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999 chief quits over delays
THE head of the South East’s am- bulance service has quit following revelations that services were in- tentionally delayed. Chairman Tony Thorne’s resig-
nation comes shortly after the chief executive Paul Sutton went on “mutually agreed” leave of absence from his post. The South East Coast Ambulance Service (SECAmb) NHS Founda- tion Trust was investigated after it admitted delaying sending help for certain 111 calls during a pilot proj- ect, transferring them instead to 999, which earned them a low pri- ority and gave the ambulances an extra 10 minutes to respond. The health regulator Monitor
said the trust had not fully consid- ered patient safety. Mr Sutton said the trust had
wanted to make sure the most ill patients were responded to promptly. However, he did ac- knowledge that it had not acted in
the right way. Under NHS rules, calls desig-
nated as life-threatening are sup- posed to receive an ambulance response within eight minutes. The calls affectedwere in the sec-
ond most serious category – Cate- gory A Red 2 – which covers conditions such as strokes or fits but which are less critical than where people are non-responsive. One national newspaper has claimed the practice was responsi- ble for at least 11 deaths – some- thing refuted by SECAmb. An independent review has said
there were fundamental failings in the pilot scheme. Katherine Murphy, chief execu-
tive of the Patient Association, said: “Any decision that downgrades ur- gent category ambulance calls in order to massage performance tar- gets is deplorable and undermines the confidence that the public places in NHS leaders.”
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News Cricket club aims for top
A MANAGEMENT structure aimed to make The Mote the best cricket club in Kent was pre- sented to the annual meeting. The club now have seven man- agement groups: cricket (led by club captain Alex Fordham); ground (HowardWaters working with new groundsman Chris Dale); finance and strategy (new treasurer Paul Heynes); develop- ment (Dennis Fowle); community engagement and membership (Laurence Waters); house (John Fuggle); and social and fund rais- ing (Nick Aldridge). The aim is to offer “enjoyable
cricket for all, providing a thriv- ing membership, with the best playing and pavilion facilities,
while running a 1st XI able to reg- ularly challenge for the Kent League premier title”. The Mote, with four Saturday
teams, as well as Sunday and midweek sides, plus an expand- ing colts section, are looking for promotion from division one to the premier division of the Kent League after missing out at the final game last season. Chairman GlenAukett said the
£4m development plan, to in- clude a large new pavilion, was on hold while the club negotiated with Maidstone Rugby Club over playing space. Rugby’s current lease expires on May 31. Anyone interested in playing for the club can call 07725 418305.
Cash for maternity services
MAIDSTONE and Tunbridge WellsNHSTrust (MTW) has been awarded £16,000 as part of a drive to make the NHS one of the safest places in the world to have a baby. The money will be spent on sim- ulation equipment to train mid- wives, doctors and ambulance staff in a range of labour and birth scenarios to ensure they are confi- dent and skilled in dealing with all situations they might en- counter.
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The training will also allow healthcare staff to have confidence to support women in their choice of where to give birth to their baby – whether at home, in hospital, or in a birthing centre. Applications for funding, from a
pot of more than £2 million, were considered by the Department of Health and representatives from the Royal College of Midwives and the Royal College of Obstetri- cians and Gynaecologists.
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