Tewkesbury and North Cotswolds community hospitals hosted a special visit from three international delegates yesterday (9 October). The guests, representing the Association of Community Hospitals (ACH) for Japan, were here on a ‘fact-finding’ trip.
President of the ACH, Yoshihisa Honda (CEO and MD of Kaita Hospital), family physician at Kaita Hospital, Dr Shin Yoshida, and Dr Yasuhiro Osugi, Assistant Professor, Fujita Health University, were given a guided tour of both community hospitals, meeting members of staff, healthcare professionals and clinicians, to find out more about how the community hospitals and services in Gloucestershire operate.
Dr Helen Tucker, President of the UK’s Community Hospitals Association (CHA), and Dr Kirsty Protherough, Chair of the CHA, joined our Trust’s Deputy Director of Nursing Hannah Williams, Associate Director of Patient Safety, Quality and Clinical Compliance, James Wright, Non-Executive Director Jan Marriott, Ward Manager at Tewkesbury Hospital, Suzie Guilding, and Outpatients Manager at North Cotswolds Hospital, Kate Dash, in greeting the Japanese guests and accompanying them on their tour of the hospitals.
The delegates’ visit precedes the Community Hospitals Association National Conference in Gloucester, which takes place today and tomorrow (10 and 11 October) at the Cheltenham Chase Hotel in Gloucester.
Dr Kirsty Protherough, Chair of the CHA here in the UK, said: “We’re delighted that our Japanese colleagues contacted us to come to our conference and visit community hospitals here in Gloucestershire. There’s so much we can learn from them, and so much they can learn from seeing what we do here. This visit has proved mutually beneficial and inspirational.”
Helen Tucker, President of the CHA, continued: “We hope this visit will give all those concerned with community hospitals, here in the UK and Japan, the opportunity to share their experiences, learn from each other and celebrate innovations and good practice.”
Following the delegates’ tour of Tewkesbury Hospital, Dr Shin Yoshida said: “Thank you very much for welcoming us. We have seen some fantastic teamwork and work within the multidisciplinary teams. There are many similarities between the care your community hospitals provide and that provided by ours in Japan.
“We have all been very impressed – especially with the day surgery facilities at Tewkesbury Hospital.”
