Kent Medical Campus step-down care plans approved

2nd August 2017

Patient care in Maidstone has been given a boost after plans for a 75-bed care home with facilities to provide step-down care for patients well enough to leave hospital but not ready to return home were given the green light by Maidstone Borough Council.

Kent Medical Campus, near junction 7 of the M20, has been identified as the location for the healthcare development, which will provide 24 hour nursing accommodation for the frail and elderly, providing a mix of rehabilitation, respite and dementia care.

Gary Watson, Director at JLL, the company advising Kent Medical Campus on property matters, said: “The development of a £10m new step-down facility and care home will help those patients in need of further support after a stay in hospital. It offers the potential to reduce delayed discharges back into the community, making it possible to treat more patients. 

“The combination of KIMS Hospital, the county’s largest independent hospital, the Cygnet Health Care facility and this new step-down development, means that Kent Medical Campus is delivering on its ambition to be a centre for health to support Maidstone and the county as a whole.” 

The approved plans are for a 4,200m² building and will create more than 100 full-time equivalent jobs.

The new facilities will form an integral part of the care services and pathways that will be developed within the Campus. 

It was approved as part of Kent Medical Campus’s existing permission to develop 98,000m² of floor space resulting in a centre of excellence for health, science and education for the borough and county.

The proposals were submitted after the landowners and team worked closely with the cross-party Kent Medical Campus monitoring committee at Maidstone Borough Council.

For information on Kent Medical Campus and its Enterprise Zone status visit www.kentmedicalcampus.com