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downsmail.co.uk Village bypass ‘15 years away’


THE long-awaited Leeds-Langley bypass, linking theA20 and A274 south of Maidstone, has hit yet another delay, with a suggestion that it might not be built until after 2031.


Although councillors have pledged to seek funding for a relief road to take traffic away from the two villages and ease congestion on Sutton Road andWillington Street, it could be another 15 years before the wheels are set in motion. Maidstone Council’s draft inte-


grated transport strategy suggests it could be feasible to build such a relief road in south-eastMaidstone – but only after 2031. Areport to the town’s policy and resources committee said: “Kent County Council will establish the justification for and delivery of such a project. “It is considered, that although further assessment is required, de- livery of such a project may be fea-


sible post-2031.” The council is in the final stages


of putting together its local plan for development up until 2031 – of which the relief road is not a part. The first review of the plan will


not take place until 2022, when it might be considered for inclusion. Kent County Council leader Paul


Carter told a recent meeting of the town’s Joint Transportation Board that he was hoping to find new ways of obtaining funding for the relief road – expected to cost more than £50m. The idea is to press ahead with a feasibility study to “develop the jus- tification for a relief road to allow testing with other strategic trans- port options, develop a preferred


route and identify sources of fund- ing to promote development of the road at the earliest opportunity.” But Maidstone Council leader


Fran Wilson said there was still much work to be done before a road could be incorporated as a policy. She said traffic modelling would


need to be carried out, aswell as re- search into the environmental im- pact, and a full cost analysis completed before any decisions could be taken. “The borough council will work


with the county council to identify the potential, as well as possible timescales for such a scheme at the first review of the Maidstone Bor- ough Local Plan in 2022 and deter-


Awards for hospital workers


HOSPITAL staff at Maidstone and TunbridgeWells have been praised for “going the extra mile”. Staff Starawardswere presented


to almost 30 team members follow- ing a poll of patients, visitors and colleagues. Prizes were presented by the


trust’s chief executive Glenn Dou- glas, chairman Tony Jones and ac- tress Cheryl Fergison, who played Heather Trott in EastEnders. Winners included the League of Friends (right), who won a special recognition award


Winter peaks Trust efficiency plan


WEST KentCCGis working with the emergency care intensive sup- port team to improve flow, safety and effectiveness of urgent and emergency care as winter sets in. The CCG said: “The risk of


overcrowding in the two hospitals and emergency departments is high and this can have a profound and detrimental impact on patient outcomes and both patient and staff experience.” The priority is to increase ca-


pacity in the two hospitals by re- ducing length of stay for inpatients, providing additional ambulatory care function and in- creasing bed capacity. The report added: “Staff be-


come weary of working in a state of constant escalation and an en- vironment of potential risk to pa- tients.”


Staff boost STOCKETT Lane Surgery in Cox- heath says taking on two full-time pharmacists has had a positive impact on running the practice.


32 Maidstone East January 2016


FINANCIAL challenges affecting local health services were high- lighted at a meeting of the GP-led NHS West Kent Clinical Commis- sioning Group. The group, which currently has


an annual budget of about £500m, is investigating how to save about £20m (4%) in 2016/17.An allocation from the Chancellor of the Exche- quer’s increased NHS budget in his Autumn Statement would reduce the level of cuts. However, the group has identi-


fied a £60m deficit in theWest Kent health economy by 2018 if nothing is done, and it fears additional pres- sures from an ageing population make that figure look optimistic. The group said: “Efficient deliv-


ery is vital ifwe are to catch up and deliver on our current financial commitment and to avoid long-term decay of health services in West Kent.” It calls for bold decisions in applying limited resources most ef- fectively. Although many factors are cur-


rently unknown, the meeting was told the scale of challenge was con- siderable and would require strong leadership and resolve from clini- cians and managers across the whole West Kent health system. Providers are to be alerted “so as not to shock”. The group is concerned that pres-


sures on the national social care budget will continue to affect NHS services, especially relating to un- availability of hospital beds, because patients cannot be satisfactorily dis- charged. The group says the health and social care systems need to come together in a different way and take responsibility for theirown contributions. One suggestion put to the meet-


ing is that the 2016/17 contract with the Maidstone and TunbridgeWells Hospital Trust should specify a re- duced level of elective activity, which would reduce the number of operations for such as knee and hip replacements. This is not CCG pol- icy.


mine then whether the project should move forward as a specific local plan policy,” says the report. Leeds Parish Council has now launched an e-petition calling for urgent action. It says: “Maidstone South and South East including Leeds, Langley, Otham, Broom- field, Kingswood and Sutton Va- lence, are suffering from high traffic volumes and gridlock. “This problem is already des-


tined to become worse by virtue of existing and future development being earmarked for this part of Maidstone. Kent County Council must give priority to the relief road and work with local partners to find the external funding necessary to build it.”


Patient care


plans online MORE than 1,000 individual per- sonal care plans, previously re- stricted to GPs surgeries, are now available on theWest Kent comput- erised management system. The patient information is now


available to complex care nurses and adult social care, and West Kent NHS Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) hopes to extend this to such services as mental health, hos- pital teams, care homes, urgent care services, intensive support teams, acute pharmacists, hospices and the ambulance service. The information, available on a se-


cure data network, informs ap- proved professionals of patients’ care plans, enabling urgent assess- ment of problems and needs. Patients must authorise transfer of


this data to the system and profes- sionals require patient authority to access it on every occasion, unless it is not possible in an emergency.


Food for thought MAIDSTONE and TunbridgeWells NHS Trust says it has identified an increase in complaints in nutrition and hydration. It is auditing notes and observations of meal times.


111 call failures QUALITYof theNHS111 telephone service provided by South East Coast Ambulance Service is causing increased concerns. Call-answering in 60 seconds per- formed at 79.2% (target 95%) in Sep- tember with a decline evident since April. Call-back times were slower than at any time sinceAugust 2014. TheCCGwas told therewas a short- age of clinical advisers.


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