Fears for the future of A&E

Those reading our health special on pages 8-9 this week will no doubt groan when they see the future of Maidstone’s A&E could be in doubt.

And those who campaigned for seven long years to keep services in Maidstone will have seen this all before.

On the one hand we really want to believe health bosses will keep the general public fully informed of what might be afoot as all aspects of Kent’s healthcare is looked at.

But set against this background is the fact the NHS needs to save money and far-reaching changes may need to be made.

So far we are not filled with confidence. As we’ve reported private discussions have so far dominated the agenda with Glenn Douglas, head of the Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust saying Maidstone Hospital has not been specifically discussed – yet.

But this leaves campaigners to fill in the gap, with retired GP Paul Hobday saying in his opinion Maidstone Hospital would be the location most likely to close under the plans now being discussed.

When, as we hope, discussions do move into the public arena we are also urging all within the NHS to make it clear what is happening.

If this does involve any units closing, then this needs to be said. It is very easy for the health service to hide behind words such as ‘reconfiguration’ ‘new service centre’ ‘changing the direction of health travel.’ They are all meaningless.

You can be sure of one thing. The Kent Messenger will keep this issue on the radar and ensure we bring you the latest and ask the difficult questions of health professionals.