Catch up with the latest news from across the county with Oliver Leader de Saxe
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00:00Hello and welcome to Kentonite live here on KMTV.
00:29I'm Oliver, leader of the Saks and here are your top stories on Thursday 3rd April.
00:36Caught on camera, North Fleet man sentenced after baseball-backed terror.
00:41Options for all morning after pill to be free everywhere in Kent.
00:47And speeding through school to snot on students win F1 competition.
00:54But first, after collapsing outside Medway Maritime Hospital's A&E department, 31-year-old
01:01Nicole Scott said she was told to stop crying as other patients were worse off than her.
01:07The hospital has now apologised and say they're committed to learning from feedback.
01:12Kristen Hawthorne joins me in the studio with all the details.
01:18Kristen Hawthorne joins me in the studio now.
01:20Kristen, what more can you tell us about what happened at the hospital?
01:24Yeah, so Nicole Scott was diagnosed with stage 4 endometriosis in 2023.
01:32She had a transvaginal scan two days prior to having to go into the hospital on the 14th
01:37of March.
01:38Due to the scan, she had a flare-up of a rare cyst in her uterus which caused a lot of pain.
01:43She ended up fainting at home and outside the hospital.
01:47When she went into the hospital, this was on the 16th of March, so two days after the
01:50scan, the charge nurse told her that she needs to stop crying.
01:55They have patients in here who have legs falling off who aren't acting like her.
02:00Because of this, she lodged a huge complaint, basically saying that they knew that they
02:05were looking for drug-seeking behaviour because she used to be a nurse herself, so she sort
02:09of knows a lot about maybe how these things work, but she just felt like she was degraded
02:14and belittled while at the hospital and thinks that more awareness should be raised about
02:17the condition.
02:18Because it is one of those things where you don't really know much about what is endometriosis.
02:24So endometriosis is basically when the lining of your uterus, which comes out naturally,
02:30if that can't happen, it can get caught in the body.
02:33So it happens in different parts of the body.
02:35I'm not too sure where it affected Nicole, probably because of this cyst, but it can't
02:42be expelled naturally and so it gets caught and it can cause huge flare-ups and it can
02:46be really, really painful.
02:48Nicole actually had to have a catheter as well because it was just affecting her body
02:51so badly.
02:52And what the hospital said in response, because there was a lengthy complaint that she lodged
02:56with Medtime Maritime Hospital, what did they say?
03:00Firstly, they apologised.
03:01The Chief Nursing Officer for the hospital, Medway Maritime, said that we're very sorry
03:06for the distress caused to Mrs Scott and acknowledge the pain and difficulties associated with
03:09endometriosis.
03:11They said that they strive to provide outstanding and compassionate care to every patient, every
03:15time and are committed to learning from feedback where they fall short.
03:19Now CCTV footage shows the moment a man carrying a baseball bat repeatedly knocks on a neighbour's
03:27door in Northfleet after destroying his own home with the weapon.
03:32Medway Magistrates Court heard the 26-year-old, who was drunk at the time, claimed he'd been
03:37earlier attacked by someone who had the metal baseball bat for protection.
03:43He was later charged with being in possession of an offensive weapon in public.
03:48Chris Northorn has more.
03:50This CCTV shows the moment a man turned up at someone's home with a baseball bat after
03:54earlier smashing up his own home with the weapon.
03:57The 26-year-old, who was drunk at the time, claimed he had earlier been attacked by a
04:01neighbour and had the baseball bat for protection but had not intended to use it.
04:05Arriving at about 9.30pm, the man was reportedly known to the homeowner, who later called the
04:10police after opening the door and asking him why he had the weapon.
04:15Officers attended moments later and he was detained.
04:17A probation officer who interviewed the Northfleet man told the court that he was emotional after
04:22a fallout with his family, leading him to drinking lager and smashing his phone.
04:27He then got the bat and started hitting his wall.
04:29After this, he said he was cornered and attacked by a frustrated neighbour before going to
04:33this house with the bat.
04:35Magistrates called Daniel Babb's actions intimidating and sentenced him to a 12-month
04:40community order, 100 hours of unpaid work and 20 rehabilitation sessions.
04:45Kristen Northorn for KMTV.
04:53Divorce is a major issue here in the county.
04:57But what do you need to know if you're going through the process?
05:00Well, we caught up with an expert on the Kent Morning Show earlier today.
05:04Dawna, thank you very much for joining me this morning.
05:08Now, some really shocking figures here, but perhaps not to you.
05:12One in four women are left financially vulnerable after divorce.
05:16You're from the south-east though, so take us through that picture.
05:19For us here in Kent, is it pretty similar to that national picture?
05:23Yes.
05:24Our research was nationwide, but the picture was very similar throughout the whole country.
05:29But in the south-east, very similar.
05:32But women really are significantly impacted by divorce.
05:37And why is that?
05:38Why are so many women worse off after divorce in comparison to men?
05:43So I think it probably starts quite early on.
05:47The research showed that around 50% of women are financially reliant on their husbands during marriage.
05:55And of the 50% that aren't, only half of those are actually the main breadwinner.
06:01Lots of women have prioritised caring responsibilities, both for children or elderly relatives.
06:08And as part of a marriage where you're putting together as a team, that works really well.
06:14But on divorce, it can leave women really exposed.
06:17And when it comes to divorce as well, is the sort of support available and financial support equal for both men and women as well?
06:25So I think it's really key to get good financial advice, if at all possible, during a divorce.
06:31I think it's a very emotional time for those involved.
06:34And our research has shown that around only 13% of women actually look at pension assets, for example, as part of a divorce.
06:45And I think given how emotional it can be and how difficult it can be on an immediate finances,
06:52I think it's really easy to focus on kind of what's going to happen in the next six months to 12 months,
06:58rather than necessarily looking at the long picture.
07:01And quite unfortunately, a lot of marriages do end up in divorce.
07:05It's something we see more and more, I suppose, is that essence of marriage being lost in the modern day as well?
07:12Are people just deciding not to because they're seeing so many people around them be divorcing in the media much more as well?
07:20Are we losing what marriage should be actually about?
07:23I mean, our research didn't really focus on that.
07:26I think the move to a no divorce was a real positive step for women.
07:31It gives them much more kind of options and it reduces the cost of a divorce, which I think is really important.
07:37But I don't think that takes away from the fact that after a divorce, you know, in the first year, women's income can drop by 50%.
07:47And that's a huge hurdle to overcome.
07:50And that's before you layer on things like even when women want to re-enter the workforce and really focus on their career,
07:57that they're twice as likely to be hampered because of childcare responsibilities.
08:03And they have significantly more difficulty with juggling childcare alongside a full time or even a part time job.
08:11Tell us a bit more about that move to a no fault divorce.
08:14Exactly what it is, what it means for both parties involved and how important that move was.
08:20So I guess the key behind it was that before that there needed to be kind of a real reason or a long elapsed time.
08:28And it made it quite difficult for individuals to amicably separate.
08:32And there was also an awful lot more cost involved.
08:35So the no fault divorce has really enabled couples that wanting to split to do that in what was supposed to be a much more cost effective and amicable way.
08:44So that definitely was a positive step forward.
08:47I think what we need to just make sure is that the financial split within a divorce is much more equitable too.
08:55And I think that, you know, taking financial advice, thinking about both your short term implications and the long term implications are really important for women in particular.
09:06And what about that support? I mentioned it a little while earlier about what type of support is out there.
09:11But I suppose what do you give them?
09:13What do you offer to women who may have found themselves in a difficult position where they perhaps want to divorce for reason or no reason, but feel this financial strain as well?
09:24Yeah, so there's lots of financial advice options out there for people in this situation.
09:31Independent financial advice at Legal & General.
09:34We also provide financial advice and have guidance tools.
09:38In particular, we've built a financial health tool, which I think is very helpful when considering a divorce.
09:44It sort of has a checklist that you can go through to make sure that you are considering all eventualities and that you are in the best possible position to kind of make those informed decisions.
09:55And have more women been reaching out and using the service and using that sort of option now that we are three years from these no fault divorces?
10:05We are definitely seeing an uptake in the guidance and advice, but there's definitely still a long way to go.
10:12I'd recommend anybody in that position, if you just Google LNG divorce, you'll see access to the tool and then hopefully it can provide help for more people.
10:22And we're talking at the start of April as well, which has been dubbed this awful April where everything seems to go up in price as well.
10:29So for a lot of people, this is a really tricky time to divorce if they are tied financially as well.
10:35So take us through some of the statistics and figures around people really struggling after divorce.
10:42Yeah, so the research has showed that in the first year after divorce, women's income can drop by on average 50 percent.
10:50And that has meant that around a quarter of women could really struggle and about 20 percent are worried about essentials, heating, food.
11:03And that's clearly not a comfortable position and one we want anybody to be in.
11:09A really interesting and important discussion that you can find more like that on the Kent Morning Show on our website, KMTV.co.uk under the tab.
11:20But now we have a short break.
11:23But afterwards, we get the lowdown on all the health headlines by catching up with our expert, Dr. Julian Spinks,
11:30and a snot on school on a very special F1 competition that probably not the kind that you have in mind that you watch at the weekend.
11:41So don't go anywhere. We'll have more news in a few minutes time.
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15:37and two women being arrested, a suspicion of various offences, all those arrested are
15:42currently being held in custody, while searches at the properties continue.
15:47Now with news that emergency contraceptives will be made free from pharmacies and satisfaction
15:51with the NHS has hit an all time low, there's lots to break down in the health headlines
15:57this week. Luckily we were joined by health expert Dr Julian Spinks for all the analysis
16:03and to make sense of why these stories really matter to us here in the county.
16:08The morning after pill is set to be made free from pharmacies in a bid to end an unfair
16:12postcode lottery, much of what we were just talking about. So why is it free in some areas,
16:16why is it trickier to get in other areas?
16:19It'll always be free from your GP and from family planning services. But whether or not
16:25pharmacies were actually funded to provide this service depended on local authorities.
16:30Some invested in it, some didn't. As a result you've got a situation where you could get
16:34it free in some areas, maybe pay between £10 and £30 in others. And that means that
16:38some people can't access this. This is a vital addition to regular methods of contraception
16:43which I'd always recommend over this. And it does need to be accessed quickly, so getting
16:48through to a GP where you might need to wait a week, that's too late. You really need to
16:52be going as soon as you can. And with one of the systems you can go up to five days,
16:56the other one's only three days. The further you go into that time, the less effective
17:00it is.
17:01And pharmacies can charge up to about £30. So it sort of left me wondering, do you see
17:06people actually not use emergency contraception because of that cost and actually go through
17:13with an unwanted pregnancy because of it?
17:15Yes, we do. And it's very sad because that is simply a question of lack of access. Certainly
17:23the practices I've worked at, people get priority within the practice to actually issue this.
17:27And likewise, the family planning services will do that. So it's always worth approaching
17:31those first. Don't assume you're not going to get it. But this will make a big difference
17:36because pharmacies are far more accessible.
17:38And as well, you mentioned there about other ways of protection and contraception as well.
17:44Should there be other more accessible ways of getting this for young people?
17:48Overall, there's a problem. Again, because local councils have reduced the family planning
17:52clinics, GPs get less accessible year on year. But I would say, at least try and find
18:00out because you will be able to get it. With morning after pill, it's got to be quick.
18:04With other methods, you can plan and actually wait a little bit of time to get that.
18:08And how are they actually managing to make it free in most places now, the morning after
18:12pill? Where's that money coming from?
18:13Well, there's going to be national funding. I haven't been able to find exactly where
18:16it's coming from. I suspect it's going to come from the NHS bill or some of the money
18:22that goes down to councils to support these sort of services. But yeah, whatever you do
18:28at the moment, I don't think there's more money coming out of the government. I think
18:30it's things being shifted around.
18:32Yeah. Why do you think that's been made a priority now then?
18:35I think that it is a disaster if someone gets pregnant accidentally. You're either going
18:39to have to have something like a termination if they wish, and you've got to cover that.
18:44And of course, there's lifelong costs of having a baby, both for the individual and to the state.
18:48So it's one of those things where you spend money at the beginning, you save money in
18:52the long term.
18:53Okay. I wanted to bring you another story on pharmacies now. The government has agreed
18:58a new funding package, leaving some pharmacies to call off protests that were planned for
19:02this week. Tell us more about this.
19:06Retail pharmacies, the ones you go to to get your medicines, are absolutely vital. I can
19:10write a prescription, I can't give you the drugs, so you've got to go in and get it from
19:14there. And having good access to a pharmacist who can actually go through the drug with
19:18you and all of that is very important. The difficulty the pharmacists have faced was
19:22their funding package meant it was becoming less and less financially viable to run. So
19:27we've seen pharmacies closing, pharmacies amalgamating and so on. So additional funding
19:32has to be welcome. I know it's been a big pressure for the government, but exactly the
19:36same as the rest of the NHS.
19:37And industrial action like what was proposed, what sort of an impact would that have on
19:41GPs?
19:42Well, it was a work to all rule, very similar to GPs as well. So things would still be open,
19:47but some of the extra services they were providing would not be provided. And that does reflect
19:52back on us, because when they can't get something from their pharmacy, people come back to the
19:56GP and ask us to sort it out.
19:59We want to move on to another one now. We're talking about the NHS more widely. We mentioned
20:04it earlier in the programme. There's been a new survey, the British Social Attitudes
20:08Survey, which says that public satisfaction with the NHS has hit a new low. It says just
20:1321% said they were satisfied with the NHS in 2024. Waiting times, staff shortages, the
20:21biggest concerns. Does that surprise you?
20:23I'm afraid it doesn't. I've seen the NHS slowly deteriorate over about 15 years. It's not
20:30sudden, but things like Covid made a difference. And I think the main thing people worry about
20:35are the waits for things, where it's a wait to see a GP, wait for a referral. If you're
20:41suddenly waiting months to see a specialist when you're in pain, that's pretty terrible.
20:45Once you've got on the waiting list, there's a longer wait for that. And that means the
20:49NHS isn't really working properly. It needs to be sorted out.
20:53Yeah, that 21% nationally. But what about the picture here in Kent? Many of the same
20:58issues with wait lists. I know our viewers would probably be nodding at home and agreeing,
21:02but is there anything specific to us here in Kent that we're struggling with?
21:07I think we just face the same pressures. Certainly the GP end, we have some of the
21:11largest list sizes per GP in the country. And that makes it even more pressurised for
21:17those of us who are trying to meet the demand from people. So I think at that end may be
21:21doing worse. The hospitals, I think they're on about average, but it varies from department
21:26to department and hospital to hospital.
21:27So as a GP in Medway, how many patients do you have on the books?
21:33In the practices I work at, you're looking at around 2,500 per GP. If you go back to
21:38the beginning of my career, it was 1,800. So there's a significant number, considering
21:43each of those people on average goes to their surgery or has a consultation seven times
21:47a year.
21:48That's why we have to get you up this early, so that we can have time to have you on, Julian.
21:53Do you worry then about satisfaction within the NHS as a whole, but looking particularly
21:58in your sector as well? It must be really tough. You're doing your job. You've done
22:02it for many, many years. You're trying to do it to the best of your ability. And you're
22:05probably, I imagine, faced with lots of scrutiny day on day. How tricky can that be in your
22:10position?
22:11It can be tricky. The numbers of complaints are going up. And we're doing all we can to
22:16try and find a way around that. Most people tend to separate the waiting times and the
22:21general situation from the people working in there. But there's a small minority who
22:26are becoming more and more assertive and then abusive and so on, and small numbers where
22:30you're having to actually remove them because they've either threatened violence or actually
22:34physically damaged the surgery. And that really is a worrying situation for us.
22:39Now it's time to take a very quick look at the weather.
22:47This evening will be partly cloudy. Temperatures around 12 degrees, 13 in Ashford and Margate
22:52with low wind speeds into tomorrow. Sunny across the county, 50 degrees over in Maidstone
22:58and 13 down in Canterbury and into the afternoon. Highs of 21 degrees in Royal Tunbridge, whilst
23:04summer is nearly here, isn't it? And that sunshine continuing to next Monday. Temperatures
23:10dropping down, though, 14 degrees by the beginning of next week, 13 on Sunday.
23:23And finally, a group of Formula One loving year six pupils from Snodland have followed
23:28in the footsteps of their heroes, becoming champions after winning a national competition.
23:34Striking Force Design have built their very own cardboard Formula One model before racing
23:39it against more than 600 others, taking into account aerodynamics, computer modelling and
23:45of course, quick reaction times. Bartholomew Hall went down to meet them and take a look
23:50at their custom-built wind tunnel.
23:56Design, engineering and speed. These year six pupils from Snodland Primary have become
24:02champions after winning the F1 in Schools National Finals, one of the UK's largest science
24:07and technology school competitions of its kind.
24:11Known as Striking Force, Leon, Jake, Thomas and Hugo were tasked with building their own
24:16Formula One team, complete with logo, merchandise and of course, racing car.
24:22Our car is based off McLaren's cars, the blue, black and orange. So we have all our sponsors
24:29on the sides. We designed our logo based on a target because we're always striking for
24:36the fastest car.
24:37I take a look at F1 quite a fair bit and I take a lot of inspiration from it, so taking
24:43streamlined design and taking as much inspiration as the goods stuff.
24:50When put to the test, the car clocked an impressive 1.832 seconds on the 20 metre track, making
24:57it the fastest on the grid.
24:59It was probably one of the most amazing experiences ever. I mean, everyone was so happy and it
25:05was just a great day for everyone.
25:06And of course a big part of the design process was studying the car's aerodynamics to make
25:11small fine-tuning adjustments to get extra speed on the car. Now I'm going to be given
25:16a demonstration of how the wind tunnel works, which in fact they built themselves.
25:22So there's a smoke generator connected to this remote here. There's a pipe going into
25:28the disperser, which disperses the smoke evenly. Then there's the fan that's sucking the air
25:35through the wind tunnel and then there's this part that just supplies everything with air
25:42so that the smoke can travel fast.
25:46The group all came together thanks to their keen love for Formula One. I'm told all Lewis
25:51Hamilton fans, by the way. Their teacher, Mr Smith, noticed that the school was in need
25:56of an F1 club.
25:58The F1 club has really brought in children from different areas around the school. It's
26:02given them a chance to really build on those personal social skills, public talking, speaking
26:07amongst their peers, presenting in front of others. So it's a great chance for them to
26:10really build those skills.
26:12So after nine months of developing their winning formula, it's clear these youngsters have
26:17set themselves up for a future of success. Bartholomew Hall for KMTV in Snodland.
26:25Very impressive win there. But you've been watching Kentonite Live here on KMTV. That's
26:30everything from us for the time being. There'll be more news made just for Kent throughout
26:34the evening. And don't forget you can always keep up to date with all the latest news on
26:38our website, kmtv.co.uk. I'll be back tomorrow. I'll see you soon.