downsmail.co.uk THE big cancer unit atMaidstone


Hospital has been held in very high esteemacross Kent formany years – but worries nowgrow, aftermonths of serious failures inmeeting national targets for assessing and treating patients. Mostworrying isMaidstone and


TunbridgeWellsHospital Trust’s performance against the national target of 85%for 62-day cancer treatment. In the light of the accepted urgency formost of these treatments, the trust’s record is very concerning for the sevenmonths to the year end inApril. Theywere: 81.25% (month 6), 79.10%, 73.68%, 80.90%, 75.49%, 69.70%and 76.03%. Average for the complete yearwas 76.59%. The performance for two-week cancer


waits isworrying too. This concerns all suspected cancers and the national target is 93%for urgent GP referrals to be seen within twoweeks of the referral date. The trust’s percentageswere: 89.77 (month 6) followed by 88.51, 89.35, 88.40, 85.70, 89.80 and 84.41 (April/May). The year average was 87.99%. Areport for February andMarch


showed 12 patientswaited longer than 102 days – themajority of themon the urology cancers pathway; 14 breacheswere due to the complexity of the disease and investigations; 10were lack of capacity or delays by the trust; 10werewaiting for palliative treatment, eight for surgery and twowere down to patient choice. The hospital trustmakes statements that


this long run of badly-missed targets is not seriously impacting on health and lives and “no patient harmhas arisen”. Iwish I could share this confidence for about 2,000 who are currently on the hospital cancer pathway. If a patient, near loved-ones and a GP believe there is a strong case for a


Terman insult to readers


IHAVE been a reader of theDownsMail formany years and enjoy both its content and editorial. Iwas however, disappointed to readDennis Fowle’sMailMarks in the July edition. Dennis has regularlymade his point


about Brexit – fair enough,we are all entitled to do that.However, in using the awful and insulting term“remoaners”, he does a disservice to themany readers in the DownsMailwho do not share his view. His rant about the current state of affairs


would be best directed at thosemembers of the Conservative partywho promoted Brexit before the referendum, but then backed away fromthe leadershipwhen the process ideally needed to bemanaged by a Brexiteer. It remains the case thatMrsMay’s


position is relatively safe because no one elsewants the role at this time. Some ConservativeMPs are trying to ensure that democracy prevails, giving theHouse of


46 Maidstone East August 2018


Fears growover cancer delays MailMarks


DENNISFOWLE President dennisfowle28@gmail.com


consultant referral, then twoweeks can be a long time towait.More than one in 10 locally nowhave towait even longer. Themostworrying situation is the delay


for treatment. TheNHS target of 62 days for cancer treatment can seema lifetime for those stricken by this awful disease and locally at least, one in five have to wait even longer.Mostwillwant this treatment as quickly as possible, but only thosewho can afford private care can be sure of this urgency. I knowconsultants aremostly caring


andwant tomeet patientwishes, but too often pressures and the systemare stacked against them. Missed targets in our local hospitals


have brought great national pressure on both the hospital trust and the budget- holding GP-ledWest Kent Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG). Both have suffered “required improvement” ratings fromthe national CareQuality Commission, partly because of this factor (the CCG has nowregained its “good” status and it seems the trust nowmoves in the right directions). The CCGworks closelywith the trust to try to hit targets again. What are the key pressures on the trust


causing this long run ofmissed targets? There are several:  TheMaidstone cancer unit serves the majority of patients fromWest Kent area and also takes patients fromneighbouring areas of the county.As this population grows at great pace, this is another key


Commons a final say on the deal, not fighting the principle of Brexit. Fair play to them. This is a highly complexma�er that


should have been be�er planned and executed,with an outline process for leaving the EUset out prior to the referendum. Significant time has been lost through government infighting andmuch of the current confusion and fudge is down tomismanagement and huge egos. DavidHall, Bearsted


Give us a real Brexit


IHAVE become increasingly concerned that politicianswill not ensure the real Brexit themajority ofMaidstone people voted for in the referendumand I am heartened byDennis Fowle’s comments (MailMarks). Somany friends are depressed by the


serious deterioration in the quality of local life due to over population and over development, and these are key reasons for


area of our vital infrastructure needing more national support. Under-staffing levels in theNHS have beenwell documented and this unit is no exception. There are the funds – but not enough staff available to recruit.  Body scanning by sophisticated equipment is a key to cancer investigations and there is pressure on scanners and qualified staff available.  GPs are underNHS instructions to refer patients to consultants at a lower level of cancer suspicion. Thismeansmanymore investigations, often of patients found to be all clear. Media publicity on cancer awareness has encouraged the public to visit their GPs and raise theirworries earlier. The hospital trust recently indicated that


newapproaches and staff recruitment “will bring renewed focus on action and delivery”. Cancer is nowthe number one priority for the trust, after its successful drive to improveA&E performance against national targets. Wemustwish themwell. This truly is a ma�er of life and death.





Where now Brexit? IAM grateful for all comments and


correspondence aftermy article last month: “Maidstone needs a real Brexit”. Maidstone voted decisively for Brexit


in the referendumtwo years ago, and whilemy latest evidence suggests that this Brexit opinion has hardened, local passions flowpowerfully in both directions.


I asked lastmonth:Who knowswhat


rebellions and political upheavalswill be around if the huge Brexit vote is flouted by politicians?We are already beginning to find out.What significant timeswe now live through indeed.


Brexit. But there aremanymore. Yes,we are feeling rebellious. Roger Cross,Maidstone


Modal shift for theM20? RECENT reports about howtheM20 is likely to copewith the consequences of a “no deal” Brexit does not yet seemto alarm anyone inMaidstone, apart fromvocal LiberalDemocrat and Tory councillors at CountyHall. Operation Stack has been in place for 30


years,whileMPs andWhitehall have got nowhere trying to find a lorry park site.No MPwanted it on their patch andwhen a sitewas found, it didn’t stand even cursory legal scrutiny. That appears to be the absolute least of anyone’sworries now. There ismore than a good chance that


therewill be terrible problems on theM20 and I amnot convinced the “Brock” contraflowsystemwill stand even the slightest prang in either direction. PerhapsHighways England should


Comment


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