News
£400k boost to 999 care
AN ASSESSMENT area at Maid- stone Hospital’s Emergency De- partment has more than doubled in size to help ensure patients re- ceive rapid treatment. The number of bays in the
Rapid Assessment Point (RAP) has increased from three to seven. The cost of the RAP expansion
project, overseen by the Trust’s Estates Department, was £400,000. Spokesman John Clulow said:
“Patients who arrive by ambu- lance are taken to RAP where they are assessed by a senior clin- ical decision maker, such as an emergency medicine registrar or consultant. “That person can either refer
the patient to a speciality such as the medical or surgical teams or order tests so those investigations are ready when they are assessed by the next emergency clinician. “Increasing RAP’s capacity al-
lows rapid handover of the pa- tient from SECAmb to our staff. The SECAmb crew is then able to get back on the road and respond to the next emergency call.”
downsmail.co.uk
Anger as signs ban walkers from wood
VILLAGERS who for decades have walked through woods are angry at signs which now prohibit entry there. The notices appeared as work
started to clear trees near the pond on the old priory site in Leeds. For many years, walkers and dog
owners have accessed the area from playing fields in the village and chil- dren have played in the grounds once landscaped by 18th century landscape designer, Capability Brown. One Farmer Close resident has
laid fallen branches with his daugh- ters along the edges of the paths and even built a wooden bench for all to use, all of which have since been re- moved. But as work started to clear dead
trees and give the site a spruce-up, signs appeared telling locals they are no longer welcome. One villager said: “There was no information about why they are
told what is planned.” The parish council has ap-
proached Kent County Council to see if the path can be adopted as a public right of way. According to RBT, a “deed of easement” was ap- plied for in 2015 which can allow a landowner to make use of a nearby piece of land for the benefit of his own land. But details of the deed are "se-
doing the work and the signs are pretty unfriendly.” The land is owned by the
Rochester Bridge Trust (RBT) and there are no recent planning appli- cations for Abbey Farm. Parish and borough councillor
Gill Fort (pictured) said: “If it’s pri- vate property, the owners are enti- tled to do it. But that bit of woodland has been used by local people for decades and it is such a shame they are not at least being
questered for 30 years after its cre- ation and is currently available only to the officers and agents of the Rochester Bridge Trust." RBT said: “The land is privately
owned with no public footpaths, al- though it appears people have walked through the wooded area. “Scrub clearance is being carried
out on the site to enable better access by the tenant. The tenant may have put up some keep out signs for pub- lic safety. There is planning consent on some farm buildings on the site, to convert them to residential use.”
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