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Safety fears over hospital parking


COUNCILLORS voiced fears over the secu- rity of staff as planning permission was granted for a car park extension at Maid- stone Hospital. The planning committee accepted a pro-


posal to add 146 spaces, to be used by em- ployees, on land to the north-west of the hospital, in Hermitage Lane. Cllr Jenni Paterson, amember of the com- mittee, said: “From a woman’s point of view this is a very remote area. It is backed by woodland and a public footpath.” Despite plenty of lighting planned for the


car park, this was also one of the concerns of committee member Cllr Tony Harwood, who said: “This application is not popular with the end users. I know staff are not


Come to festive fair


THE Blackthorn Trust is holding its Christ- mas festival on Sunday, December 15. The festival, which was the culmination


of a week of Christmas festivities, will be held at the Trust headquarters in St An- drew’s Road, Barming, starting at 7.30pm and everyone is invited to join the celebra- tions. The trust, which helps people with com-


plex mental and depressive illnesses, is sell- ing two designs of Christmas cards to raise funds.


Proceeds of the festival will supplement


those raised at a girls’ night in shopping evening and Christmas craft and food fair, held on December 7. The Friends of Blackthorn Charity Shop


has also re-opened, in the grounds of the Blackthorn Trust garden, in a new portable building donated by the Gallagher Group.


happy to walk all the way to the new car park at the far end of the site when they are on a night shift. “The problem is that it encroaches into structural landscaping from when the hos- pital was first built, yet it is just a stop-gap measure that does not address patient and visitor parking, which is a big issue.” Cllr Harwood felt a better solution would


be to create decked parking that would in- crease capacity while causing less environ- mental harm. Public objectors included St Andrew’s


Road Residents Association over potential increases in traffic andMrsWoodward over environmental concerns. It was pointed out that there was a need


A MAIDSTONE GP has taken early retire- ment to fight for the future of the nation’s health service. Dr Paul Hobday


(57), from Loose Road, has been a GP for 30 years, work- ing at the Sutton Va- lence Surgery in South Lane. However, recent changes in the NHS have caused him to quit and he now plans to fight against the govern- ment changes which he fears could destroy the core values upon which the NHS was founded in 1948. Primary Care Trusts were replaced by GP


for the parking extension. Cllr Stephen Paine, a member of the committee, said: “Staff tell me they desperately need parking spaces. At the moment staff pay £50 per year for a permit but don’t get a space. Neighbours say their roads are busy during the day with hospital parkers.” Cllr Richard Lusty, chairman of the com- mittee, said: “We do have a problem in our boroughwith the number of people parking outside people’s homes all day. I have great sympathy with what the hospital is doing and it is very important that the security of staff is taken care of.” The committee voted to accept the scheme with eight votes in favour, three against and one abstention.


Doctor leaves post to fight for NHS


Clinical Commissioning Groups in April, putting the budgetary burden upon local practices – something many did not want. Dr Hobday believes GPs have been set up


as the fall guys and will get the blamewhen things go wrong. Although the decision-making is suppos-


edly down to the CCGs, DrHobday said GPs would find their hands were tied and criti- cal decisions could be overruled. Dr Hobday is keen to see the health serv-


ice once more become “free, universal and comprehensive” and says he will stand as a candidate for the National Health Action Party at next year’s election if he receives enough local support. During his time at the Sutton Valence Sur-


gery, Dr Hobday has cared for four genera- tions of families – in some cases caring for the babies of babies he helped to deliver.


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