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downsmail.co.uk Local GPs ‘to retain power’
FURTHER planned changes in strategic control of the localNHS has raised concerns regarding pa- tient services in theGP-led budget-holdingNHSWestKentClinicalCommissioningGroup (CCG).
These local commissioning
groups took over nationwide al- most five years ago, in April 2013, fromprimary care trusts and eight now serve Kent (West Kent, Dart- ford, Gravesham& Swanley,Med- way, Swale, Canterbury&Coastal, Ashford, Thanet and South Kent Coast). The appointed commissioners
are allGPs practising in their areas, supported by teams of officers. In west Kent, there have been 12
GP commissioners on the group’s governing body, but these have re- cently been reduced to seven to match the number of newGP clus- ters now formed in this area. Those elected are: Dr Garry Singh (Maidstone Central), Dr Tony Jones (Malling), Dr Andrew Rox- burgh (Sevenoaks), Dr Nick Cheales (Tonbridge), Dr Bob Bowes (Tunbridge Wells), Dr An- drewCameron (Weald),Dr Stefano Santini (Maidstone Wide). Dr David Chesover will hold his seat ex-officio and continue as clinical lead formental health. Now, a newrole of area strategic
commissioner forKent andMedway isbeingestablishedwiththe full sup- port ofNHSWestKentCCG. It will start working in shadow
form from April 1, for 12 months, during which time decisions will be taken about what will be commis- sioned locally bywestKent commis- sioners and what will be done at scale across the county. Dr Bob Bowes, chairman of NHS
West Kent CCG since its inception, has assured the group that it will
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Computerman goes back to its roots
We are excited to announce Computerman has now moved to Unit 9, Spectrum Business Estate in Parkwood Industrial Estate. Some of our existing customers may remember we used to trade from this exact same unit some 14 years ago and now we’ve got it back. We completely renovated the premises which now comprises of open plan office space, customer waiting area and workshop. There is an ample
TRAVELLERS have moved back onto a popular park in Larkfield for the second time in six months. The families - in five caravans -
retain “its statutory accountability and the proposed arrangementwas only for a transitional phase”. He reiterated the importance of
Kent and Medway groups work- ing together. He also gave assurances that pa-
tient and local care would not be compromised and remained a key focus forWest Kent CCG. Maidstone area GPDr Singh has
expressed concerns that local key voices could potentially be un- heard beyond April, 2019. The current proposals have
not yet addressed this issue and Dr Bowes explained it was pos- sible for the CCG to influence this process.
An assurance has been given to
the group that it would still be re- sponsible for “total control”.
The emergence of an area
strategic commissioner comes at the same time as all clinical com- missioning groups in Kent are working closely on a sustainabil- ity and transformation plan for the future of health and social care in the county. A key thrust is more care in or closer to home with less dependence on hospi- tals.
The CCG is encouraging local GPs to make robust use of an in- vigorated “quality inbox” to raise any concerns.
150 foreign GPs destined for Kent
THE serious shortage of local NHS staff, including GPs, is in- creasingly evident in reports to the GP-led West Kent Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG). Kent has been approved to re-
cruit 150 international GPs for the area. Interviews have started and west Kent will receive an agreed percentage. A bid has also been made to set
up a medical school and the group has been informed this “would have a significant im- pact” for the new GP clusters with regards student placements. Some see west Kent as having a
geographical advantage for re- cruitment because of its proxim- ity to Europe and London
12 Maidstone East April 2018
(“currently saturated”). The GP shortage is causing
concerns about the impact on the existing workforce trying to cover the shortfalls and the pro- posed local care plan requiring seven-day working by practices. There have been previous re-
ports about the extent of vacan- cies in local hospitals and in the ambulance service. Shortages are increasingly evi-
dent elsewhere, including in mental health. Kent and Medway Partnership Trust in-patient units have a vacancy rate of 35%. Both Maidstone Community Mental Health and West Kent Crisis Res- olution Home Treatment Service have a rate of 17%. Many patients
complain of lack of a care plan and do not know what their treat- ment and options are.
New staff can add to problems while they are in training. This is a major reason for an increase in serious incidents (including pa- tient trips and falls) within the hospital trust, where the quar- terly figures have jumped from 27 in Q1 of 2016-17 to 54 in Q3 of 2017-18.
The local ambulance service (SECAmb), still in special meas- ures, is not helped by a report which says only 32% of staff rec- ommend it as a place to work and only 75% recommend care pro- vided by the trust.
A lile more
cash to spend GOVERNMENT funds for CCGs (including West Kent) are to in- crease by £1.4bn in 2018/19 aimed at “realistic levels of emergency ac- tivity”; additional elective activity to tackle waiting lists; adherence to mental health standards; transfor- mation commitments for cancer services and primary care. West Kent expects to have almost
£8m extra to deploy on top of the current year’s budget of £627.14m.
Need to improve
ALBION Place Medical Practice, Maidstone, remains in special measures and the CCG works closely with it to improve.
Cancer care trend
AN improvement of 7.22% to al- most 81% of patients starting can- cer treatment within 62 days of urgent GP referral has been achieved by increasing capacity – a trend expected to be sustained.
Care home liaison
ALMOST 50 of 71 care homes in west Kent are now covered by a new strategy of liaison and care by local GP practices. The CCG expresses concern for
seven homes where nearby prac- tices are unwilling to sign up at this stage and suggests “positive expe- rience by other practices may help in this process of persuasion”.
6
Celebrating over 25 years of continuous trading
pulled on to Gighill Green in Lunsford Lane on Sunday October ,, releasing dogs on the popular public open space and setting up washing lines within hours. It is un- derstood the fami- lies in- volv ed have been offering tree felling services to residents in the area. Parish council chairman David Thornewell says more has to be done to stop the travelling com- munity running circles around the police and local councils. He says the job ofmoving on trav-
ellers for a second time will run into thousands of pounds The last inci- dent, in early summer, costing the parish council £1,200, with the trav-
Anotherincursion at Larkfield park
car park and our premises are conveniently located in the popular Parkwood Industrial estate with easy access from Maidstone town and surrounding areas.
ellers simply moving on to take up temporary residence elsewhere in the area. He said: “They just seem to be
doing the rounds. These incidents have affectedWest Malling, forcing the closure of the village hall, and Leybourne, and now they are back in Larkfield. The police told resi- dents that this was a civil trespass when they reported it and that they couldn’t do anything and obviously the council offices were closed be- cause it was the weekend. These travellers know and play the sys- tem.” The council’s legal team served an eviction notice but it took aweek to enforce. Cllr Thornewell held talks with Laddingford Engineering in an effort to increase security further on the public land, near the M20. Valdemar Kalinin (pictured), of
the National Gypsy-Traveller-Roma Council said recently that local councils must provide designated traveller sites or “tolerated zone” which gypsy convoys can move onto. He said: “It comes down to racial prejudice against this com- munity.”
With our constantly expanding client base we are looking to grow our team this year, but with the clear objective to maintain our personal and friendly customer support.
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At Computerman we provide a broad spectre of services for both businesses and home users such as: virus and spyware removal, repairs and upgrades, data backup and recovery, network installation and setup, VoIP, IT Support, web design and development and many more.
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‘Spooktacular’ at the farm
For a small yearly fee, we provide regular health checks for all your devices and centrally monitored antivirus.
MAKE the most of the October half-term holiday at Kent Life Heritage Farm Park’s Halloween Spooktacular in Maidstone. Brave kids are invited to the vintage village to knock on doors and
discover who – or what – is lurking behind them from October 21-31. The award-winning attraction at Sandling, near Maidstone, has a few
other tricks up its sleeve to turn its usual exhibits into frightening farmhouses and horrifying homes. Youngsters can try pumpkin carving, dressing up and the Ugly Bug Ball. On October 25, there will be more spooky goings-on with Kent Life
01622 677677
support@computermanuk.com www.computermanuk.com
After Dark, This event includes a spine-chilling tour suitable for under-eights from
5-6pm and, for older visitors, from 7-8pm. If you would like to know more about any of the above, call 01622 763936.
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