The government decided the existing hospital infrastructure would not be able to cope, and set about locating a site away from Ashford town centre, with a proposed area of around 30 acres (12 ha) and a budget of £7–8 million.

[13] In 2000, the press reported that staff shortages at the hospital were putting patient's lives at risk, which drew local MP Damian Green to criticise the management of the NHS in parliament.

[15] In 2013, hospital staff members threatened to quit due to proposed increases in parking permit charges from March 2014.

"[16] In 2021, East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust was fined £733,000 for failures in the case of Harry Richford after an inquest found his death in 2017 was "wholly avoidable".

[17] In 2022, East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust apologised to a grieving mother who was told in 2021 that her baby was dead, then alive, before it died hours later.