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downsmail.co.uk Village hall rocks to new beat
WILLIAMWilberforce must be spinning in his grave. Although this evangelical Angli-
can, whose activities led to the abo- lition of the slave trade, is just as likely to be rocking in the aisles at the goings-on in rural Kent. The one-time MP for his native
Yorkshirewas no stranger to Teston and the Farleighs and it was his son, Henry, who was responsible for the building of the Old School Hall in East Farleigh. Sold off by the church in 2011
amid fears for its future, the hall hasn’t seen quite as much action in a long time. While it has been home to the vil-
lage pre-school and Brownies for many years, the old school walls now bounce to the beat of Zumba, pulse to the pressure of Pilates, squeeze to the sound of Kettle Bridge Concertinas and shake, rat- tle and roll to everything from 50s swing, to blues, jazz and the rhythm of Samba! Fears the Old School Hall might
be lost to the community went out of the window when Gary Hindley and his partner Mandy Howard stepped in to buy the building at the end of 2011. Villagerswere horrified when the diocese decided it could no longer afford the costly upkeep of the hall and put it up for sale. Led by the parish council, they clubbed together to try and buy the
hall, afraid a sale to a third party would mean the loss of the village amenity. At the time, parish council chair-
man Glyn Charlton said: “I can't believe that somebody is going to invest in that hall and allow the community to still use it. There is no profit in it. The whole thing is odd." But, with previous experience running community halls in Brenchley and Marden, Gary knew there was plenty of life left in the old school hall yet. And, as a member of a blues
band – The Blues Brothers’ Little Brother – as well as a compulsive antiques collector, Gary had lots of ideas for the future of the Farleigh hall.
Although his masterplan of “liv-
ing above the shop” has not yet quite come to fruition – Gary and Mandy have been renting the old headmaster’s house next door until now – there has been a veritable re- vival of fun in this former rock solid seat of learning. The hall hosts the monthly farm-
ers’ markets, regular vintage and antique fairs – indulging one of Gary’s many passions – and now, the village samba band, an offshoot of Maidstone’s Bloco Fogo, of which both Gary and Mandy are members.
Critical hospital report ‘poor quality’
THE damning report on Maidstone Hospital issued by the Care Qual- ity Commission (CQC) has now come under attack by the NHS West Kent Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), led by local GPs. The report had already been strongly criticised by KCC and Maidstone Borough Cllr Dan Daley, who is closely associated with local health bodies, and Den- nis Fowle, chairman of Maidstone Action for Services in Hospital (MASH). They felt the report lacked qual-
ity and did not fairly reflect the standards in Maidstone Hospital. NowtheCCGhas taken theCQC
to task through NHS England on two key points: The CQC was concerned there was not a consultant obstetrician present when a woman attending A&E (for a non-maternity matter) gave birth. The CCG says this fails to recog-
nise that the Maidstone site does not have a consultant-led maternity
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service, nor that midwives from the midwife-led birthing unit sup- ported the mother in giving birth. Itwas not reasonable for theCQC
to expect all sites with an A&E to have a consultant-led maternity service as this would not be sup- ported by best practice models of care for maternity services. The CQC also said there was not always a consultant paediatri- cian on site at Maidstone. TheCCG said this again conflicted with the services model for children’s serv- ices that has been implemented by Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust across its sites. This service model was designed to meet best practice models for chil- dren’s services. Mr Fowle, who raised the issue at
a CCG meeting, said: “The CQC has a great responsibility to ensure its reports are fair and accurate and do not unfairly damage confidence in local NHS services. “I have always felt this was a poor quality report.”
Maidstone South October 2014
Gary Hindley and Mandy Howard, owners of East Farleigh’s Old School Hall, left
Home plans are agreed
GARY Hindley and Mandy Howard have won planning per- mission to convert the upper floor of the hall into an open-plan apart- ment with mezzanine bedroom. Although the many functions
just about cover costs, the couple have been investing their own money to improve facilities. Living above the hall will allow them to continue to run the hall for com- munity use without paying rent for another property. The upper floor of thehall is con- sidered unsustainable for lettings because it has no means of escape and the staircase has multiple turns. But it would provide a spec- tacular apartment, with far-reach-
Respiratory help
A CONSULTANT-LED respira- tory service team for managing high-risk chronic obstructive pul- monary disease is being planned by West Kent Clinical Commis- sioning Group (CCG) for delivery by Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells Hospital Trust. This is expected to help patients
with long-term respiratory condi- tions reduce unplanned hospital admissions by 20% and ensure prevention programmes includ- ing smoking cessation, healthy exercise andweight loss.
Children’s A&E
WEST KentCCGisworking with the hospital trust on national rec- ommendations for paediatric pathways in A&E to ensure stan- dards are being met. Consultant cover was criticised in a CQC re- port.
Special needs care
AGROUP of experts is reporting nationally on how to provide health and care for patients with learning difficulties to reduce re- liance on hospital care.
ing views north and south. The hall was built in 1846 as a re-
sult of a public subscription raised by the Rev HenryWilberforce for a school. The second floor was added in about 1866. Although the schoolmovedto its present location inVicarage Lane in 1930, the hall was put to use when the new one burned down in 1953. Thenewbrick-built school was fin- ished in 1956. Grade II listed, it is a typicalVic-
torian Gothic building, with rag- stone walls and mullion windows. Rev HenryWilberforce would no
doubt be delighted to see the build- ing alive and thriving more than 160 years on.
Stroke changes
MAIDSTONE and Tunbridge Wells Hospital Trust has “recog- nised that the current stroke serv- ice does not provide best care for patients in a consistent manner.” There is a “case for change” and possible redesign of the service offered at both trust hospitals.
Falls prevention
THEfalls prevention team at local hospitals is working on an im- proved strategy. Recent invest- ment includes low-rise beds, alarm mats and non-slip socks.
Transport beer
THE patient transport service provided by NSL Transport lo- cally is seen as “generally im- proved” since November but further improvements were needed to make it more reliable. Main complaints still concern delay in providing transport.
Positive response
PEOPLE are now seen as receiv- ing “positive care” fromNHS111 after its problematic start – but with room still for improvement.
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