Wednesday 15th December officially marks Darent Valley Hospital’s 21st birthday. It is fascinating to observe the developments and achievements that have led us to the innovative healthcare hub that it is today.
Opening in 2000, Darent Valley was built to support the population of Dartford and Gravesham and bring together services previously based at Joyce Green, West Hill and Gravesend hospitals. In its infancy, it boasted over 2,000 rooms and 402 beds. Since then, we have extended the site to host numerous new wards, units and services that provide focused, specialised care for our patients.
We are now one of the largest hospital trusts in North Kent, with services at three sites serving a local population of over 500,000 people across Dartford, Gravesham, Swanley and Bexley.
To celebrate, we’ve taken a look at a handful of our key milestones throughout the last 21 years:
2000 – The grand opening of Darent Valley Hospital featuring a very happy Executive Team
2003 – We welcomed Prince Edward and the Countess of Wessex to the Children’s Resource Centre and Willow ward
2004 - Operating Room One (OR1) opened. At the time, this was the most modern operating theatre in the country that allowed consultations with surgeons across the world, improved quality of training, reduced risk of infection and waiting lists to be slashed
2007 – Our £4.2million state-of-the-art heart centre officially opened
2009 – Due to increased demand, we expanded our maternity and neonatal units
2010 – We invested in iSoft’s latest A&E system that helped to improve efficiency in our busy Emergency Department
2013 – We established our provision of services at Queen Mary’s Hospital, Sidcup
2013 – The Willach Consis E5 pharmacy robot was recruited to help receive, sort, count, store and label medicines and update stock level information
2014 – DVH’s 50,000th baby was delivered!
2014 – The Empress Breast Unit opened to offer patients a one-stop shop - from appointment to biopsy – reducing the time taken for cancer diagnosis and easing anxiety and waiting times
2016 - Chief Executive of NHS England, Simon Stevens, formally opened our One Stop Urological Cancer Diagnostic Centre
2019 – The Hyper Acute Stroke Unit was established to support our colleagues at Medway NHS Foundation Trust following the loss of their specialist nurse service.
2019 – Our CQC rating increased to ‘Good’ from ‘Requires improvement’ – a momentous achievement for the Trust
2020 – The COVID-19 pandemic hit which saw our staff and resources put under immense pressure. Our resilient team fought relentlessly to overcome the challenges ensued from the virus
2021 – This year, we unveiled our new laparoscopic theatre, paediatric emergency department and assessment unit and construction plans for the 18-bed modular Lime Ward
Here's to the next 21 years!
“We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our remarkable staff through the years whose hard work, commitment, fortitude, positivity and innovation have enabled us to keep the wheels in motion, our patients safe and staff happy – thank you. Happy 21st Birthday DVH!”
- Leslieann Osborn – Director of Wellbeing & Engagement