News
New heart treatment has ‘saved my life’
A YALDING man has been given a new lease of life, thanks to a revolu- tionary new treatment for heart failure.
Richard Reach (59), of the Little
Venice marina, Hampstead Lane, had advanced heart failure when the procedure was carried out at King’s College Hospital in London. MrReach had a heart attack at the beginning of last year and, on ad- mission to King’s, was found to have two blocked heart vessels. Heunderwent surgery to unblock
the vessels but his heart muscles were severely impaired and the valves leaking, meaning further surgery was necessary. Conven- tional treatments, such as open- heart surgery and pacemaker inser- tion,were deemed too high-risk. The cardiac team at King’s was granted permission from the Medi- cines and Healthcare Products Reg- ulatory Agency to use a Mitra-SpacerTM device, a balloon shaped instrument the size of a small chilli pepper, whichwas suc- cessfully inserted via keyhole sur- gery in June 2015.
Prof OlafWendler and Richard Reach His condition improved signifi-
cantly and, by November,MrReach was deemed strong enough to have conventional surgery. The device was removed and a regular valve replacement opera- tion was performed. Mr Reach is now recoveringwell at home. The cardiac team at King’s was
the first in the world to use the new device to improve the strength of the heart valve. Olaf Wendler, professor of car-
diac surgery at King’s, who led the team treating Mr Reach, said: “This new treatment gives new hope for patients with advanced heart fail- ure. Open-heart surgery is a very invasive procedure and not always suitable for very unwell patients. “This device can remain in the pa-
tient indefinitely or it can be used to strengthen the valve so that the heart has time to recover before un- dergoing further surgery.” Mr Reach said: “Iwas in hospital
for more than three months follow- ing my heart attack and spent sev- eralweeks in the critical care unit. I needed regular dialysis and felt very weak. Just as it seemed the medical team had run out of op- tions Professor Wendler suggested the new treatment. “Now I’m walking around and feeling better each day. What the team has done for me is nothing short of a miracle. I owe my life to them.”
Care home ‘warm and friendly’
INSPECTORS from the Care Quality Commission who visited Eastfield, a care home for older people, found it to be welcoming, warm and homely. The service at the home in Sit- tingbourne Road, Maidstone was judged to be good in all areas. Inspectors noted a positive and friendly atmosphere. Staff were committed to providing individu- alised care and were open to new ways of caring for people with de-
School club
THE Safe Hands after school club is moving in to the Cardwell Pavilion in Hollingbourne. It comes as good news following
the closure of the after school club run by Michelle Archer last month, amid concerns about the future use of the pavilion in Greenway Court Road. It is intended that the new club
will meet daily in term time and will be operated by Mel Lawlee. Mel has 10 years’ experience of
child care and is Ofsted registered. She can be contacted on 07958 521517.
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24 Maidstone East March 2016
mentia, which benefited everyone. The registered manager sup-
ported the staff, making sure they were able to share ideas or con- cerns. It was said to be a happy place to work and the positive atti- tude was picked up by the people theywere caring for. Privacy and dignity was pro-
tected and staff received training to ensure they had the skills and un- derstanding to work with people with dementia.
Food was said to be excellent,
home cooked and to a large extent, locally sourced. Food and drink in- take was monitored and when there were concerns they were acted on quickly. Service users, their families and external agencieswere complimen- tary about the care provided. Ac- tivities were an important part of the daily routine and were de- signed to appeal to different inter- ests or abilities.
Trees to help cut pollution
TWO dozen trees have been planted at one of Maidstone’s pollution hotspots to create a blaze of colour and improve air quality. LibDemCllr Brian Clark used funds fromhis devolved budget to buy and
plant 24 trees on Sutton Road, near the Wheatsheaf junction, acknowl- edged as one of the town’s worst loca- tions for fume-fuelled air pollution. Cllr Clark worked
with county council officers to choose a varied selection of trees including birch, rowan, hornbeam and hawthorn. He said: “These will
downsmail.co.uk Call for action
on road noise CALLS for a quieter life are being made to Government by those liv- ing off the M20 between Holling- bourne and Harrietsham. It follows confirmation from
roads minister Andrew Jones that while the Government remains committed to resurfacing the mo- torway with a noise-reducing ma- terial between junctions 7 and 8, it will not include the section be- tween junction 8 and 9. MPHelen Whately has now writ-
ten to the Parliamentary Under Sec- retary asking him to reconsider. She said: “Residents in Harriet-
sham and Hollingbourne have told me how noise fromHGVs thunder- ing down the M20 is blighting their lives, and it’s getting worse every year as freight traffic increases.” The Government intends only to “retexture” the road between Hollingbourne and Ashford, which would improve safety, but not af- fect noise levels. In a letter to the roads minister,
Mrs Whately has called for the noise-reduction scheme to be ex- tended to include the section from junction 8 and 9. She said: “Just like with Opera-
tion Stack, people have been put- ting up with this for years, and it’s time to get it sorted out.” The roadworks are part of a na-
tional £15.2bn investment sched- uled to take place between 2017 and 2019, subject to the availability of funding.
MP asks for
KCC landscape officers Aubrey Furner, Lucy Lee, Cllr Brian Clark and contractorWayne Francis
reduce pollution and add colour along the A274 corridor in verges which had until recently been under threat of removal.” The trees are on verges between Mangravet Avenue and Maidstone cemetery, which were at risk of being removed to create a bus lane.
longer trains MALLING MP Tom Tugendhat MBE has called on the rail minister to increase the capacity on the Maidstone East Line, following complaints from irate constituents. He has written to Claire Perry asking her to push for extra car- riages on the Southeastern services passing through the town when the Government makes its decision this spring. The Government is proposing to increase the number of carriages on some Southeastern train services. Mr Tugendhat said the increased capacity was badly needed and said: “All too often as the service approaches London Victoria many commuters are standing. Further- more, it is not uncommon for pas- sengers to have an intolerable commute home – with many stand- ing as far as Bromley South and sometimes beyond. “I often receive complaints from residents in Borough Green, West Malling, Kings Hill and surround- ing villages about this. That’swhy I have called upon the rail minister to act. I hope they will listen to our concerns and increase capacity on this congested line.”
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