very fortunate to be invited to join EKHUFT as a consultant in emergency medicine with special interest in intensive care medicine for the last year. EKHUFT is a forward thinking trust and I have been given a very flexible job plan, which allows me to continue my pre-hospital work and work as a part time consultant in Emergency Medicine for Brighton and Sussex University Hospital NHS trust. This allows me to be able to practice medicine from the roadside to intensive care, which I love.
EKHUFT is full of exciting opportunity for consultants like me, who are keen on developing education, research and quality improvement projects for the benefit of a wide population. Since I joined the Trust, I have been given opportunities to start research, implement multiple changes within our EDs including implementation of Rapid assessment and treatment process, workforce enhancement project, ED Resuscitation Standard Operating Procedure etc.
We are inspired to forge an academic emergency department in East Kent. To achieve our vision, we have set up our very own journal club, ‘’in-house’ simulation, structured teaching day, and are setting up our first NIHR portfolio randomised controlled trial. We aim to setup a bespoke resuscitationist.
Learn more about our Inter-professional Faculty of Urgent and Emergency Medicine
