Enhanced NHS 111 Service Launches for Kent, Medway and Sussex

The NHS 111 service in Kent, Medway and Sussex has been enhanced and patients can now expect a more robust response with the same expert advice now delivered by a wider range of healthcare professionals.

GPs, paramedics, nurses, mental health professionals, dental nurses and pharmacists are all part of the new NHS 111 clinical assessment service, which launched on Thursday the 1st of October 2020.

People who call 111 - free from mobiles or landlines 24/7 - or access the service via www.111.nhs.uk will speak to call handlers and/or healthcare professionals who will be able to assess symptoms over the phone, issue prescriptions and directly book people into onward care appointments if they need one.

The new clinical assessment service is a result of a new contract for NHS 111 in Kent, Medway and Sussex. The new five-year contract was awarded to South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SECAmb) as the lead provider, and they are working in conjunction with not-for-profit social enterprise Integrated Care 24 (IC24). SECAmb and IC24 already provided NHS111 to parts of the south east separately but will now work together to deliver a more joined-up service.

It is one of a number of improvements that Kent and Medway’s residents will experience if they use NHS 111 over the coming months.

If work goes to plan, by the end of the year, the service will also be able to book patients into a timeslot at an emergency department or urgent care service through NHS 111 First, if this is deemed the most appropriate service to help and support them.

There’s more information on the launch of the enhanced 111 clinical assessment service available on NHS Kent and Medway Clinical Commissioning Group’s website

NHS Kent and Medway Clinical Commissioning Group

St Mary's Church Fundraiser Sale

St Mary's Church

Fundraiser Sale

Saturday 10th October
Outside 3 Horsham Lane
10:00am - 11:30am

Homemade Cakes, Jam, Chutney, Produce,

Puzzles, Books, Bric-a-brac and more…

Due to current government COVID-19 rules,

we will only be able to have a few customers at a time.

Please be patient.

Mary Stone

The Blythswood Care Christmas Shoe Box Appeal 2020

Fill a shoe box for someone in need and bring joy this Christmas

Every year Blytheswood Care organize their shoe box appeal. This is a huge event which last Christmas saw over 220,000 shoe boxes delivered to adults and children living in extreme poverty across eastern Europe.

This is a wonderful way to bring love and care to those whose daily life is a dreadful struggle. The poverty in eastern Europe sees children living in sheds and rooms without heat and light. Children and adults who don't eat every day. Children without warm clothing or shoes. COVID-19 has added a terrible burden to these families and homeless people.

The simple things we can fill a shoe box with, like a hat, scarf and gloves, soap and flannel, toothbrush and toothpaste, sweets, stationery and other basic treats are precious to those who receive them.

There are 3 ways you can get involved:

1. Helping to check the boxes before they go on the lorries

There is a booking system for this, please phone Ralph: 07847 205431

The boxes will start being sorted from 26/10 at the Loknstore on Courtney Road, Gillingham. Everything will be cleaned down between checking sessions. The experience of checking boxes is amazing and humbling as you see for yourself how much love can be poured into a box.

2. Fill a box

Choose a recipient, male/female adult, male/female teen/child (with children you have to choose an age that your box is appropriate for).

We will be parked in the layby in Horsham Lane, Upchurch opposite the church on Wednesday the 11th of November between 10:30am and 11:30am, to pick up your shoe boxes.

Any questions, please Email me: gilliangay99@yahoo.co.uk

3. Collect items to go in the boxes we check

We are always short of scarves, gloves, flannels, kitchen utensils, candles, sewing kits and sweets. Or you can donate money online. It takes £3 to send every box to eastern Europe.

Please click on the following link for more information, heart-wrenching photos and keep scrolling down to see a short video which is a must to watch.

Link >> https://blythswood.org/shoeboxappeal

Thank you and bless you.

Gill Gay

Statement from the Leader of Swale Borough Council on Coronavirus

Cllr Roger Truelove.

The leader of the council has called for a renewal of community spirit to help people get through the next six months of restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic.

In the last few weeks, the government has announced new measures to try to prevent the spread of the virus, including limiting opening hours for pubs, bars and restaurants, making collection of contact details a legal requirement for businesses, and making it illegal for groups of more than six people to gather socially.

Cllr Roger Truelove, leader of the council, said:

“Recent Government decisions have signalled a new phase in the fight against coronavirus.

We are anticipating another set of extra responsibilities for our council and I am naturally concerned about unemployment and homelessness increasing.

Having had the intense lockdown phase from March to June, we then had a period of comparative respite through the summer, with people patriotically eating out to help out.

Now we are embarking on a long six-month winter of hibernation, with the possibility of further restrictions on individual lifestyles. We cannot underestimate the impact this may have on the economy but also on people’s wider health and especially mental health.

People are going to find restrictions much harder to accept during the winter months and we will need to renew the community spirit of the first lockdown.

We must not relax. We have had a comparatively low level of infection compared with some parts of the country and we must continue to follow the public health advice, to regularly wash our hands, wear masks and observe social distancing.

At the same time, we must have a vision of our future as we come out of this crisis. Much will depend on the competence of our government, especially in tackling the severe economic climate.

But as a Council we have to have a clear idea of where we want to go.

We will continue to fight to protect Swale from unrealistic planning demands from government; to seek ways to provide more affordable housing; to fight the climate emergency locally, to work more closely with community voluntary groups, to build a local economy with wider job opportunities and make improvements to our town centres, our open spaces, our tourist centres and our heritage to increase our sense of pride in the place called Swale.”

Swale Borough Council

Future Forward - Free Business Recovery Support for Small Businesses in Kent

In normal times, small businesses across Kent and Medway would be powering the county’s economy. As lockdown restrictions ease many will be questioning how to get back to the success they were building - or planning for. 

Future Forward, a free business support service, will guide local businesses through the challenges they are now facing. Their mission is to help Kent and Medway SMEs (small and medium enterprises) to come back stronger.

It may be that you are a company needing advice on becoming more digitally focused, including skills and training. There may be new opportunities that your business wants to pursue, setting out on a path to future growth and expansion, or you are looking for some advice on funding schemes available to you.

Locate in Kent’s advisors are there to support businesses with all of this. Whatever your goals, their expert team will provide impartial business advice depending on your requirements and detail the steps you need to take to achieve your business objectives.

Find out more at: www.locateinkent.com/future-forward

Medway Council

NHS Knitter Presents Colleagues at Upchurch's Co-op with Uniformed Bears to Say Thank You

Shopper Lisa presented Jane and colleagues from Upchurch’s Co-op with 3 lovely bears wearing Co-op uniforms, beautifully kitted by her friend Evie Goss.

Evie knits the bears and gives them to NHS staff but decided to present 3 bears to Co-op staff in Upchurch for all their recent hard work 👍🏼 😀

Upchurch Matters