Catch up with all the news from across the county with Abby Hook.
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00:00Hello, good evening and welcome to Kentonite live on KMTV.
00:29I'm Abbey Hook, here are your top stories on Wednesday the 23rd of October.
00:34The election next door. New documentary takes a behind the scenes look at KMTV's unrivalled
00:41general election coverage.
00:42Hi, for local news such as here at KMTV, we're trying to help people make an informed decision
00:47about who will be making a difference on their doorstep.
00:50A national conversation. As the government launches its NHS consultation, we asked what
00:56Kent's biggest issues are with the health service.
00:59By the time it's quarter past eight, five past eight, those appointments are gone for
01:02the day and when you do phone them, they tell you that they can't make appointments over
01:07the phone.
01:08Remembering Windrush. Medway's stories told through a new exhibition.
01:13Very very important for us to honour the local people and let them have their own exhibition,
01:20let them have something.
01:26First tonight, from the Prime Minister launching his campaign in Medway, to Ed Davey taking
01:35to an obstacle course in Tunbridge Wells, Kent had a front row seat to this year's general
01:40election.
01:41Tonight, as part of a brand new documentary, KMTV will be giving exclusive behind the scenes
01:46view of our 12 hour live coverage of the results night, which saw more than 70 journalists
01:52and production crew across 18 constituencies, all contributing to an unrivalled local coverage.
02:00Our reporter Isabel Miller reflected on the election next door.
02:04Months after the general election and people are asking, when will things get better? The
02:09very same feeling had during the general election and before it too.
02:14When Rishi Sunak made his announcement, journalists in the KMTV newsroom were very excited.
02:19The way I describe it to most people, it's like the World Cup or the Euros for journalists.
02:25It's exciting, isn't it? Exciting.
02:27So excited. I actually really am.
02:30But meanwhile the general public were deciding whether they trusted the government to continue
02:34on their path or whether change was needed.
02:37I don't like the Labour candidate for this area.
02:39I'm frightened if I vote for reform that there won't be enough people doing it.
02:45Well, I don't know who I'm going to be voting for.
02:48Well, definitely not the present prime minister.
02:52Had Kent lost hope in politics?
02:55The price of energy, the cost of childcare, these issues really changing people's lives quite profoundly.
03:01And I think certainly as we emerged from Covid, a brief sense that maybe things would get better
03:07and then the dawning reality that they weren't.
03:10Maybe in 2019 there was the possibility of hope in politics and in life in Kent.
03:16And I think what we've learned over five years is actually that that's not something to take for granted.
03:20It has been a turbulent five years with the aftermath of Brexit,
03:24with the coronavirus pandemic, lockdown party scandals, a very short-lived Liz Trust government,
03:29mini budgets, the cost of living crisis and five prime ministers up to now.
03:34And during the election, the state of mind as a county here in Kent
03:38and as a nation was arguably at a low.
03:41And hyper-local news such as here at KMTV,
03:44we're trying to help people make an informed decision about who'll be making a difference on their doorstep.
03:50And with only six weeks to prepare, the coverage was frantic.
03:55It's just me and sticking out. I just need to go and plug it in.
03:58Apologies for just a few little connection issues.
04:00It's going to be three counts.
04:02Fun.
04:04Oops.
04:07Might be behind the scenes.
04:10Serious.
04:11And people here, the packed out crowd who are applauding Nigel Farage's feisty speech,
04:16seem to be former Conservative voters.
04:19KMTV prepares for largest ever local general election coverage.
04:24And you spoke about change there, Lauren, sorry, Cameron from KMTV.
04:27Yeah, so the turnout figure has been revealed.
04:30The story of the general election in Kent was an unexpected one and an historic one.
04:37And for those who wanted to stay up all night and watch what Kent's future would become,
04:41they tuned in to KMTV.
04:45That'll be airing in just 10 minutes' time.
04:48Now, next this evening, a body has been found in the search for a missing man in Gravesend.
04:53Emergency crews were called just after half past three on Monday afternoon
04:56to reports of a body being found in undergrowth near Rootham Road in Gravesend.
05:01Forensics officers were seen investigating near to the Watersman Park development.
05:06A man was later pronounced dead.
05:07Whilst Kent Police says formal identification is yet to take place, however,
05:12the family of a missing 39-year-old man from Erith,
05:15who was reported missing on Saturday, have been informed.
05:18It's understood the death is not being treated as suspicious.
05:23Now, the government has this week launched a consultation on the future of the NHS
05:27as the health secretary has called for the public to give their ideas
05:31on ways to improve the health service.
05:33The health department says the consultation is part of a national conversation
05:37to inform a new 10-year plan.
05:40But what needs to be fixed here in Kent?
05:42Well, our health expert, Dr Julian Spinks, joins me on the sofa now.
05:46Julian, what needs to be fixed?
05:50There's an awful lot that needs to be fixed.
05:52But the most important, I think, has to be the sort of community services,
05:56primary care, which is general practice and similar services as well,
06:00because when they're not working properly, it puts greater pressure on secondary care.
06:05The government has said about wanting to move things out of hospitals into the community,
06:08but you can only do that if you have the staff to be able to work there.
06:12If we don't have enough staff, then we can't provide those services
06:16and we'll continue to have a problem where people can't get appointments for their GPs
06:20or they can't have a community nurse to come out and deal with their problem at home.
06:23And of course, this follows Lord Darzi's report,
06:26but one of the largest topics people mentioned on the site was availability of GP appointments.
06:31It's something we've spoken to you time and time again about,
06:34and it's something we took to the streets of Medway to ask people here
06:38what they're thinking and what they think those key issues are,
06:41especially with the lack of GP appointments.
06:44You have to get on the phone at 8am, that's if you even get through,
06:51if not, you're put in a queue and by the time you're done, you basically don't get an appointment.
06:55To be honest with you, I've not seen my doctor in years, my actual doctor.
06:59It's just impossible. You have to be at the surgery at 8 o'clock in the morning,
07:05or make a phone call at 8 o'clock or after.
07:09By the time it's...
07:11Will this health plan actually fix things?
07:14It's got a chance, but that's why it's a 10-year plan.
07:16It's not going to be something we can do very, very quickly,
07:19but I hope we can fix it because we all deserve it.
07:22Julian, thank you very much for your time.
07:24Now it's time to take a very quick look at the weather forecast.
07:36Starting with this evening, we're seeing colder temperatures
07:39with lows of 10 degrees in Tambridge Wells,
07:41slightly higher wind into tomorrow morning.
07:44Mixed clouds and sunshine, but sunny by the coast there.
07:48And into the afternoon, that sun sticking around.
07:52Some cloud in towards the middle of Kent too.
07:54Looking at the rest of the week, you can expect a mixed picture.
07:57Some rain on Friday, returning again on Sunday.
08:08And finally, as part of Black History Month,
08:10a brand-new exhibition has been opened at the historic Dockyard Chatham,
08:13which aims to explore the legacy of the Windrush generation in Medway.
08:18A Time to Remember aims to educate people in Kent
08:20about the impact the Caribbean migrants have had in the UK.
08:24Oliver Leder de Sacks went to find out more.
08:31So, without any further ado,
08:33I want to declare the exhibition officially open.
08:38The legacy of the Windrush generation still alive here in Kent.
08:42Around half a million people emigrated from the Caribbean
08:46in the 20 years after the Second World War,
08:50building new lives here in the county and beyond.
08:53Now, a new exhibition at the historic Chatham Dockyard
08:57seeks to celebrate that first generation,
09:0140 years on from the beginnings
09:03of the Medway African and Caribbean Association.
09:07I know a lot of the local people are very proud of the exhibition
09:11because it tells the history of their struggles
09:14and what they've been through and what they've achieved.
09:17And especially a lot of the younger people in Medway,
09:19they get to see that, you know, there's a foundation like MACA here
09:25that they can turn to and learn and come along and join and be a part of.
09:30So, yes, it's very, very important for us to honour the local people
09:35and let them have their own exhibition, let them have something.
09:39The first thing you notice when you walk into this exhibition are these.
09:44The shackles that used to chain slaves on a Florida plantation in the 1600s.
09:50This exhibition isn't just about Windrush,
09:53it's the entirety of black history, the good, the bad and the ugly.
09:58Over my shoulder, you can see a section on African civilisation,
10:03of the cultures that existed before British slave galleys
10:06arrived on the African coast.
10:08And over here are the living rooms, the kitchens,
10:11the places that people used to live when they came here from 1948 to 1971
10:17to help Britain rebuild.
10:19And this exhibition hopes to educate people here in Medway
10:23about the importance of recognising that legacy and that past.
10:27Our story doesn't necessarily begin and end in slavery and oppression.
10:31We do face oppression every single day of our lives,
10:34but there is so much more about our story
10:38that will help to create better understanding.
10:40So we were and are kings, queens, inventors, politicians,
10:47teachers, doctors, nurses, so many different things.
10:51And I think it's important for people to learn more about that
10:54so that we can start to address some of the imbalances and perceptions
10:59that people might have about sort of African and Caribbean communities.
11:03The exhibit is open for the next two weeks, but the message is clear.
11:08Medway's black history isn't going anywhere.
11:12Oliver Leader-de-Sacs for KMTV in Chatham.
11:22Well, that's it from us this evening on KMTV, but don't go anywhere.
11:26Just after this very short break,
11:28we'll be bringing you the behind-the-scenes
11:30of our 12-hour live election coverage, the election next door.
11:34But that's it from me. I'll see you soon. Bye-bye.