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Surgery facing closure after second inspection


AMAIDSTONE surgery has been threatenedwith closure after failing to improve standards.


Albion Place Medical Practice


was re-visited after the Care Qual- ity Commission (CQC) rated serv- ices “inadequate” in July last year. In spite of some improvement,


the independent inspector said the practice still needs to improve, placing the surgery in “special measures” for a further sixmonths. His report noted that the practice


in Albion Place was still unable to demonstrate its safety procedures were robust enough and the re- quirements of previous warning notices had beenmet. It noted that patients on high risk


medicines were not reviewed ap- propriately; patients were still ex- periencing difficulty getting an appointment and the practice was unable to demonstrate all clinicians had received training in theMental


CapacityAct 2005. The CQC has been informed that


the registered providers of the service have applied to cancel their registration as a partnership and an application has been submitted for Dr Annmarie Keeley to register as an individual. The inspector, Professor Steve


Field, said: “This service was placed in specialmeasures inOcto- ber 2017. Although improvements have been made, these are insuffi- cient such that there remains a rat- ing of inadequate for safety. I am placing the service into special measures for a further six months, whichwill give peoplewho use the service the reassurance that the care they get should improve. “If, after re-inspection, the serv- ice has failed tomake sufficient im-


provement, and is still rated as in- adequate, we will take action to begin the process of preventing the provider from operating the serv- ice.” The surgery will be inspected


againwithin sixmonths. A spokesman for the practice


said: “The practice is now under new management, with Dr Keeley as the registered manager, and we continue to make significant progress with the support of NHS WestKentClinicalCommissioning Group. “We are confident that, with our


new team in place, we will make the necessary changes that ensure our patients receive the very best care.Wewould like to thank all our patients for their understanding over the past fewmonths.”


News Mall soft play


THE Mall in Maidstone town cen- tre has launched a free children’s play area for the summer. The soft play area will be aimed


at children aged frombabies to five years old, and will be divided into to two zones – one for children up to the age of two and the other for children aged three to five. It will offer a soft ball pool, steps


and slides as well as soft bricks along with plenty of space for par- ents to sit and storages areas for prams and buggies. Suzie Brindle, the Mall Maid-


stone marketing manager, said: “Parents have expressed interest about a soft play area in the Mall before, and we’re very happy to be able to bring themthis space for the summer. “If it proves popular,wewill look intomaking it permanent.”


Crime scheme


WALKERS could become the eyes and ears of the community in the fight to stamp out rural crime. DownsWatchwould allowwalk-


ers to report crime and offences like fly-tipping on an app. While still in the early stages of


development,DownsWatch, using the reporting app Country Eye, is being worked on by the Old Chalk New Downs Project, Kent Police and local volunteers. The scheme is expected to be an-


nounced inmore detail in the com- ing months by the Old Chalk New Downs Project,which is alsowork- ing to link wildlife chalkland habi- tats along the Downs from Kemsing to Detling.


Walk in park Real ale drinkers raise over £1,000 forMencap


TheMAIDSTONEbranchofMENCAP has received a cheque for £1,050 fromCAMRA(CampaignforRealAle). The Maidstone and Mid-Kent


branch of CAMRA raised the money from sales at the real ale bar, which volunteers organised and staffed at the MENCAP summer fayre in Mote


Park on June 9. Brian Johnson, of the CAMRA Maidstone and Mid-Kent branch presented the generous cheque.


Behind the scenes at The Hazli


THE Hazlitt Theatre will be giv- ing behind-the-scenes tours to the public for the first time as part of the nationalHeritageDay scheme. Visitors can sign up for the


hour-long tour of the Earl Street venue on two dates in September. The venue, which opened in


1955 at a cost of £14,500, as part of a refurbishment of the town’s Corn Exchange, was named after the famous essayist William Ha- zlitt.


The older, part-listed exchange,


which was where David Bowie performed, became a popular venue for tea dances and is now the Exchange Studio. Michelle Woodland has been


researching the history of the the- atre, with the help of the library service and pupils at Maplesden Noakes inMaidstone. She said: “I spent two hours in


the records section of the library absolutely absorbed in the infor-


mation about the theatre.What I’d really like nowis somememories from people who either worked here or enjoyed dances or per- formances here.” Asmall exhibition is planned as


part of the Heritage Day tours on Thursday, September 6 at 11am and Saturday, September 8 at 1pm. Share your memories or book a


place for the tours by emailing mi che l l e .woodl and@pa rk- woodtheatres.co.uk


KENT MS Therapy Centre is host- ing the “Making Strides for MS” sponsored walk in Mote Park, to raise vital funds for the centre. Therewill be two routes – 3k and


5k. The 3k route is suitable for everyone, including those inwheel- chairs and on scooters. Well-behaved dogs on leads are


alsowelcome to take part. Thewalk is from11amto 3pmon


September 15. The cost is £10 for adults and £5 for children aged five to 15 will be charged £5. The event is free for children under five.


PCC joins run


KENT’S Police Crime Commis- sioner will run with Maidstone’s volunteer police cadets in a 5k char- ity fun run. Matthew Scott and Assistant


Chief Constable Jo Shiner both stepped up when they heard the cadets would be taking part in the run atMote Park on September 16.


Maidstone Septmeber 2018 31


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