News

If you are looking for advice on independent living, the Centre for Independent Living Kent (CILK) could help you when they arrive in Capel-le Ferne on Tuesday.

They will be at the Capel-le-Ferne Farmers Market in Lancaster Avenue on Tuesday 12th August between 10.00am to 12.30pm.

CILK offers help and assistance on various aids and equipment, grants and benefits plus other advice on independent living.

The manager and disabled volunteers staffing the wheelchair friendly vehicle will be able to give advice and guidance on all aspects of independent living.

This innovative scheme is funded with a grant from the Big Lottery.

Their wheelchair accessible vehicle will give disabled people across Kent access to independent living support right on their own doorstep.  

A 57 year old registered nurse from Romney Marsh has been struck off the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) register for inappropriate behaviour towards a patient.

Jeremy Peters was employed at Hillside Hospital, a rehabilitation unit for people with mental health problems in Hastings, Sussex in 2006.

He was charged with giving a patient his mobile phone number, sending her three inappropriate and unprofessional text messages, hugging and kissing the patient on numerous occasions, and driving the patient to a pub for lunch.

The independent panel of the Conduct and Competence Committee heard that in one of the text messages Peters wrote 'If needed you will be able to roll over and hold me as we did earlier…'.

While Peters denied hugging and kissing the patient and taking her to a pub, the panel accepted the patient's detailed recollection of these events, which is outside any care plan set for the patient. The panel noted that Peters' charges were of a sexual nature and were liable to cause the vulnerable patient serious harm.

Commenting on the panel's decision to strike Peters off the register, NMC spokesperson Kristy Hempel said: "Peters' actions were proved to be a fundamental and serious breach of the NMC's Code of professional conduct.

"He crossed proper professional boundaries and failed to protect and support the health of the patient, who he knew to be particularly vulnerable. Peters showed no insight into the gravity of his behaviour and the panel deemed him a potential risk to patients and unfit to practise as a registered nurse, issuing a striking off order to maintain public confidence in the NMC."

'Germ watch' is about to hit Dover as part of national Food Safety Week.

Dover District Council’s Environmental Health team is encouraging everyone to think about the importance of food hygiene, and experts will be there for a special display at the Dover Discovery Centre.

During Food Safety Week, from 9-13 June, the health team will be out and about, raising the profile of food safety issues. On Tuesday 10 June, they will be conducting hand washing demonstrations, providing information, and handing out free fridge thermometers at the Dover Discovery Centre from 10am-4pm.

Food Safety Week is a national initiative led by the Food Standards Agency. The theme this year is 'Germ Watch', designed to raise awareness of good food hygiene practices, in particular in the home, especially the 4Cs, Cleaning, Cooking, Chilling and avoiding Cross-contamination.

For further information on food safety issues, please contact the DDC Environmental Health team on 01304 872216, or log onto www.dover.gov.uk/foodsafety

Choral singing has a profound and positive effect on health and well being, according to Dr Maria Sandgren, who will present her findings on Tuesday 29th April in Folkestone.

Dr Sandgren's free seminar, entitled 'Singing, Stress and the Endocrine System', takes place between 1pm and 3pm at the Sidney De Haan Research Centre for Arts and Health, at the new University Centre Folkestone, Mill Bay, Folkestone.

Dr Sandgren will draw upon her research into solo and choral singing and look at how intimately emotions, self-esteem and vocal performance are connected to singers. She will also discuss the importance of singing on health and well being - both for amateur and professional singers.

A registered psychologist from the University of Stockholm, Sweden, Dr Sandgren, explained: "Choral singing has a long tradition in Sweden and one out of five people sing in a choir. I found that, although choristers participate in the same rehearsal, their level of well being might differ depending on gender, health status and choir level. Results indicated that choral singing had strong effects on the well being in that positive emotions increased significantly and, in turn, negative emotions radically subsided. In conclusion, I found that choral singers, particularly women, are happier, more alert and relaxed after a rehearsal."

Hospital bosses are coming under fire for their decision to give every full-time member of staff a £250 bonus.

East Kent Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs the Kent and Canterbury, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, William Harvey, Buckland and Royal Victoria hospitals, has saved over £20m this financial year and was allowed to retain £7.5m of its surplus.

£1.5m is being used to reward staff and £6m will be reinvested in services.

Shepway Lib Dem Leader, Lynne Beaumont, has said the money should have been used to employ more nursing staff and retaining the Royal Victoria Hospital.

Cllr Beaumont said: "The whole reason for closure of wards at the Royal Victoria was because there was no money and now we are told they are £7.5m under-spent.

"It is not a bad idea to reward staff, but they deserve far more than £250.

"The whole point is the budget is being mismanaged.

"That £1.5m could have provided more nursing staff in the front line and taken pressure off the people who have really worked their socks off in the last year.

"It is very odd and people are very angry."

 

People in the South East can expect to live another 18 months under new plans.

The commitment to raise the life expectancy of the most socially disadvantaged in Kent and Medway and across the South East by 18 months was just one of the aims set out in a new health strategy for the South East launched today by Jonathan Shaw, Regional Minister for the South East.

In Kent, the population is generally healthy and indicators of health are good when compared to other areas of England. However, there are large differences in life expectancy between districts. For example male life expectancy is lower and early death rate due to cancer is higher in Thanet than in Canterbury, Dartford, Dover, Shepway and Swale. Although the proportion of adults who smoke is low overall, the figure for Thanet is higher than the national average.

In Medway, the picture is more gloomy. Men and women in Medway can expect to live shorter lives than the average for London and the South East region as a whole, although life expectancy is increasing. There are large differences in life expectancy between income groups.

"The South East England Health Strategy" identifies the main priorities and actions needed to improve the health of people living in the South East, focusing on six specific themes:

- Reducing health inequalities and raise the life expectancy of the most socially disadvantaged.
- Promoting sustainability to maximise the positive impact on people's health.
- Reducing violence and create a safer, sustainable community.
- Improving workplace health.
- Promoting the physical and mental well-being of children and young people.
- Improving the healthy life expectancy of older people and reduce inequalities in health.

The strategy links actions at a national, regional and local level to ensure that all those with an interest in health issues work in partnership to improve the health of everyone in the South East.

Welcoming the strategy, Jonathan Shaw said: "Health is everyone's business. Although we have some of the healthiest communities in the UK, we also have some communities and groups who experience shocking health inequalities. Across the South East, differences in life expectancy of ten or more years can be found."