downsmail.co.uk MalMalling Editionling Edition


Maidstone & Malling’s No. 1 newspaper


August 2017 Women’s teams take to the crease


HISTORY has been made at Town Malling Cricket Club with the formation of a women’s sec- tion.


Based at the club in Norman


Road, West Malling, the TMCC Swans and the Pens (pictured here with mascots) played for the first time in a women’s soft ball tournament at Farningham. The Swans reached the final, only to lose by just three runs. Coach Anna Tunnicliff, who


also runs TMCC's All Stars and under 9s, said: "This is just the beginning aswe look to develop women and girls cricket.”


Health changes to ease hospital load


MASSIVE changes to improve health care and ease pressure on hospitals are on theway for Maidstone, Malling andWest Kent.


Faced with challenges of an in- creasing and ageing population, the budget-holding GP-led NHS West Kent Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) says primary health care is “extremely fragile in some areas”. Akey change will seeGPpractices


scaled up to work in clusters or fed- erations (four clusters have been formed by GPs for Maidstone Cen- tral, East Maidstone, Weald and Malling) with many providing a muchwider range of treatments and services. In addition, local care hubs could


be based in larger buildings to de- liver a range of services that do not need a hospital setting but serve a population bigger than GP clusters.


By Dennis Fowle Surveys and consultationsshowed


the public supports hubs - main con- cerns were about time and distance to travel, especially by public trans- port. The CCG wants to close gaps in services with poor outcomes, espe- cially for long-term conditions and frailty. Local hospitals are not al- ways best to care for the frail, but services outside hospital are not al- ways able to cope. Every day more than 1,000 people are in Kent hospi- tals who could be elsewhere if serv- iceswere available. TheCCGis particularly concerned


about cancer care – late diagnosis in particular – and access to services and poor outcomes for the mentally ill.


TheCCGsays the local care model


also needs to: Educate the population to moni- tor, improve and manage their own health and promote self-care; Co-ordinate and integrate health and social care services; Provide an easy access service – an alternative toA&E attendance; Provide short-term care on hos- pital discharge for independent liv- ing in own residence; Avoid referrals where possible with easier specialist opinions for GPs;


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maidstone@martinco.com 23 Pudding Lane • Maidstone • Kent


Position mental health staff con- sistently in all care settings to direct and support care for patients. The CCG recognises it has to in- crease capacity in several areas and overcome current high levels of staff vacancies, turnover and skill short- ages. Health special, pages 24 & 25


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FREE No. 244


News Church loo burned


Vandals leave village without a public toilet 3


Our beautiful Tansy


Family pays tribute after their daughter’s tragic death in New York


5 Litter contract ends


A CONTROVERSIAL contract with Maidstone’s litter wardens has ceased 17


Lane ‘chaos’ - MP


HERMITAGE Lane works to ease congestion will cause “utter chaos”, says MP


18


Obituaries Comment


30 32


Parish Councils 40-41 Crime Reports 41


LOCKS were glued on a shed in Eccles; a house was broken into in Leybourne; someone smashed the windscreen of a parked vehicle in East Malling; a pedal cycle was taken from a bike rack in Larkfield; items were stolen from the trailer of a parked lorry in Snodland.


Town Talk alk


A SNODLAND couple say they are fed up with crumbling road surfaces, damaged kerbs and weed-infested footpaths in their neighbourhood and have started a campaign for improvements – see Town Talk in this month’s Downs Mail. The bi-monthly independ- ent magazine is dedicated to Snodland and Halling residents.


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