Maidstone & Malling’s No 1 - 88,000 copies - 4 editions Maidstone Town Edition April 2011 No.168 Hospital to open by 2013
A £78m PRIVATE hospital at Newnham Court, near Grove Green, is expected to admit its first pa- tient in summer 2013. This was confirmed by James Dickmann, devel- opment director of the Kent Institute of Medicine & Surgery (KIMS). He said: "It will be a tertiary hospital providing advanced and highly specialised procedures and care in areas such as cardiology and neurology for both privately insured and NHS patients. “There is no other specialist provider of such services locally, either within the private health- care sector or the NHS." KIMS will be able to offer services for which pa-
tients would otherwise have to travel to London. With finance currently being finalised, ground-
works are scheduled to start this summer. Con- struction and commissioning should take two years.
Other clinical services will include ear, nose
and throat, gastroenterology, general surgery, gy- naecology, orthopaedic surgery, pain manage- ment, rheumatology, thoracic surgery, urology surgery and vascular surgery. A larger roundabout at the junction of Bearsted
Road and New Cut Road will be created, allow- ing an access road onto the seven-acre site. Maidstone Council's economic development
manager John Foster said the scheme would bring "huge investment and high-quality jobs with the potential for other businesses to cluster round it". KIMS promises a "one-stop" shop approach, whereby a consultant can book a complete treat- ment pathway, from outpatient consultations, pathology, diagnostic testing and minor treat- ments to complex day case and inpatient proce- dures to aftercare in both the hospital and the home.
Maidstone’s Left Bank?
Read us online
DOWNS Mail is delighted to an- nounce that all of our newspa- pers are now available online. Our four editions will continue
to be delivered by Royal Mail to over 88,000 homes in and around Maidstone, but you can now catch upwith all of their contents on our website –
www.downsmail.co.uk. You can choose from any one of
our editions, each focusing on truly local news to give you the full picture across our area. A key feature of the online edi-
tions is our live links facility, en- abling users to click on an advert to instantly connect to the adver- tiser’s website and email contact. Chairman Claire Procter said
“This is a superb initiative to en- able all members of the public to access the entire content of our newspapers. We have had excel- lent feedback from advertisers who say that it provides un- doubted added value.” Email us your feedback on
digital@downsmail.co.uk.
THE River Medway walkway is a hive of activity as artists show their work near the Archbishops Palace. Well, not just yet - though this is how Maidstone restaurateur
James Bailey envisages the scene, and one of his staff created this image of how the riverside could soon have a "bohemian feel". His plans have the backing of a top councillor and a leading local artist. Full story: page 22
DOWNS Mail is supporting the campaign to retain mater- nity and children’s services in Maidstone Hospital – and now needs help from readers. Many see last December’s decision by Andrew Lansley,
Health Secretary, to allow consultant-led services to be transferred to Pembury Hos- pital as both wrong and per- verse and want it challenged in court by judicial review. KCC legal chiefs say he has
Lesson in democracy by
Anthony, 16 MAIDSTONE schoolboy An- thony Hill made council ‘head- master’ Chris Garland sit up and pay attention. He demanded to know why nothing had been done about a promised change to the coun- cil’s constitution. Anthony held the Tory leader
to account during a public questions session and later ac- cused the council of making a “schoolboy error”. Last year, Anthony, a pupil at
St Simon Stock School, handed over a petition protesting about plans to axe the tree outside the Town Hall as part of the coun- cil’s High Street regeneration project. The tree is a favourite meet- ing place for youngsters.
Cash for Japan GENEROUS folk responded to an appeal by the mayor by giv- ing £334 towards the Japan earthquake relief fund - on the day disaster struck. Cllr Eric Hotson’s quiz night
raffle had already raised £810 for his chosen charities but, after his personal plea, a cash bucket for Japan was soon filled as people left for home.
Please offer your support for hospital battle But the cost of taking the case
could be £30,000 (more than double if unsuccessful). We now invite readers to do-
a case to answer after consid- ering the three grounds – il- legality, irrationality and procedural impropriety. He set four key tests for hospital reconfigurations (GP support, patient choice, clinical safety and public involvement) – and is accused now of break- ing them all.
Thinking furniture? ...you should be
nate to a fund for the review. Should a review not be possible (or if there is a cash surplus), do- nations will support the MASH campaign to preserve core Maid- stone Hospital services.
Excitement over Museum upgrade
P6
P10
Mote Park car park chargesU-turn
‘thinking Lincoln’ The Big Yellow Building, St Peters St, Maidstone 0800 652 0102
www.lincolnfurniture.co.uk
P8 P3
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