Page 6 - The Lyminge Newsletter - August 2022

Doctors’ NewsNotes

Our two GP surgeries are sponsoring a new initiative to improve communications to our residents about key topics
within healthcare. This initiative, to be routinely included within our Lyminge Newsletter, aims to provide accurate
information for the community that may previously only have been picked when patients visit the surgeries.
This month, to start us off, Tara and Stephen (the Practice Managers from both surgeries) have given some details
about waiting times for hospital appointments as well as the recent announcement of autumn covid boosters.
If there are any particular subjects you would like covered in the future, that are applicable to both our surgeries, then
please do let me know (Peter Barnes: pbarnes20@icloud.com, 07808 775 302)

Waiting Times for Hospital Appointments

As part of diagnosis and treatment of some healthcare problems that our patients experience, there is often a need to refer a patient
to see a specialist at a local hospital. Specialisms include Gastroenterology, Dermatology and Cardiology, amongst others, and often
the waiting times for patients can be long. GP surgeries are very limited in what they can do to escalate a patient to be seen quicker
and, fundamentally, it is down to the Consultant team at the hospital to determine the priority of patients, after taking into account
the detail provided by the GP as part of the referral process.
A national website is available to patients that contains up to date information of speciality waiting times at East Kent Hospitals
University NHS Foundation Trust. The My Planned Care website allows patients to search by speciality and indicates how long they
are likely to wait for a routine referral. https://www.myplannedcare.nhs.uk/seast/east-kent/
Autumn Covid Boosters

As a local resident you are likely to have had your covid vaccinations done in either a Mass Vaccination Centre (such as Folca) or at
Oaklands Health Centre. Oaklands gave their first vaccination on 21st December 2020 and were part of only a small group of surgeries
who were involved in the initial roll-out. To date approximately 45,000 vaccinations have been given.
On the 15th July the Department of Health published the next phase of the covid vaccination campaign. Nicknamed the ‘Autumn
Boosters’ this phase will provide an additional covid vaccination to the following groups of patients –
• Residents in a care home for older adults and staff working in care homes for older adults
• Frontline health and social care workers
• All adults aged 50 and over
• Those aged 5 to 49 years in a clinical risk group, including pregnant women
• Those aged 5 to 49 years who are household contacts of people with immunosuppression
• Those aged 16 to 49 years who are carers
Patients who fall within the groups above will receive an invite for the vaccination to be done at Oaklands Health Centre during the
autumn or be able to book directly at one of the national Mass Vaccination Centres. GP surgeries ask that you do not ring to ask for an
appointment and that all applicable patients will be invited to Oaklands or be able to book at a Mass Vaccination Centre in due course.

Temporary Road Closure at Broad Street, Lyminge
(continued from front page)

Other key risks include:
• Delays to Age UK and carers’ services have been cited as key risks for the infirm or disabled.
• Businesses are already experiencing cancellations and fear significant losses as they try to recover from the pandemic.
• Access to doctors and to hospital.
• In these times of high fuel costs, many are worries about the additional costs to make basic journeys. A twice daily trip to/from Folkestone
has been estimated as an extra 600 miles over 42 days costing about an extra £160.
• Deliveries to the village pharmacies, the food shop and to residents and other businesses.
• The overall environmental impact, including increased pollution, is also a matter of concern.
Until they protested, the Lyminge Parish council were not even consulted about the closure. They have since had a meeting with Pentland
Homes and voiced the concerns of the village. They managed to get the closure reduced to a nominal 3-4 weeks, with a later lane closure, but
this is not guaranteed. KCC claimed to have written to the community advising of the closure, but few have seen such a letter.
Another closure is planned in October 2022 by Openreach.
Pentland Homes own Etchinghill Golf Course. When asked whether the drains could be dug via their land, or whether a temporary road could
be built via the golf course, the answer was no, but no details were given. Civil engineers in the village have asked if other possibilities were
considered but no response was provided.
The petition asks,’ In the event that Pentland Homes chooses to proceed without further regard for our petition that you provide more support for
the community including but not limited to support for residents suffering significant financial impact (i.e., easily accessible hardship fund to cover
cost of fuel and loss of revenue), better access solutions for emergency services, and a cross-village shuttle bus.
Finally, we would also request you all to review what can be learned from how this unacceptable situation can
occur.’
Local councillors Susan Carey and Jenny Hollingsbee, and the MP Damian Collins have also been addressing
the proposed closure with the relevant authorities (see page 7).

Editor: pbarnes20@icloud.com 6 Tel: 01303 863737