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Fears for ambulance service MailMarks
NOTtoo long ago I had so much
confidence in our ambulance service. Itwas a reliable emergency service operated mostly by wonderful paramedics and drivers. I had confidence a 999 call would bring a
very fast response, usually within a few minutes. If I had towait a lile longer at times for aGP visit or a hospital appointment it did not seem to maer that much – provided top prioritywas given all round to real emergencies. But changes in the ambulance service in
the past few years – especially the closures of so many local ambulance stations – increasingly worried me and now my confidence is running very thin. The latest report to the NHSWest Kent Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) says: “SECAmb ambulance response times for CategoryA(eight minutes) show a concerning deterioration below target and strong downward trend through the year.” Just imagine the impact on patients and
their loved ones when things are going seriously wrong during life-threatening events.We know seconds count for heart aacks and strokes, let alone those incurring serious injuries. How can relatives be expected to answer a long list of telephone questions when they suspect a dear one is dying in front of them? It does not end there. I hear of sportsmen suffering serious injuries and left in great pain on the side of a field for an hour or more. It may not be life threatening, but
Too many new homes
Dear Sir – Having aended numerous meetings with Maidstone Council planning officers accompanied by parish councillors from both Otham and Downswood, I am exasperated that the planners for Maidstone have ignored representations to remove or reduce the two housing sites, for 190 houses and 440 houses, in Otham. Their inclusion will be in addition to the
700 homes being built north of the Suon Road and those at Langley Park opposite. I amvery concerned that planning officers
are consistently ignoring evidence on a number of issues. They are aware of a serious lack of primary school places throughout Maidstone. There is a plan for a primary school at Langley Park, but what appears not to have been considered is that the construction of 700 homes is underway north of the Suon Road (A274) and in Otham, with many others at Langley Park. I called all schools within a five-mile
radius of Otham and therewere fewer than 20 places available. Aschool at Langley Park will not safely be accessible from the surrounding villages on foot or bicycle. There is no public transport.
Contact our team ...
Stephen Eighteen Editor
stephen@downsmail.co.uk 01622 734735 ext 231
30 Maidstone South March 2015 Diane Nicholls
Assistant editor
diane@downsmail.co.uk 01622 734735 ext 232
Jane Shotliff Journalist
jane@downsmail.co.uk 01622 734735 ext 233
Dawn Kingsford Journalist
dawn@downsmail.co.uk 01622 734735 ext 233
DENNISFOWLE President
dfowle2011@aol.com
they do need urgent aention. I hear of an elderly lady suffering a serious fall in Maidstone and having to wait for the nearest free ambulance to arrive from the Dover area. The driver needed directions to the hospital. Therewere almost 300 complaints to SECAmb in the first six months of last year and the most popular reasonswere poor staff aitude;waiting time for the ambulance; ambulance dispatch refused; crew communication inappropriate or below the expected standard; staff lacked care/compassion orwere unsympathetic. Staff turnover remains above 12% and
vacancy rates top
10%.Asurvey sadly shows half the staff would not now recommend SECAmb as a place to work. I appreciate recent high pressure on hospitalA&E departments seriously affects the ambulance service with vehicles and staff out of commission whilewaiting for admissions, but SECAmb’s problems go much deeper than that. I often find myself defending what I consider to be a very high quality service provided by most hospitals and GPs. Their problems are caused largely by the NHS’s popularity and demand. I amsurprised the
It will only be accessible by car, adding further congestion at peak times on the Suon Road, particularly at the Wheatsheaf traffic lights and in the country lanes in and around Otham. Gore Court Road, Church Road, White
Horse Lane and Otham Lane are already congested and are unfit for the rat-running that is taking place as people try to avoid the traffic congestion onWillington Street. Otham is in a rural area; the village is a conservation area and a heritage asset, it has 28 listed buildings, 167 houses and a population of 393. The tick box marking of “no objection” on planning applications by statutory consultees, in my opinion, needs to be more carefully scrutinised and challenged. The over-development of Otham is a negligent act that will ruin one of the most beautiful parts of the borough of Maidstone. Once our green fields are gone, they are gone forever. When the public consultation takes place, I
urge the people of Maidstone to evaluate the consultation and make their strongest representations known to Maidstone. Cllr Gordon Newton, Independent councillor for Downswood and Otham
ambulance service has not faced much stronger public criticism. There is a real and growing problem here. I made SECAmb aware of these views and they asked that I note changes for the beer. They say they have more locations to respond from, vehicles are beer maintained, cleaned and stocked – so freeing up crews’ time to treat patients. They claim to employ more frontline staff than ever and continue to recruit to meet rising demand.
Private – no problem IHAVE no problem with the NHS
carefully selecting some services it considers can be beer and economically provided by the private sector. Iwatch the GP-ledWest Kent CCG
decide which services can be commissioned outside the NHS, carefully evaluate applicants and regularly monitor the work. If there are problems, providers are required to react very quickly at risk of losing the
contract.Mydesire is to see a high-quality NHS the country can afford, and if responsible private businesses can play an appropriate part that makes good sense to me. Mybelief is the vast majority of people
hold the NHS in very high regard and dismiss electioneering scare stories.We all want to depend on it so much – but this popularity comes at a vast cost increasingly difficult for us to meet.
Less talk –more action
Dear Sir –My Downs Mail has just arrived. The local news makes enjoyable reading, but I have to comment on the proposed plan to ease traffic flow in the town. How much more of this traffic flow chaer arewe to get from Maidstone councillors? I’m old enough to remember a scheme to bring a road from the Wheatsheaf area in Suon Road through South Park and The Quarry down in to Tovil Road, over the river and railway to join up with the London Road (A20). Thenwe come to the next bright idea – to
widen Stone Street making two lanes, to take all heavy traffic away from Sheals Crescent. Nowwe have another proposal – a £5.7m scheme which will mean Chatham-bound drivers can avoid the river bridge. Please note – it might start in 2016 with completion sometime in 2017, so do not get excited. My advice is: stop spending our money
on silly ornaments doed around the town, like the one that started off at the top of the High Street. It now stands on the river bank close to the bridge – a sorry sight. Alan Lawrence, Church Road, Tovil
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