About Mid Kent and Coastal Women's Health Hub
Our Mid-Kent and Coastal Women’s Health Hub team is working to improve access and raise awareness of women’s health services in the Ashford, Faversham, Marsh, Folkestone, Hythe and surrounding rural areas.
The hub team is improving patient experience by supporting health care professionals with training, so that there are more clinicians skilled in delivering women’s health care services.
The team is also working with GP practice teams, their patient participation groups (PPGs) and partner organisations on women’s health awareness and prevention events.
You can read more about our work and how to access the services in the sections listed below.
Long Acting Removeable Contraceptives (LARC) can be a hormonal coil, a non-hormonal coil, or an implant under the skin.
Through our women’s health hub, we are training more health care professionals to fit LARC, so that there is a qualified clinician to do this in each GP practice in the area.
To discuss LARC and other contraceptive provision, please contact your GP practice.
Pessaries can be fitted to support women experiencing pelvic organ prolapse.
This occurs when one or more of the organs in the pelvis (womb, bladder or bowel) slip down from their normal position and bulge into the vagina.
A pessary helps to hold the organs up, relieving the discomfort.
Through our women’s health hub, we are training more clinicians in how to fit and remove pessaries, so that more women have the option to have this done at a local GP practice.
Clinical training
We are actively recruiting staff for further training. If you are a clinician working in GP practices in the Mid-Kent Women's Health Hub area and wish to find out more about this training, please email kmicb.
Continence support
Continence support is available from the team at Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust. Patients can either self refer to this team, or be referred by a GP or other healthcare professional. For more details, see the Continence Service information page on KCHFT's website.
Pessary check ups
Women who already have a pessary can also have their check-ups (usually every six months) by booking an appointment through their GP practice.
Women may experience a range of symptoms related to the menopause.
Through our women’s health hub, we are supporting more clinicians to learn about menopause and treatment options, so that they are able to better support patients in managing menopause symptoms.
Please contact your GP practice for menopause care.
Our Mid-Kent Women’s Health Hub is dedicated to reaching national NHS Cervical Screening Programme target of 80 per coverage.
We have identified the current cervical screening rates of all the practices within our primary care networks (PCNs).
Awareness raising
We aim to participate in awareness campaigns and engaging with our underserved communities, who may face greater challenges to screening, including women in our area whose first language isn’t English, particularly working with our Nepalese communities.
About cervical screening
Cervical screening is offered every three years for women in the 25-49 year age group. It is offered every five years for women in the 50-64 year age group.
Women receive an NHS letter inviting them to make an appointment at their GP practice.
If you have a letter requesting to book an appointment for cervical screening or know/think you are overdue on your screening, contact your practice.
Training opportunities
Through the hub we are also seeking to provide other healthcare professionals, such as nurse associates, with development opportunities with training for cervical screening.
Our aim is for all women and girls in our women’s health hub area to have access to a healthcare professional within their local primary care network (PCN), who can provide support, diagnosis and treatment for their menstrual health including pain and heavy bleeding.
We are currently reviewing the skills of staff within the PCNs and identifying those would like to be trained further.
Our goal aligns with the Faculty of Sexual Health and Reproductive Healthcare’s (FSRH) Hatfield vision.
Pre-conception care is support for women who are thinking of having a baby.
Through our Mid-Kent Women’s Health Hub, we are aiming to raise awareness of pre-conception care within GP practices, focussing on training.
You can find more information about planning for pregnancy on www.nhs.uk and on the Kent and Medway Bump, Birth and Beyond website.
Through our women’s health hub we are encouraging GP practices to increase awareness among patients of breast pain and breast self-examination.
We are working with the charity Breast Cancer Now to support our general practice clinicians to learn more about breast pain assessment and care.
Our Mid-Kent and Coastal Women’s Health Hub is aiming to support screening and treatment for sexuality transmitted infections and HIV by highlighting to both GP practices and patients what and where sexual health services are available across our primary care networks (PCNs)
Home testing kits
We are also promoting the use of texting services to provide information about home testing kits for chlamydia and gonorrhoea.
Free condoms
The hub will also engage with the ‘Get it’ programme which provides support and guidance, as well as a free condom service for 16-25 year olds and training for staff.
