Rotary honours foster care couple


A COUPLE who have fosteredmore than 40 children and hardly taken a holiday in the past 25 years, have been recognised for their dedication. Norman and Doreen Springett, of Sutton


Road, were awarded Paul Harris Fellowships by the Maidstone Riverside Rotary Club. It is one of the highest awards Rotary makes and usually goes to members of particularly long or distinguished service but can also be awarded to community members who fulfil the Rotary ideal of ‘Service above Self’. Norman, the club’s longest serving treasurer, and his wife were described by Rotary as “two of society’s unsung he- roes”. A citation said: “It is a privi-


lege for the club to recognise their dedication.” This year the couple managed


five days away together for the first time inmore than 15 years. Norman’s commitment to Ro-


tary was described as “second to none”.


Doreen and Norman Springett (centre) with Lynn Mitchell, Ro- tary District Governor, and Martin Carter, President ofMaid- stone Riverside Rotary Club


‘Private income will not hit NHS care’


THE local NHS Trust is in the early stages of de- veloping plans for a private patient facility at Maidstone Hospital. Trust chief executive Glenn Douglas insisted


that it would not undermine NHS patient serv- ices. He said: “I can absolutely say that a facility of


this nature will have no impact at all on NHS services and patients who use them. “NHS patients remain our priority. A facility of


this kind will provide us with additional income to invest in our priority - NHS care for NHS pa- tients.” Mr Douglas, who haswritten to GPs to “assure”


them, said the scheme is in its infancy. The Trust has not yet identified a space inside


or outside Maidstone Hospital, but there is the po- tential for both. Mr Douglas added: “We have the option of a


new build or using facilities and space within the hospital that is not required to treat NHS pa-


Hospital news update


A&E ‘safe’ THE board meeting of the hos- pital trust assured the Downs Mail there are no plans to run down Maidstone A&E. New fears arose when A&E lost about 10% of patients as the new Pembury Hospital fully opened in September. The trust believes this will settle at about 4%(about six patients a day) now trauma surgery and inpatient children go to Pem- bury. It says ambulance crews increasingly take patients to Maidstone who should be treated there. “Pembury A&E is too busy for Maidstone’s work,” the trust says.


Private concerns INCREASING private patient work will ‘not harm our NHS work,’ says the trust. “It will bring important revenue to help improve NHS services.” About 30 single rooms at the


22 East


new Pembury Hospital have been reallocated to private work. But the Downs Mail hears reports of bed shortages and serious delays.


Birthing boost AFTER a quiet start about 40 births were booked for the new midwife-led birthing unit at Maidstone Hospital for No- vember. It will be officially opened on December 16.


Survey result THE trust says 89% of pa- tients surveyed at the new Pembury Hospital were ‘highly satisfied.’


Car parking relief ALL extra car parking at Pem- bury Hospital should be ready by Christmas.


Surgery expansion A NEW centre of expertise for complex pre-planned surgery


tients.” The Trust said it has released ward space by re- ducing patients’ length of stay through efficien- cies and improved care. Mr Douglas added: “The spare capacity can be


put to good use to earn income and improve NHS patient care.” The Trust has already opened a private patient


unit in its new TunbridgeWells Hospital at Pem- bury. It could raise as much as £1m in its first year and up to £4m a year when established. Thiswill help contribute to the costs of the new hospital and a national savings programme that is seeing hospital trusts nationally now making 4%- 5% efficiency savings year on year. Mr Douglas said: “While we can strive to do


even better with every pound we have for patient care, growing our business to help meet these na- tional cost improvements and improve NHS pa- tient care at the same time is a good thing.”


by Dennis Fowle


has been created at Maidstone Hospital “and is expanding the range of procedures its highly-skilled surgeons can provide”.


Temporary clinic TRANSFER of the early preg- nancy assessment clinic from Maidstone Hospital to Pem- bury is “temporary”, says the trust. “We work with consultants


and GPs to look at how we can continue to maintain high standards of care.” The clinic runs for two hours a day at Maidstone. It was promised to remain at Maidstone in the maternity consultation period.


PFI support THE trust hopes to receive ‘exceptional external financial support’ for the £1.5m a month it must pay to the PFI providers of the new hospital at Pembury.


Aspokesman said: “His attention to detail


and timeliness has bought accolades for his accounts and financial acumen on more than one occasion. “In addition to his role as treasurer, Nor-


man works tirelessly behind the scenes for every club function, giving up a lot of his spare time.” Doreen’s fellowship award was in recognition of her unstinting support for Norman and for her foster care work. The spokesman added: “For


25 years they have demon- strated the patience, commit- ment and passion to look after in excess of 40 foster children of different ages, temperaments and race.” Also on the awards night, Ro-


tary District Governor Lynn Mitchell – its first female DG – spoke about her involvement in the Cambria Trust, which has re- stored a Thames sailing barge for sail training and educational purposes. Lynn is particularly keen on working with young carers and the maiden post-restoration voyage of Cambria included a group from the local Crossroads Care, sponsored by the Maid- stone Riverside club.


Out-of-hours


surgeries axed THE LEN Valley Practice, which operates out of Lenham and Harrietsham, has cancelled out-of-hours surgeries due to funding cuts. Since 2008, the practice


had been running additional surgeries between 7am-8am on Mondays, and 6.30pm- 8pm on Fridays. These have been stopped, but it is still able to continue its early morning (8am) phlebotomy (blood test) service. The practice’s autumn newsletter stated: “What we have done in recent months is offer more appointments during normal hours – 8.30am to 6pm – and have in- creased our triage service. “This means that when all


of our appointments have been booked for the day, pa- tient details can be put on our triage list and a doctor will call to discuss the prob- lem and can offer an appoint- ment for that day if necessary.”


Hi Kent clinics


until Christmas HI Kent, the county’s charity for deaf and hard of hearing people, will be running free hearing aid clinics in the Vol- unteer Shop at 314 Dukes Walk, The Mall, Maidstone (the corner shop next to the ice cream stall) until Christ- mas.


Clinics are taking place on Mondays (from 10am to 12 noon) and Thursdays (2pm to 4pm).


Information will also be available on volunteering op- portunities with the charity.


Have you got news for us? Phone our News Desk on 01622 734735


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