No time like present to return A&E

Imagine a 90-year-old man walking on a Saturday evening to a local church concert. He trips over a small remnant of a tree stump in St Peter’s Place, on the corner of Tower Way, and falls headlong on his front, hitting his head against the side of the toilet building and damaging his left hand. Both head and hand are bleeding badly.

A motorist identifying himself as Colin from Canterbury rushes to the side of the wounded man, talking to him and keeping him talking. Other, younger people try to stem the blood from the wounds and produce blankets and jackets from nowhere to keep the victim warm. An ambulance has been called, of course. The wind blows round the corner, fine rain sets in, – no ambulance.

Then two of them pass but disappear towards Northgate. A whole hour-and-ahalf passes before the ambulance reaches our victim.

Now all the necessary actions are being done first before the patient gets taken to Ashford’s William Harvey Hospital, a good 30 minutes away from Canterbury.

Kent and Canterbury Hospital would have been six minutes away from the accident scene. Why, oh why can the K&C