Hospital A&E targets missed


PRESSURES on accident and emergency led toMaidstone and Tunbridge Wells hospital trust missing the national four-hour A&E target from December until late April. But significant im- provements have now been made. A report to the trust board in- dicated local hospitals suffered from countrywide problems of demand increasing due to win- ter pressures and there was a growth in ambulance con- veyances. In addition, weaknesses in the


newNHS 111 telephone system, with many unable to get a re- sponse, have led to an increase in patients self-presenting to hospital A&E. The board has introduced a


plan in liaison with new West Kent GP-led clinical commis- sioning group (CCG) aimed at


Chamber may


find new home KENT Invicta Chamber of Com- merce could be moving from its Maidstone home at the historic Archbishop’s Palace Gate- house. The local office of the cham-


ber – which now covers thema- jority of Kent, having absorbed the old Maidstone chamber and, more recently, Thames Gateway – has been based at the Gatehouse in Mill Street for almost seven years. Although the chamber has no immediate plans to vacate the Gatehouse, officers are looking at other possible sites in the town as part of its future strate- gic plan. Chief executive Jo James ex- plained that export documenta- tion was currently undertaken at the Maidstone office but a large proportion of the customers now come from the Medway area, since the chamber took over Thames Gateway. She added: “The Gatehouse


is a great building and a good location. I am however looking more strategically at where we should be positioned as we now cover a much wider area.” But she stressed the chamber would not be leaving the county town. “Maidstone is a key location for us,” she said.


Pub boosts fund A PUB fun day raised almost £200 for the establishment’s own charity. Visitors to The White Horse


in Otham enjoyed entertain- ment from singer Richard Headingley, met two pet goats who live in the village and took part in a pram race. The day was held in aid of the White Horse Charity, which supports children with learning disabili- ties and special educational needs.


Lime trees remain protected


MAIDSTONE Council has underlined its determination to retain the lime trees in Lenham’s historic square. Last summer the borough placed a tree preservation order on seven


limesafter refusing conservation area consent from businessownerPaul King to remove the trees. He said they were damaging the foundations of the former Lime Tree


restaurantandtheneighbouringCornerHouse,whichcontains10shops. The TPO expired on January 31 this year, and the council has now re-


newed the order and included in it an additional lime on the site it had overlooked,making a total of eight trees nowbeing protected.


To contact Downs Mail just phone 01622 630330


meeting targets in the second quarter (April, May, June) of the year. This includes extra invest- ment in doctors and nurses working in A&E. A GP also works in A&E de- partments at both hospitals to help ensure emergency referrals from other GPs are directed to the most appropriate service. The trust hit target in the last


week of April and improve- ments continued in May. This


Maidstone review


THE trust board also heard that a major strategic review and devel- opment programme was under- way at Maidstone Hospital. New endoscopy and urology investiga- tion units were due to open in June. Work starts on new admis- sion and discharge lounges this summer.


led to the CCG praising in late May the trust’s A&Edepartments on recent improvements in wait- ing times which saw 98% of pa- tients admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours of arrival. The national shortage of A&E doctors is alsoworrying the trust and problems in filling a senior post in the new emergency am- bulatory unit at Maidstone harms its effectiveness.


Emergency targets


AMBULANCES in Kent have been missing emergency targets. The target for categoryAcalls to arrive in eight minutes is 75% with a lower threshold of 70%. But in April theKent figure fell to 69.56%. Emergencies requiring a 19- minute response were 96.65%, beating targets.


for hospital A NEW building has been pro- posed to house a discharge unit at the front of Maidstone Hos- pital, in Hermitage Lane. A planning application re- quests a building to ease trans- port flow and speed up the process of patient discharge. A supporting statement said:


“The proposed site is located at the front of the hospital and will be placed adjacent to the now redundant helicopter pad. “The unit is within easy reach


of the main wards, stairs and lifts, giving access to the first floor. The external appearance of the unit will be similar to those buildings adjacent – white profiled metal sheeting with a contrasting band, com- plete with flashings and trims all fixed to the building.” Maidstone Council will deter- mine the planning application.


Rural forum a success, thanks to volunteers


MORE than 90 people attended the first Maidstone Rural Older Persons Forum, at Headcorn Vil- lage Hall. Run by Brighter Futures, a serv-


ice of VoluntaryAction Maidstone (VAM) it was designed to interest older people living in villages and more rural areas. Guest speakers included Cllr


Eric Hotson, chairman of Kent County Council; Medway Valley Countryside Partnership; Action with Communities in Rural Kent and Rob Jarman, head of plan- ning,Maidstone BoroughCouncil. The event was funded by Kent County Council’s local schemes grant, and a member community grant from Jenny Whittle, county councillor for Maidstone Rural East. The funds received enabled


Brighter Futures to offer a free lunch, provided by Switch Cafe, and transport to the event. The event was also supported by HeadARA (Headcorn’s Active Re- tirement Association). Danny Hewis, manager at Brighter Futures said: “The popu- larity of the event proves that a forum is something older people want in the rural parts of the bor-


ough, and we hope this event will be the first of several. Certainly we have had excellent feedback. I would also like to highlight the support we had from volunteers, who worked so hard to make it a success.” For details about VAM and


Brighter Futures, forums, or vol- unteering, call 01622 677337 or go to www.vam-online.org.uk


Charity fun run MAIDSTONE’S 5km Big Fun Run takes place atMote Park on Sunday, September 15. Participants will receive a charity running vest or T-shirt, and an information pack. There is also a two for one offer to en- courage participation. Everyone who runs on behalf


of Meningitis UK will be part of the Meningitis Musketeers team with the motto – All 4 One and One 4 All. For information call Emma


King on 0117 303 3345 or email emmaking@meningitisUk.org.


Colourful blooms DAHLIAS and gladioli will be among the colourful blooms on display at Maidstone Horticul- tural Society’s autumn show on Saturday, September 7 from 1.30pm-4.30pm at the Baptist Church Hall in Knightrider Street.


Attractions include cookery,


crafts, fruit and vegetables, as well as floral art.


East 27


New building


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