GORDON HENDERSON MP

Lou and I missed our walk again today, not only was the weather miserable, but my first appointment, at Sheppey Ambulance Station, was at 9 am, which didn’t leave us much time. It was one of the shorter journeys I have to make, because the station is situated at Queenborough Corner, just a short drive from my home.

The first person I met when I arrived was Gerry, who was one of the paramedics who attended the car accident when the roof of my car was removed to extricate Louise from her seat. It was good to have a chance to thank Gerry and his colleagues for their professionalism and dedication.

I was shown round the station by Mark Spooner, who is the Clinical Operations Manager for both Sheppey and Sittingbourne Ambulance station. Mark explained in some detail the operational side of the Ambulance Service which ensures that there is adequate cover across the Island at all times. I have to say that the service Islanders receive has improved immeasurably over the last decade.

Mark and I then drove over to the Sittingbourne station where I met duty staff and was shown round a new ambulance. Pretty impressive stuff! The Ambulance Service is vastly different these days, to what I can remember only a few short years ago. Then most ambulance drivers were just that; they used to take patients to and from hospital, or attend accidents to transport injured people to hospital. Now ambulances are manned by highly skilled paramedics who can often be the difference between life and death.

Like all our public services the Ambulance Service is bedevilled by targets. One target requires ambulances to transport patients from the scene of an accident to hospital in a given time. If ambulance staff achieve that target, whether or not the patient is still alive, a box is ticked. If they linger too long at the scene of an accident in an effort to ensure somebody survives and arrives in hospital alive, and they miss their target deadline, they fail. It is a ludicrous target and is one that we must scrap as soon as possible.

After my visit to the ambulance stations I popped into Periwinkle for a couple of hours before heading off for a meeting with John Sword, who is the new Chief Executive of Thamesteel. On the way I received a phone call to say that Mr Sword had been called away to an urgent appointment and could no longer meet me, so I found myself with an afternoon free. Well almost, because Lottie had brought more correspondence down from Westminster, so I ploughed through that.

In the evening, Louise and I took time out and went for an Indian meal at the Koh-I-Noor restaurant in Halfway. Personally, I prefer Chinese food, but if I want an Indian for a change, then the Koh-I-Noor is the place to go. It has an extensive menu containing original dishes that are simply out of this world and I thoroughly recommend it to anyone who likes a good Indian meal.