Catch up on all the latest news across your county with Bartholomew Hall.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Hello and welcome to Kent Tonight live on KMTV.
00:28I'm Bartholomew Hall, here are your top stories on Wednesday the 26th of June.
00:33A&E frustration.
00:35Ashford patient attempts to sleep on makeshift mattress amid long wait times.
00:40Home soil.
00:42Gillingham finds out they'll start the League Two season at home.
00:45So maybe the philosophy will be that we're going to outscore the opposition.
00:48So bring it on, really.
00:50And welcome to the think tank.
00:52Sheppey grandfather brings imagination to life, all in the name of charity.
00:57It's been good fun.
00:58I've had a lot of support from various businesses, which I'm really truly thankful for.
01:14Good evening.
01:15A desperate patient in Ashford has attempted to take a mattress into the A&E department
01:20at William Harvey Hospital, only to be told to remove it by baffled staff.
01:25Officers pleaded with the anonymous patient to get rid of the makeshift bed due to health
01:29and safety reasons.
01:30Other patients were heard criticising the person's action and called it a waste of staff's
01:35time.
01:36It comes as new data shows long waiting times for hospitals across Kent, while our local
01:40democracy reporter Gabriel Morris is outside the William Harvey Hospital.
01:44Now Gabriel, what can you tell us about this incident?
01:48Well we know about waiting times at many A&Es right across the UK can be long and I've stood
01:54on the entrance to the William Harvey Hospital where there's an accident and emergency unit
01:58just down that road down there.
02:00Now this week there was a frustrated patient who was waiting to be seen by medics in that
02:04A&E.
02:06Now he had been there for we believe around about an hour or so according to other witnesses
02:09and one of his friends came along and bought him a mattress for him to be able to lie down
02:14on because they were sat on chairs waiting to be seen and triaged on whether or not they
02:18needed to go onto the bed or not.
02:21Now that was dragged into the middle of the emergency unit and that did lead to some confrontation
02:27between that individual patient and the nurses.
02:30They were arguing that it deemed to be a health hazard and could block medics from reaching
02:35those in needs.
02:37Now many people who were waiting there to be seen were frustrated by this action and
02:41believe that the man, the patient who had that mattress, was wasting staff's valuable
02:46time and the suggestion was that people should go to private if they don't want to wait.
02:50That's what some of the witnesses said inside there.
02:52Now the East Kent Hospital Trust did give us a statement and they said we understand
02:55that patients can feel frustrated whilst waiting in our emergency departments, especially as
02:59we continue to experience high levels of demand.
03:01They say our staff are working incredibly hard to provide safe and timely care for patients
03:06across our hospitals while keeping them as comfortable as possible and they urge people
03:10to contact NHS 111 if it is not life threatening.
03:14And Gabriel, we've got these stats here.
03:17Can you tell us how long are people waiting to be seen in A&E departments in our hospitals?
03:24In May there were more than 50,000 visits across the whole of Kent to A&Es across the
03:29Garden of England.
03:30Now out of those, around 4,500 had to wait more than four hours to be seen by a medic
03:37and nearly 2,000 of those were waiting more than 12 hours altogether.
03:41Now East Kent Hospital Trust, that's the trust who runs the William Harvey Hospital
03:46where I am now in Ashford, well they have the worst A&E waiting times in Kent.
03:49Only 53% of patients are seen within four hours last month.
03:54Other Kent trusts see over more than 70% of patients within four hours.
03:59Our hospital says there is high demand and staff are working hard to provide care and
04:03keep patients comfortable and they say they have put an improvement plan in place.
04:08And Gabriel, not long now until the election of course.
04:12What are the parties saying that they will do to fix issues like this in the NHS?
04:18Well a little more than a week to go and it's a leaders debate, another leaders debate tonight
04:22and I'm sure this is going to be a hot topic of discussion.
04:25Now the Conservatives say they want to increase NHS funding above inflation, building more
04:29GP surgeries, 250 in total, and recruiting nearly 100,000 more nurses.
04:34Labour say they're going to cut waiting times with 40,000 more appointments weekly.
04:39The Liberal Democrats say they pledge £1.1 billion on hospitals and other NHS infrastructure
04:45alongside promising 8,000 more GPs.
04:48The Green Party says increase NHS budget by £8 billion in the first year, rising to £28
04:54billion by 2030.
04:56And Reform UK say, well, tax cuts for frontline healthcare staff for three years and private
05:01healthcare should be offered a tax release on private healthcare as well.
05:05Well Gabriel, thank you very much for those details.
05:11Well to continue the conversation around A&E wait times, plus to discuss more of today's
05:15health headlines is our health expert, Dr Julian Spinks.
05:25And Julian joins me on the sofa now, back for another round, another week.
05:28Julian, first of all we'll talk about this story that Gabriel just brought us.
05:32What is your reaction to that particular incident that happened at the William Harvey?
05:36It's partially deja vu for me because back in the mid-80s we had similar crises in A&E
05:40and I remember working in Medway Hospital where there was a corridor which turned into
05:44a mid-ward and it was called Back Corridor.
05:48We have got increasing numbers of people who go to A&E and are not going home, they need
05:53to go into hospital but we can't get them into hospital beds.
05:57And so they end up in corridors or there's this incredible term, fit to sit, where people
06:02are effectively put in chairs and can spend 12, 24 hours sometimes sitting in a chair
06:06which is completely unacceptable.
06:09And the reason we can't get them into hospital beds is actually the other end which is discharging
06:13people out to home.
06:15Unless you've got the social care, the backup and so on in the community to be able to look
06:19after people, then you can't send them home and that blocks the entire system up.
06:25What kind of effect does this have on patients' health if they're unable to be seen in an
06:31A&E department?
06:32Obviously people go there for all sorts of reasons.
06:34Well there are small numbers, thankfully, of people who come to serious harm because
06:38they've waited too long.
06:40For other people, if you're elderly and frail and you're lying on an A&E trolley as opposed
06:45to a proper bed, you're at risk of developing things like bed sores.
06:49Other people just have a general deterioration or sitting around in pain waiting to be seen.
06:53And we've got to really tackle this.
06:55Obviously Gabriel talked about some of the measures the various parties are proposing
06:59and that will be great but I think none of those are going to suddenly appear overnight.
07:03It's going to take months if not years to be able to increase numbers of GPs, build
07:07surgeries, do all these other things.
07:09So we may need to see if there's other ways around to actually sort it out.
07:13Absolutely.
07:14Well I wanted to ask you about another health headline that's been making the news.
07:17Obviously it's been very warm this week.
07:19We've seen the temperatures finally arriving here.
07:22What is, let me just get my notes here, sunglasses.
07:27It's been in the news about some of the benefits of wearing them whilst you're out and about.
07:31What can you tell us about that?
07:34Well there's a very simple thing which is actually if you wear sunglasses you'll reduce
07:38the amount of pollen getting into your eyes and you'll get less hay fever.
07:41But the other thing is a good pair of sunglasses will block ultraviolet light and that can
07:46prevent you getting a nasty thing called a melanoma in the back of your eye which actually
07:51surprisingly can end up being fatal.
07:53So a good pair of sunglasses have got multiple uses apart from just making you look cool.
07:58Brilliant.
07:59Thank you very much for that Dr. Julian Spinks for another week.
08:02Thank you very much.
08:05Now don't forget you can keep up to date with all the latest stories across Kent by logging
08:08on to our website kmtv.co.uk where you'll find all of our reports including this one
08:12about how multiple cars were damaged on Whitstable High Street which impacted one woman who lived
08:18there who was 80-year-old and suffers with Parkinson's disease.
08:23An 80-year-old from Whitstable awoke to a shock last weekend.
08:27The windscreen of her car was completely smashed to pieces.
08:31Georgina has Parkinson's disease and without her car she can't get around so she had to
08:37cancel important appointments leaving her locked indoors feeling isolated.
08:43You take things personally I think but I was so shocked and obsessed about it and then
08:49people said oh no there's a couple of others been down on the shop window but it meant
08:55that I couldn't go out all week really because by the time we found a reliable windscreen
09:05place and got it down I think it was Thursday hospital appointment I had to cancel because
09:14it's a specially made vehicle to take wheelchair.
09:19This spot here where you can see the two cars parked up this is the exact spot where the
09:23incident with Georgina's car happened.
09:25It's a popular spot for disabled users to use but it's also right in the heart of the
09:30high street.
09:31There were cameras dotted around so the exact moment was caught on CCTV footage.
09:36You can see Georgina's car in front of the vehicle being damaged.
09:40Kent Police said it was called to the high street on Sunday the 26th of May of cause
09:45to a disturbance between two people thought to be known to each other.
09:49During the incident damage was believed to be caused to several cars in this area.
09:53Inquiries remain ongoing.
09:55I mean it just never occurred to me that the car was vandalised.
10:00That's what makes it so abnormal really when something not good happens because most things
10:08that happen here are quite joyful.
10:12Georgina's windscreen has since been repaired but it's come at a cost.
10:16Some was covered under her insurance but the rest was a stretch with her pension.
10:20A friend of Georgina's has set up a GoFundMe page hoping to get her compensation.
10:25Sophia Aitken for KMTV in Whitstable.
10:28Now before we go to a break, a woman's been left shocked after she woke up to find a stranger
10:34had pitched a tent and was eating a family sized cake in her front garden.
10:39Erica White was told by one of her sons but when she confronted the obviously peckish
10:43person they didn't seem to want to leave in a hurry.
10:46It wasn't until half an hour after she had told them to leave that the stranger had presumably
10:50polished off their breakfast and moved on.
10:53The mum of three says the stranger may have been a worker at a local fruit farm as in
10:57her opinion they did not appear homeless.
11:00That's a very interesting one.
11:03Time for a break now.
11:04Time for a break but we're coming up we'll be hearing from some of the residents of Rochester
11:07about their opinions on the ongoing betting inquiry surrounding the general election.
11:13Some candidates found to be betting on the outcome of the general election and when the
11:17general election was to be held potentially.
11:20Also you can catch up with the latest business news, we'll have our round up and on top of
11:24that we'll have an update on everything that's going on in sports and of course we'll be
11:29hearing from that Sheppey grandfather who built a rideable miniature tank all in an
11:33effort to raise money for charity.
11:35All that and plenty more coming up after the break.
11:43Thanks for watching.
11:44See you next time.
11:45Bye.
14:13Bye.
14:43Bye.
15:13Hello and welcome back to Kentonite live on KMTV.
15:17Now a couple who were involved in a £720,000 benefit claim scam have been sent to prison
15:23for four years after appearing in court in Canterbury.
15:28Wojciech Kowarsowski and Wiktoria Pakowska spent the money on lavish items including
15:34a £12,500 Rolex watch.
15:37Items found at their Essex home included expensive sunglasses and iPhones.
15:41The Polish nationals were first stopped by officers in June 2020 when they were found
15:46with more than £60,000 worth of cash at the Channel Tunnel in Folkestone.
15:50When their homes were searched, documents and bank cards were found that proved they
15:54had set up multiple fake accounts to make the false claims.
15:59A bridge that connects the Isle of Sheppey to the mainland will be closed for more than
16:03a week this Friday.
16:05Built by British Rail in the 1960s, the Kings Ferry Bridge is used by motorists and pedestrians
16:11to travel the rest of the county and it's the only route that trains can use to get
16:15to the island.
16:16But now the 40 steel ropes that lift the bridge for shipping have had to be replaced after
16:21nearly 30 years, meaning it will be closed until 7 July with further closures planned
16:27for later in the month.
16:30Voters in Kent have been reacting to the election betting scandal that's been engulfing some
16:36of our parties.
16:37Up to 15 Conservative candidates and officials are being investigated by the Gambling Commission
16:43for betting on the election date, that's according to BBC's Newsnight.
16:47Labour has also been drawn in with one of their candidates being suspended after betting
16:51against himself winning his seat.
16:54But is it cutting through here in the county?
16:56We spoke to some voters in Rochester.
16:58I don't think it's bad that they should bet generally, but not betting with information
17:04that perhaps is confidential in the first place.
17:07Because I think we've all, probably as a British public, we've lost trust in any government
17:11parties and so it's just a, yeah, they've got to do something but I still feel like
17:16even if they were to throw them out, it will probably still go on.
17:21It's just another example of one rule for politicians, one rule for the rest of us.
17:27They should be taken out of their particular party really.
17:31You shouldn't, yeah, in a way you should be concentrating on the policies and the politics,
17:36not really betting.
17:38No, I don't think it's harsh enough.
17:40I think they shouldn't be allowed to stand if they've been found to be doing that, quite frankly.
17:45Well don't forget, on election night we'll be with you live here on KMTV, bringing you
17:50every Kent result as they're announced.
17:53On Thursday 4th July, six weeks of hard campaigning for this year's general election will be over.
18:01You will have cast your vote on who you want to run our country.
18:05KMTV's exclusive 12-hour live election programme will bring you all the action from across
18:12every Kent count, the constituencies that really matter to you.
18:17The Kent Politics Show Election 2024 special, live and exclusive on KMTV and Kent Online.
18:25Make sure you're there when Kent decides.
18:29Exciting stuff now from Bluewater to Beer, many businesses in Kent are building up their
18:34budgets and perfecting their profits.
18:36There's lots to break down in this week's business roundup.
18:39Here's Elisa Pear.
18:46Lidl claims its new premises in Queensborough and the 40 jobs it would help create are at
18:51risk due to court action taken by Aldi.
18:54Lidl planned to open a new shop at Calstead Corner in October 2022, but the plans were
19:00overturned when the rivals Tesco and Aldi launched a legal challenge.
19:04Aldi explained the new challenge was due to a loss of footfall if a new store were to
19:07be opened in Queensborough.
19:09Sheppey residents are not happy with Aldi's legal challenge.
19:14Property investment giant Lansec has acquired a great stake in shopping complex Bluewater
19:18after agreeing to a £120m deal, bringing their ownership of Bluewater up to 66.25%.
19:26Lansec says the deal will increase its net rental income by £10.3m a year.
19:31The transaction is part of their goal to grow its investment in major retail destinations.
19:39League One side Leighton Orient signed a multi-year beer deal with Favichan brewery Shepardneim.
19:45Shepardneim is working with the club to refurbish its South Stand bar this summer with its branding.
19:50The brewery will be the official provider of beer, cider, wine and soft drinks at the
19:54club's home ground.
19:56To launch the partnership that is beginning 1st July, Shepardneim is releasing a limited
20:00edition commemorative lager.
20:12Well speaking of football, time now to take a look at some of today's sport headlines
20:16from across the county.
20:18On the day that the Football League fixtures have been released and Kent faced yet another
20:22defeat in the county championship.
20:34Well first up we start with those League Two fixtures being announced.
20:37Gillingham will start the new League Two season at home with a match against newly relegated
20:43Carlisle United.
20:45It comes as all the fixtures for the Football League have been released today, Gillingham
20:48will face new local rivals Bromley in December and January, whilst former boss Stephen Clements
20:54will return to Priestfield in September as Barrow's head coach after he was sacked from
20:59Gillingham at the start of the summer break.
21:02Here's Gillingham FC supporters club member David Garth giving us his reaction to the
21:06season ahead.
21:07Obviously they had a pretty awful time, they'll be very keen to get going early but so will
21:14we.
21:15You've got to fancy Gillingham at the moment, I think it's given the amount of good players
21:19that we've signed already and we're going to have an attacking side so maybe the philosophy
21:23will be that we're going to outscore the opposition so bring it on really.
21:28Maidstone United manager George Elokobi has reunited with his former teammates at a Wolverhampton
21:33Wanderers Championship winners' reunion.
21:36Known as the old gold side who helped bring the West Midlands club back into the Premier
21:41League in 2009, the teammates gathered at Molyneux Stadium to mark 15 years since the
21:46history-making campaign.
21:48It comes after Maidstone's history-making success of their own in the FA Cup last season
21:52where Elokobi caught up with his former manager Mick McCarthy who said he was honoured to
21:57see the Kent side's third round upset against Stevenage.
22:02And Lancashire have taken an innings win over Kent in the county championship at Canterbury.
22:07The visitors bowled Kent out for 222 in their second innings with Will Williams taking three
22:12for 26 and Tom Bailey three for 37.
22:16It comes as Kent's new signing Charlie Stoboe made his highest first-class score of 64 however
22:21the hosts were all out after just 30 overs this morning.
22:25The result leaves Kent bottom in the county championship division one table with just
22:29one win in eight matches.
22:33And that's it for the sport for today.
22:38Time now to take a look at the weather.
22:45It's going to be a warm night tonight, highs of 20 in the north of the county.
22:52Tomorrow that heat still sticking around, a sunny 24 degrees in the Thanet area, scattered
22:57clouds everywhere else.
22:58During the afternoon those temperatures rising even further, highs of 25 in Chatham with
23:03the clouds spreading across the board.
23:05Here's the outlook for the next week then, showing no changes, just heat, although those
23:10clouds disappearing on Sunday.
23:20Finally today, a grandfather of five turned inventor in Sheppey has been creating some
23:25eccentric machines all to raise money for charity.
23:29His latest invention is a rideable miniature tank which plays period correct music from
23:34the 1940s, all to raise money for KSS, the Kent-based air ambulance charity.
23:40Alex Skaife has more.
23:43One thing you rarely expect to see on your morning walk is a miniature tank playing music
23:47from the second world war.
23:48For the neighbours of this 79-year-old, that's the sight they're exactly likely to see.
23:53So my name is Tim Bell, I'm a mad eccentric inventor, or John Nurdin calls me as such.
24:03I make creations to basically fundraise for the air ambulance.
24:06I give my time for free and expenses for free to try and raise a few bob.
24:12But Tim has raised far more than a few bob.
24:14In the last five years he has raised an incredible £50,000 for charity and shows no signs of
24:20stopping yet.
24:21I fundraise for the Kent Air Ambulance, they're a fantastic organisation and they really rely
24:30on donations from the public to keep flying.
24:33They save lives, many lives.
24:35I've heard some heart rendering stories, really, really sort of brought me to tears.
24:42But they carry doctors, they carry blood, plasma, paramedics of course, and they can
24:50do open heart surgery on the side of the road.
24:53They're just amazing.
24:56Tim has not gone unrecognised for his work, gaining accolades from the Pride of Britain
25:00Award to the Pride of the Island Award.
25:03The novelty works very well, the music, people seem to like my music and they seem to like
25:07the creations that I create, my helicopter and my army tank and my town clock.
25:16I made this army tank, well this is the third version, the first one it went viral, people
25:22seem to love the tank more than my helicopter.
25:25Playing military music and celebrating, I made it for VE Day, Victory in Europe Day,
25:32celebrating that.
25:33And then just recently with this one I've been celebrating the King's Birthday, D-Day,
25:39and coming up shortly will be Victory in Europe again.
25:44So it's been good fun, I've had a lot of support from various businesses, which I'm really
25:51truly thankful for.
25:54This has been Alex Skaife for KMTV.
26:03That is just brilliant, I feel like I want to go.
26:05You've been watching Kent Tonight live on KMTV, there's plenty more news just made for
26:10Kent throughout the evening.
26:11Don't forget you can always keep up to date with all the latest news across your county
26:15by logging on to our website, kmtv.co.uk.
26:19You can also follow us on your social timelines by liking us on Facebook, following us on
26:23X and if you have a story that you think we should be covering then all you need to do
26:28is get in touch.
26:30We also have a series of special programmes available on our website for you to look back
26:34over, Invicta Sport, Made in Kent, Kent on Climate, Kent Film Club and of course the
26:38Kent Politics Show, all available on our website.
26:41Like I said we'll be back with more news throughout the evening, so see you then, bye bye.
26:49Bye bye.