Football day falls foul of traffic laws
Patients’ needs put first Continued from page 1
use the park and ride facil- ity.”
The council offered Mote
Park as an alternative venue, but Mr Benton said while this might solve the parking problem, it would be more difficult to police. He added: “I am not knocking the council. Every- one has to be so careful of meeting all the health and safety requirements.” The Penenden Heath Festi-
val had been due to take place on July 15. Previous years’ events have raised £6,000 for club funds. Mr Benton said he was hopeful the festival could be resurrected in future years. A Maidstone Council spokesman said: “This is a traffic issue. Last year there was traffic chaos when roads were blocked by indiscrimi- nate and unregulated park- ing. This caused severe problems for local people and would have made it dif- ficult for emergency vehicles to get through. “Sadly, the club could not
get enough stewards to con- trol parking or direct cars to the Park and Ride site.”
THE patient and the family will come first at Kent’s newest hos- pital, clinicians have pledged. At a ceremony to mark the
start of work on the £83m Kent Institute of Medicine and Sur- gery, consultant cardiologist Dr Phyllis Holt said: “We believe it is unacceptable for any patient to wait for treatment. Long waits for outpatient appoint- ments, investigation and treat- ment are unacceptable. The concept (of KIMS) is patient and family first.We believe thiswill help KIMS provide high quality care with the best possible out- come.” Dr Holt, who thanked Maid-
stone Borough Council for their support,was among several pri- vate and corporate investors at the ceremony on the seven-acre site at Bearsted, as well as local authority representatives. The hospital will provide 81
beds, in single en-suite rooms, as well as 20 day care beds. There will be five main operat- ing theatres and the latest diag- nostic equipment. KIMS has been located in a natural dip to minimise impact on the environment and will be environmentally-friendly, using rainwater harvesting to support the hospital and a wildlife area and pond which will act as a buffer between the buildings and the surrounding woodland.
and personal guarantees to- wards the remainder. As part of the funding agree-
Phyllis Holt with Paul Abrahams of Vinci Construction, Cllrs Malcolm Greer, Chris Garland and mayor Rodd Nelson-Gracie
There will be landscaping and planting, providing gardens, woodland and orchards for pa- tients and their visitors. Clydesdale Bank is providing
the initial £34 million of fund- ing for the project, with about 100 clinicians providing cash
ment, Clydesdale Bank has se- cured naming rights to the hospital’s education building which will extend for 15 years. Stuart Trussler, director of corporate banking at Clydesdale Bank said: “KIMS will be an im- portant and significant addition to Kent’s medical landscape.We are delighted to be providing fi- nancial backing for the project and that our name will be asso- ciatedwith the education centre on site.” Clinical director Dr Chris
Thom said: “The development of a state-of-the-art tertiary care hospital in Kent will put the county on the medical map.” Up to 25% of its capacity will be available for NHS treatments.
‘We all face cost for healthcare’
AN annual fee to cover basic GP healthcare could soon be on the cards, according to one of the pioneers of KIMS. Franz Dickmann, acting chief executive, said the NHSwas no longer af-
fordable, due to advances inmedicine and its escalating cost. Hesaid: “NoEuropean nation will beable to afford theNHSas it is,know-
ing that there will be an expanding ageing population.We need to recog- nise thatsomeof ourassets will need tobe employed towardshealthcare.” Hesaid the strategy theGovernmentwas pursuing,while itmight be un-
palatable, was realistic, and said: “We need to prepare ourselves to con- tribute more to theNHS and the cost of healthcare.We have to acceptwe might have to pay an annual fee to GPs to cover basic healthcare costs. “The foundermembersofKIMSrecognise the reality of the situation and are creating an independent holistic care unit, responding to the NHS.”
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