News
999 chief quits over delays
THE head of the South East’s am- bulance service has quit after rev- elations that services were intentionally 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 re- sponded to promptly.However, he did acknowledge 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 claimed
the practice was responsible for at least 11 deaths – something refuted by SECAmb. An independent re- view says 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 to massage performance targets is de- plorable.”
SERVICE users are asked to set out their experiences of the service ahead of an inspection by the Care Quality Commission on May 3. Inspectors will be visiting emer-
gency operations centres and inter- viewing ambulance staff, aswell as talking to other organisations with whom the trust collaborates. To give your views, go to
www.cqc.org.uk/syesecoastamb or email
enquiries@cqc.org.uk.
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,
downsmail.co.uk Cricket club aims for top
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.
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.
Vote Sandher for Kent Police &
Crime Commissioner on 5 May 2016
“ Your Independent local candidate standing up for the people of Kent keeping party politics out of policing.”
10 Malling April 2016
www.sandherforpcc.org SandherForPCC SandherForPCC
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48