News


downsmail.co.uk Safety concerns at care agency A SNODLAND agency caring for elderly people at home has been told to improve its service.


An inspector from the Care Quality Commission found Direct Care (Kent), in the High Street, was in breach of three regulations relat- ing to the safety of the service. The inspector found rostering records showed staff did not al- ways have clear visiting times, with one listing calls simply as: six people for “morning call”, four “teatime”, and five “evening”. In another case, one elderly per-


son was scheduled for a 30-minute visit, but saw their care worker for 10, even though records showed all


Help yourself by helping out


at the hospice ASPIRING volunteers are invited to hear about giving the gift of time at the Heart of Kent Hos- pice. The talk will take place at Pre-


ston Hall, Aylesford, from 10am to noon on Saturday, February 8. The hospice is looking for helpers who can visit regularly and on an ad hoc basis. A Heart of Kent Hospice spokesman said: “We know from speaking to our volunteers that doing good does you good. “We have a variety of volunteer


roles in our shops, with patients in the community or on our inpa- tient unit, at our events or on our Living Well sessions. “We are particularly interested


in volunteers with training in the arts, music, storytelling, exercise techniques such as tai chi and yoga and complementary thera- pies.” To find out more, please call volunteer services on 01622 792200, extension 225, or email volunteers@hokh.co.uk.


WI invitation


THERE’S an opportunity to join Aylesford and Eccles Women’s Institute at its meeting on Wednesday, February 26. An open invitation is extended


to anyone who is interested in be- coming a member of the WI group, which meets at the Brassey Centre in Station Road, Aylesford, from 7.30pm. For more details on member-


ship, please call Eileen on 01622 715205.


8 Malling January 2020


care tasks had been attended to. The inspector’s report noted:


“We asked the registered manager if it was possible for staff to com- plete all the tasks they recorded in the care log in 10 minutes. The reg- istered manager told us: ‘It is not possible. We will speak with the staff’.” There was also concern that ros-


tering patterns were not analysed to identify problems so that they could be rectified. Both of the service’s two regis- tered managers were interviewed


as part of the inspection process, along with five staff, five clients and their relatives. The CQC inspector noted that


Direct Care (Kent) had received a good rating previously, and while no one had been hurt, failings were apparent in terms of the safety of the service and its leadership, which increased the risk that peo- ple could be harmed. In spite of this, the service was


rated good for being caring, re- sponsive and effective, with users saying they were told if their carer


was going to be late and calls were not missed. The CQC has now asked man-


agers at Direct Care (Kent) to sub- mit an action plan stating how they will improve the way risks are as- sessed and mitigated; processes for assessing, monitoring and improv- ing the quality and safety of the service improved and staff de- ployed more effectively. A manager for Direct Care


(Kent) declined to comment, but said the agency was “in talks with the CQC regarding its findings”.


Fatal collision


witness plea A MAN in his 30s has died in a crash near Snodland. The crash happened at about 9.25am on December 9, on the A228 in Halling. It involved a blue Ford Focus


which was travelling towards Cuxton and a white Volvo tipper lorry, heading in the opposite di- rection.


Officers from the Serious Colli- A son for police boss


KENT Police and Crime Commis- sioner Matthew Scott has an- nounced the birth of his second child, Edward. The boy was a “little premature”,


according to Mr Scott, but wife Nina and baby are both doing well.


The couple, who live in Swanley,


already have a daughter. Mr Scott will fight the next PCC election in May. The PCC role is to hold Kent Po-


lice to account and represent the public’s interests.


sion Investigation Unit and am- bulance crews attended and the driver of the Ford, a man in his 30s from the Aylesford area, was declared dead at the scene. His next of kin have been in- formed. Anyone who witnessed the in- cident, or who has dashcam footage of the vehicles involved, is asked to call the appeal line on 01622 798538 quoting reference KH/COJ/127/19, or to email sciu.td@kent.police.uk.


Flu jabs back for children


PARENTS in Kent are being urged by the Government’s health advisor to get their young- sters vaccinated against flu. The advice follows delays in


delivering this year’s immunisa- tion programme. This year, for the first time, all primary school children, as well as two- and three-year-olds, are being offered the nasal spray by the NHS. However, the vaccina- tion programme has had to be temporarily halted while the manufacturer works to replenish stocks. Public Health England says the


This year, the flu vaccine is available to: l All children aged two and three years, provided they were aged two or three on Au- gust 31, 2019, via their GP; l All children in primary schools, aged four to 10, via the school; l All other children with a health condition that puts them at greater risk from flu.


vaccination programme is again underway, and parents should ensure two- and three-year-olds


and primary school children are vaccinated against flu. Kent’s Public Health consultant


Dr John Rodriguez says if your child’s primary school flu pro- gramme has been cancelled, it will be rescheduled. He added: “Children with ex-


isting health conditions like asthma or diabetes should visit their GP if their school session has been delayed, to ensure they are protected early.” The NHS hopes to immunise


50% of children against the po- tentially deadly illness to prevent it spreading.


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