News


downsmail.co.uk Ops cancelled in beds crisis


THE number of cancelled operations caused by bed shortages at Maidstone Hospital has more than doubled since 2015, a request under freedom of information legislation has revealed. Twelve surgeries were cancelled


in 2015, but this has risen sharply to 31 this year alone. In total, the Freedom of Informa-


tion Act request shows that 58 op- erations in total have been postponed in the past two years. The disturbing revelation by the Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust was made by the Lib- eral Democrat parliamentary can- didate for Maidstone and the Weald Emily Fermor (pictured). She discovered that surgeries cancelled due to bed availability rose from 12 in 2015, to 15 in 2016, and 31 in 2017. This meant an increase of over


50% from 2016, just five months into 2017. Although the trust does not deny


erly grandad who is battling bowel cancer, was left in a corridor in Maidstone Hospital overnight after he had been admitted to A&E. “Despite the tireless hard work


of our NHS staff, he did not get the urgent treatment he needed be- cause there were not enough beds available. “My grandad is not the only one.


the accuracy of the figures, it sought to set the figures in context of treating 100,000 patients in total. Miss Fermor said: “I have expe- rienced first-hand the pain caused to patients and their families of bed shortages in Maidstone Hospital. “In February this year, my eld-


Our Freedom of Information re- quest has revealed that 31 people so far this year had their surgeries cancelled because there were not enough beds available, that’s an in- crease of 50% on the 2016 total. “Urgent funds are needed for Maidstone NHS. We cannot con- tinue asking the system to deliver more and more, without giving it the resources to do so.”


She said her party could aim to redirect a penny in the pound to plug “funding gaps” in the NHS and social care. A Maidstone and Tunbridge


Wells NHS Trust spokesman said: “It is sometimes necessary to post- pone planned procedures during periods of unprecedented demand for emergency care to maintain safe services. “To put this into context, our hospitals carried out over 1,900 more planned procedures, and ad- mitted over 4,400 more patients in an emergency last year than the year before – treating nearly 100,000 patients in total. “We are working with our health


and social care partners to meet people’s changing health needs.”


Izzy’swalk for Parkinson’s cure


Friends’ leap for hospital


TWO friends are doing a sky dive to raise funds for Evelina London Children's Hospital. Kassie Hawkett, of Church Field, Snodland, and Charlotte Kings- bury of Covey Hall Road, Snod- land, will carry out their parachute jump at Headcorn on June 24. Kassie (23), who works at Happy


Feet Day Nursery at Holmesdale School, Snodland did a sky dive last year with window cleaner Bub- bles (Graham Ballard), of Kent Road, Halling, and they raised more than £2,400 for research into cancer.


Charlotte (25) works at Kent County Supplies, and is the daugh- ter and granddaughter of Simon and Bob Kingsbury, who own Clarkes Funeral Service in Snod- land High Street. There will be sponsorship forms


at Snodland Working Men's Club, in Holborough Road, where they hope to hold a fun day to raise money. They can be contacted at www.justgiving.com/fundrais- ing/KassieHawkett-CharlotteK- ingsbury.


20 Malling May 2017


PARKINSON’S sucks – that is the conclusion of a youngster from Snodland whose grandad has the disease. But 11-year-old Izzy King, who is pictured right with her grandad, is determined that her devastating in- troduction to the illness will be put to good use, raising funds for a pos- sible cure. Her heart-wrenching hashtag – #parkinsonssucks – and her deter- mination towalk five miles to fund research into the condition has al- ready seen a flood of donations to her justgiving page, which beat her £500 target in 24 hours. Her aunt Charlotte Nolan, from


Eccles, whose father Robert Barnes was diagnosed with the condition in 2015, said: “Izzy loves her grandad so much, and although she is so young she is aware that currently there is no cure. “She came up with the idea of a sponsored walk to fund more re- search into finding a cure.We’re so proud of her and we’ve been so chuffed to have had so many dona- tions, including one anonymously for £100.” Izzy, who attends Snodland CE Primary School, will walk from


Snodland to the Spitfire pub at Kings Hill, and hopes her grandad will be out of hospital by June 10 to watch her cross the finish line. She will be walking with her


mum Lucy and some of the fam- ily’s 10 dogs, which helped Izzy win the title of Under 12 groom at Crufts last year. Izzy said: “It’s horrible to watch


my grandad suffering every day; he even struggles to put his shoes on now and it’s so sad to see.


Pallet blaze rages all night


FIREFIGHTERS tackled a large "uncontrolled" fire at a commercial unit in Church Road, Offham. They used a JCB digger to make a


fire break as 30 tonnes of wood burned through the night at the site in Church Road. The 999 call was received at about 9pm on Tuesday, May 9, and


fire crews responded within six minutes. A Kent Fire and Rescue Service spokesman said: "Fire crews are using a hose reel and using a JCB to make a fire break, to stop the fire spreading. “The uncontrolled bonfire in-


volves approximately 30 tonnes of pallets and conifers.”


“I want to raise money to fund research to find a cure or make tablets to help slow the disease. It's probably too late to make my grandad better now, but we can still help other people suffering from this horrible disease.” She added: “If grandad is out of hospital he'll come on his scooter and cross the finish line with me.” To support Izzy’s efforts go to www.justgiving.com/fundrais- ing/Izabellaking.


Summer fete FUNfor all the family is prom- ised at Ryarsh School PTA’s summer fete on Saturday, June 10, from 1pm to 3pm. This is a particularly special


event for the school as it is cel- ebrating its 75th anniversary this year.


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