Concern for our ambulance service MailMarks


IN the drama of an emergency,


the most reassuring sound is an ambulance siren. But if you live in the Maidstone area, you do not hear that sound too well if it starts in Dover, Ashford or Sitting- bourne. Rarely were complaints made


about the local ambulance service. Butnowreaders are regularly com- plaining about very long delays and some ambulance drivers with little or no idea where they are going. Local ambulances used to be based mainly


in the Maidstone area and we became used to very fast responses for just about every emergency. Butnowthere is amuch-changed service and, as with so many NHS changes, they are not good news for patients. Call takers have to determine the level of response (what a tough job that is, with often distressed relatives at the end of the line). Theymust decide if it is life-threatening and, if so, Government targets have been set for 75% responses in eight minutes and 95% in 19 minutes. If not, the target is 30 or 60min- utes, depending on clinical need. The service says some ambulances are still


based in and around Maidstone – but they are often called from well outside, and the nearest available can often be as far away as Dover. It all went very wrong for a Maidstone


DENNIS FOWLE - President Kent Campaigning Journalist of the Year 2001 email: dfowle2011@aol.com


mother in labour, who needed an urgent transfer from Maidstone birthingunit toPem- bury hospital. She has now received a pro- fuse apology from the service for a delay she says was 55 minutes, with the Dover driver having no idea of the geography of hospitals at Maidstone and Pembury. Her story is the worst so far, but I feel for


the Maidstone woman who, after a bad fall, had a long wait at Springfield for an ambu- lance from Sittingbourne, and the rugby player with a dislocated shoulder who suf- fered a mass of delays while in severe pain before treatment finally came at Pembury. Priority must be given to life-threatening conditions, but what of the extended pain and anxiety of others? It looks like another step to a ThirdWorld service.


Still conservative 


LETTERS TO THE EDITOR


New shop is a bad idea Dear Sir – Iwas interested to read about the application for planning permission for the local snooker club to open a mini market (Town, May). I was equally amused to read that “resi-


dents were very happy” when it was previ- ously open. That was not the case, especially for those of us who either had to use the footway or drive on the road past the premises. There are double yellow lines there, which means no parking from the boundary one side to the boundary on the other, in- cluding the footway. The poor person un- loading stock had no option but to park outside for deliveries etc. but often chose to park on the footway. There is some discretion given for load-


ing, but none for the customers. If there is a stream of customers at peak times, even if each vehicle stops on the lines for two min- utes, all of those two minutes add up to a constant obstruction. It was a nightmare. I hope common sense prevails here and the planning application is refused. I amsure the applicant can come up with another idea. Besides, the commu- nity here is already well served by a corner shop at Lesley Place; he is open from 7.30am until 9pm.


Diana Simmonds, by email Store refused – see page 8


Fat’s an unkind description Dear Sir – I was disgusted to read in the Downs Mail (Town, April) Beat the Crimi- nals section that one person was described as fat (the lady that stole the yellow cone). I don’t think it is fair to call anybody fat, regardless of them stealing a cone. This is a horrible way to talk about another human. Lacey Hamilton, St Catherine’s Road, Maidstone


Editor’s note – The word “fat” was used in 36 Town POLITICALLY,Maidstone continues to be


very conservative, with both a capital and lower case “c”. The rest of the country can swing all over the place, but in Maidstone the


parties just continue to swapthe odd seat here and there. This time the Conservatives started


with amajority of five over otherpar- ties – and ended with a majority of five. That will be reassuring for them when the Coalition was taking a bat- tering and national and local fi- nances are so worrying. Maidstone’s hard-working Lib-


Dems were disappointed to lose two seats – and Labour were delighted to have a coun- cillor at last. The Tories will feel that if they can hold tight in such testing times then con- servative Maidstone will give them more than the next two assured years to plan ahead with confidence. Good local government needs this time for longer-term strategies, no matter what the party in power.


GOING to the cinema in Maidstone re- Very black story


calls thoughts of the BlackHole of Calcutta. I was surprised we were left alone to enter a very dark studio, especially as the screen was blank and the show had not started. It was tough enough seeing the seats, let


alone finding those with our numbers. I watched others struggling; someone even brought a torch. I questioned staff after- wards and was told there was not enough demand on a quiet evening like Monday. I thought there was plenty for theirmost im- portant service to clients.


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the crime report to identify the suspect. It would not be our standard practice to de- scribe a named person in this manner, but it was used on this occasion to alert witnesses.


Camera is the best solution Dear Sir – Reading the letters referring to parking and speeding traffic in Tudor Av- enue prompts me to comment on the sub- ject of traffic calming measures. Two of the writers advocate speed limits


and chicanes to curb speeding, but I doubt these measures will be as effective as they expect. I live in Castle Road, Allington, and shortly after the estate was built at the bot- tom of Castle Road the increased traffic was such that traffic islands and chicanes were installed,with bollards lining the chicanes. Far from calming the speedsters, the traf-


fic islands make no difference whatsoever, and the chicanes in fact present a challenge to some drivers to see how fast they can swerve around them. I’ve lost count of the number of bollards that have been knocked over by large lorries that bounce straight over the chicanes. I guess the only deterrent would possibly be a camera. Laurie Debona, Castle Road, Allington


Parking ticket pettiness Dear Sir – Iwas in the car park at Maidstone Market recently and could barely believe my eyes. A parking attendant was squatting down alongside a silver Ford Focus, parked in a disabled bay, looking all around and underneath, before she slapped a ticket on the car and walked off. The car was displaying its blue badge but


was parked slightly over the white lines. However, the lines were so faint, they were barely discernible. The car wasn’t causing any problems and


there were other vacant spaces. I don’t know if it was the driver or the passenger of the car who was disabled, but


I think the warden’s actions were appalling. I would like to draw other people’s atten-


tion to just how petty the parking attendants can be so they can be on their guard. Instead of charging this person, the council would have been better employed re-painting the white lines more clearly. Fred Hadler,Worcester Road, Shepway


Geoff Kitson, transport and parking services manager for Maidstone Council, said: “We introduced this penalty a few years ago in response to complaints from customers. If a vehicle parks outside the white lines, it im- pedes on the adjacent bay and on other road users. As in all parking matters, the driver has the right of appeal and can set out any mitigating circumstances. If the lines were badly marked, we would take that into consideration.” A full list of parking penalties is listed at www.patrol-uk.info


New library disappointing Dear Sir – What has happened to the first class library service thatMaidstone once en- joyed in the superb Springfield reference li- brary and the Faith Street lending library? If you thought they would be replicated n the recently-opened Heritage Centre Com- plex, you will be gravely disappointed. The new library is an open-plan hi-tech


shed with no separation of function at all. Computer use is well catered for, but for


those who require a dedicated area where they can spread their papers on plain tables, consult their books and study and write in peace, there is no provision– a major failing for any reputable library. A further cause for concern is the placing


of a children’s play area in the middle of the library, highly visible and audible to all. Early learning for children is admirable


and desirable, but the shrieks and yells of uncontrolled children racing around the book stacks is neither. G French, Marion Crescent, Maidstone


To contact Downs Mail just phone 01622 630330


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