Hospital complaints rise Teachers’ fears


THE number of hospital com- plaints to Maidstone and Tun- bridge Wells NHS Trust has increased since the new hospi- tal opened at Pembury. The board heard management


was focusing on the backlog and quality of responses. Chairman Tony Jones told the board itwas a long-standing issue requiring resolution. Chief executive Glenn Dou-


glas told the board meeting that the hospitalmove represented a huge effort by staff with training and orientation for all. He felt,


A FORMER Marden doctor, now living in Canada, flew in to join more than 60 patients and guests at a celebration evening for Mar- denMedical Centre. Dr Lisa Brettingham joined past


and present members of staff, as well as the Friends of Marden Medical Centre, to celebrate the unveiling of a new extension and refurbishment project. The Patient Representative


Group, local guests and patients who have connections with the building were also invited to see the work, financed entirely by the current GP partners. LauraCox, fromtheMardenHis-


tory Group, spokeabout the role of the doctors in the village over the


in hindsight, the trust could have done more. The new Pembury A&E was


much bigger than at the old Kent & Sussex Hospital. The first month went well, but is- sues arose as attendances in- creased. He felt the trust was late recognising the signs and should have acted earlier. It was these issues that led to an offi- cial warning by the Care Qual- ity Commission. Mr Douglas also reported


there was no pressure from management to take patients off


waiting lists for operations. The trust’s primary interest was the safety andwellbeing of patients. The trust was paid for work it


did and had no incentive to take patients off lists. The primary care trusts did


have to allocate finite resources and patients were removed from lists where there was no clinical necessity for opera- tions. Comments are welcome on the MASH (Maidstone Action for Services in Hospital) website at www.mashmaidstone.co.uk


Doc flies in for celebration at medical centre


for curriculum TEACHERS from Cornwallis Academy fear some subjectswill disappear from the curriculum as new ones are introduced. Design technology and reli-


gious studies are under threat, according to student magazine The Vibe, as ICT and modern languages are seen as increas- ingly important. Head of RE at Cornwallis,


Paul Sheehan, said: “Learning to be accepting of people’s di- versity is really important.” The magazine also said the importance of gaining ICT qual- ifications was growing, pushing out design technology (DT). Cornwallis DT teacher Miss


Wood said the subject “gives students the chance to think outside the box.”


years and about the Hop Pickers’ Hospital, which stood on the site of the building, in Church Green. Other speakers included retired


GP Dr John Oakley, who oversaw the building of the centre in 1985. Practice manager David Shaw


said: “The doctors and staff feel positive about the future of the


surgery, and the recent extension and refurbishment guarantees its future as a training practice, as well as allowing expansion of the list.”


Pictured above are doctors past


and present, from left: Doctors Streeter, Potter, Morgan, Estall, Oakley and Brettingham.


Caravan storage ROB Schroeder has been given permission to store 10 extra car- avans at The Finches Touring Caravan and Camping Park in Chartway Street, Kingswood. He was previously given planning permission for 20 car- avan and 20 tent pitches.


Beer festival at pub AUGUST Bank Holiday will see the first real ale festival at the Good Intent,West Farleigh. There will be more than a


dozen guest ales at the event on the weekend of August 25-27.


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