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downsmail.co.uk Kims’ £15m loss in first year


Delays in signing up to the NHS “Choose and Book” service (now known as eReferral) and the failure of consultant surgeons to fully commit to the ground-breaking new hospital, off M20 Junction 7 nearWeavering, meant incomewas lower than anticipated, forcing the board to restructure and re-finance. Accounts for the hospital, which opened in April 2014, reveal that al- though Kims had a turnover of £8.76m in its first year, it ended the year with a shortfall of £15.22m. Existing lenders put an addi-


tional £2m into the project, while a four-year “rent holiday” was granted under the property lease to help ease cash flows. Directors realised the hospital


was facing difficulties in November 2014 and brought in a new man- agement team to run the hospital. On its advice, the board was


forced to restructure or face run- ning out of funds by December


Devil rides


into town By Dennis Fowle


EASTWICK was not ready for the raunchy antics of the Devil and three witches. Was Maidstone?Answers will vary widely.


Maidstone Amateur Oper-


atic Society, with a proud tra- dition of bringing popular musicals and light opera to the town, bravely staged the 2000 American show, The Witches of Eastwick, which tells of the impact of the ram- pant Devil arriving in a small town and especially on three attractive but frustrated ladies. Their antics and lan- guage left little to the imagi- nation. It gave a large cast a chance


to enjoy a very lively show and the dance and choral scenes were colourful high- lights. The lasting memory, though, is confident perform- ances and voices of the three witches (Lili Westlake, Kathryn Norman and Christina Whitehead) and the power of Ben Smyth as a very unlikeable Devil. The mix of contrived Amer-


ican accents and some strident music did not always make listening and understanding easy. The society is promising us


Sweet Charity on April 3-8, 2017.


26 Malling April 2016


MAIDSTONE’S newest private hospital, the Kent Institute of Medicine and Surgery, made a £15m loss in its first year of operation. 2015.


Measures implemented to pull


Kims back from the brink included the issue of new share capital, which raised £7.8m and the con- version of £33.7m of loans into eq- uity share capital. Founding directors Steven Bern-


stein, Franz Dickmann and his son James Dickmann all resigned while Peter Goddard was appointed ex- ecutive chairman, Simon Rust fi- nance director and Simon James chief executive. Their end-of-year report reveals


the original business plan was for the hospital to generate high value, high complexity patient procedures but the initial take-up was lower than anticipated. Thiswas partly due to the hospi-


tal missing the deadline to tender for NHS work and instead having to rely on sporadic referrals. “Uncertainty of NHS work streams led to the number of con-


sultant surgeons fully transferring across to Kims being lower than ex- pected, with a consequent impact on revenue,” it adds. During the year, more than 1,600


private and 1,200 NHS patients were treated at Kims, but only 12% of the beds and 20% of the operat- ing theatre capacitywere used. Since registering with the eRefer-


ral service, whichwent live on Sep- tember 1, there has been a significant increase in the number of active consultants at the hospital and the first CQC inspection, car- ried out in September last year,was extremely positive. Chief executive Simon James concludes: “The company has had a challenging year in performance. This led to the need for significant additional funding and highlighted the need for a more appropriate sustainable capital structure. “With the restructuring in De- cember 2015, the directors are con-


fident that the company has suffi- cient appropriate funding.” Kims took two years to build and


cost more than £100m. It boasts some of the best hi-tech equipment and consultants in the country and has since carried out a number of ground-breaking procedures, in- cluding open heart and keyhole heart surgery. Speaking in October last year, Mr


James said: “I have never seen a healthcare company make money in its first year. It’s a business that has to be resource-led, as you have to recruit staff before you can take in patients.” He believes the hospital can


break even in its third year – still sooner than the accepted norm of five to seven years for a private hos- pital. He said: “It will be hard work,


but it is achievable. We have had great support from the consultants, which is really good.”


Volunteers plea to boost profile of river


VOLUNTEERS are needed to help turn the Maidstone stretch of the Medway into a tourist attraction. The Maidstone River Park was one of a lasting legacy of projects, funded partly by the National Lot- tery to celebrate the Millennium and comprises a 10km walk along the river, from Teston Country Park to Allington. The idea of raising the profile of


the river Medway in Maidstone and the activities centred around it was a key part of the council’s destina- tion management plan (DMP). Now, a group of individuals has


taken up the reins and set up a trust, but they need more practical help. The Maidstone River Park Trust is


a volunteer community group, but the trustees hope to establish a community interest company to support its activities longer term.


Chairman Ian Tucker said: “Our aim is to make the river an attrac- tion in its own right and an impor- tant part of the visitor experience in Maidstone.” Volunteers from the trust will work closely with the Environment Agency, Kent County Council, Maid- stone Council and others to main- tain and promote “the borough’s greatest natural asset”, according to Mr Tucker.


The Environment Agency has of-


fered to clean up the section of the river between Teston and Allington Lock and the group is now looking for community support for a five- day clean-up along the banks be- tween Lockmeadow and Whatman Park.


The River Park Project has already been allocated £1m from Maid- stone Council to create a cycle path the length of the river, linking Barm- ing and Allington, which will include a cycle hub at Lockmeadow. The Medway Valley Countryside


Partnership, which is dedicated to environmental conservation in Maidstone and Malling, will also play a part in the project. Anyone who would like to get in-


volved can contact the group via the website or email info@maidstoner- iverpark.co.uk.


School’swartime life recorded Tax phone scam


THE former head of Maidstone Girls’ Grammar is looking for memories from former pupils for a book she is writing about the school during the war.


Mary Smith (right) has been asked by the


school to compile the book, using wartime illus- trations painted by former art teacher Miss Keen. Mrs Smith said: “If you think you may be able


to help, even if your knowledge of the time seems insignificant to you, please get in touch.” Email central@mggs.org, marking your subject for the attention of Mary Smith.


For more local news www.downsmail.co.uk


TONBRIDGE and Malling Council is warning residents to be wary of unsolicited emails urging them to set up a direct debit to pay their council tax online. The warning comes after a resi- dent said they had had an email from someone claiming to work for the borough council. The fraudster asked the resident to click on a link to pay their council tax online. Sharon Shelton, the council’s di- rector of finance and transforma- tion, said: “Our officers never email or telephone residents to ask them to confirm their bank details.”


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