Danger looms for hospital users


A WARNING that danger time is looming for Maid- stone patients was given at the annual meeting of Maidstone Action for Serv- ices in Hospital (MASH) by re-elected chairman Dennis Fowle. He said consultant-led maternities and in-patient children’s services were due to switch from Maid- stone Hospital to up to 20 difficult miles away in the new Pembury Hospital in September. He said he was sad to


make these forecasts: Related deaths and


brain damaged babies due to birth delays. Dramatic incidents on


the inadequate roads to Pembury causing deep con-


cerns for Maidstone pa- tients, especially worried women in labour and their husbands/partners facing journey times of an hour or more. Decreasing support


from patients’ families and friends because of the dis- tance, poor public transport and costs, especially among Maidstone’s many seri- ously deprived residents. Arisingoutcrywhen


the full reality hits home, especially from parents as the children’s ward and special care baby unit close and they experience the in- adequacies of what is left in Maidstone – a day-care unit operating between 8am and 8pm, Mondays to Fridays.


...but boost for youth mental health services


NHS West Kent is improving men- tal health services for children and young people, including in the Maidstone area. Out-of-hours care, support for children with attention deficit hy- peractivity disorder (ADHD) and services for 16 and 17-year-olds will all be improved, thanks to a £750,000 investment. Specialist nurses will be available out-of-hours, 365 days a year, to pro- vide assessments for under-18s in the emergency departments, med- ical wards and paediatric wards at Maidstone Hospital, Tunbridge Wells Hospital at Pembury and Dar- ent Valley Hospital. Helen Buckingham, deputy chief executive of the three Kent and Medway Primary Care Trusts (PCTs), said: “We recognise the im- portance of protecting young peo- ple’s mental health and wellbeing,


and this investment will be a great boost to local services.” There will be more support and treatment for 16 and 17-year-olds across West Kent, including a spe- cific package of care for young peo- ple newly diagnosed with mental health problems. Young people with ADHD in north-west Kent will benefit from clinics to offer advice and support, home visits in crisis andworkshops for them and their families. The announcement follows Feb-


ruary’s opening of Woodlands House, Staplehurst, a state-of-the-art centre to help children and teenagers in Kent and Medway with severe mental health problems. It offers intensive inpatient sup-


port and a 24-hour specialist com- munity-based service for young people aged 12 to 18 across the county.


Community health body shapes up


THE reshaping of the county’s health serv- ices has taken another step forwardwith the launch of the Kent Community Health NHS Trust. It will serve a population of more than


1.4 million, with a £200m budget and some 5,700 staff. The new trust – distinct from the hospital


trust and the mental health trust – is one of the biggest providers of community health- care in the UK.


The services it provides range from com- munity nursing, health visiting and school nursing to podiatry (foot care) and physio- therapy. The new bodywas formed from the amal- gamation of Eastern and Coastal Kent Com- munity Health NHS Trust and West Kent Community Health. Trust chairman David Griffiths, who for-


merly chaired the West Kent PCT board, said: “The national drive to move services


Guys in gear for charity ride! THESE three 16-year-olds are cycling the length of mainland Britain to raise money for Diabetes UK. The trio are training hard for the 900-mile ride from John O'- Groats to Land’s End in July. One of their re-


cent training trips was from Maidstone to Brighton and back. They did that in one day - but itwill take 11 days to reach Land’s End. The three are


all senior rugby players at Maid- stone Grammar School. One of them, Jon Mills (pictured, left), of King Edward Road, is himself a diabetes suf- ferer. "I've been going to the gym and I'm quite sporty, so I know how to handle it. But this is a dif- ferent sport so it will be a big challenge," he said. Jon and the other other two, Ed Oram, of Paynes Lane, Loose,


and Jake Davison, from Rolvenden, have been taking advice from their PE teacher Ollie Rogers, who did the marathon cycle ride last year. The lads have already raised £2,200 from a party they organ-


ised at the town's Babylon Live Lounge, where owner Kirit Ve- lani allowed them to use the club at a minimum rate. More funds are expected from a bumper raffle. Anyone wishing to donate online should visit http://chari- tyjogle2011.blogspot.com/


6 South


into community settings, closer to home, puts our new trust in a very exciting posi- tion. “Wewill now have more autonomy to de- termine our own destiny,which ensureswe are well placed to continue to improve our services. “Our aspiration will be to become one of


the best NHS organisations in the country and to deliver the highest quality of care possible.”


Weald position for Chris


CHRIS Sturdy, owner of Headcorn- based building services company CS Solutions, has been elected chairman of TheWealden Business Group. The group is a networking organ- isation of local business profes- sionals who meet each week at The Little Silver Hotel, Tenterden. Chris founded his company three years ago, after 22 years in the Royal En- gineers, during which he saw serv- ice in The Falklands, Cyprus, Kuwait, Northern Ireland and Bosnia.


Drink-driving ban DOMINIC Jon Knight (35), of Fore- mans Barn Road, Hunton, pleaded guilty to drink-driving in a Renault Megane along Heath Road, Cox- heath. He was stopped and gave a breath


test of 65 mg of alcohol in 100 ml of breath. The legal limit is 35mg. He was disqualified from driving


for 17 months, fined £450 and or- dered to pay costs of £85.


Trees reduced LOCAL borough Cllr John Wilson was given permission to crown-re- duce by 30% two trees - a silver birch and weeping willow - at his home in Lower Road, East Farleigh.


New equestrian


holiday units MAIDSTONE Council has granted planning permis- sion for the conversion of existing equestrian build- ings into two units for hol- iday accommodation at Duckhurst Farm, Clapper Lane, Staplehurst. The accommodation would be for users of the Duckhurst Farm Show Centre, which provides equestrian training for children. “This is for eight to 10 children at a time,” said the design statement.


Five Staplehurst garages get go-ahead PLANNING permission was granted to build five garages on land between Bathurst Road and Fletcher Road, Staplehurst.


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