Catch up with all the latest news from across the county with Oliver Leader de Saxe.
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00:00Hello and welcome to Kentonite live here on KMTV.
00:28I'm Oliver, leader of the Saks, and here are your top stories on Monday the 24th of March.
00:35Five years on, half a decade since the first UK lockdown,
00:39we find out how Kent has adapted and changed.
00:43Childcare chaos.
00:45Darenth Nursery says free childcare will only put the cost onto them.
00:49Giving thanks, 700 volunteers celebrated in special ceremony at Rochester Cathedral.
00:59Now it's been five years since we were all told to stay at home
01:02and it's been half a decade since the UK first went into lockdown.
01:06In those years and lockdowns since, many would lose loved ones,
01:10many without getting to say goodbye.
01:12This week we'll be looking into different ways the pandemic
01:16has fundamentally changed life here in the county.
01:19The way we live, the way we work, the way we communicate.
01:23From the impact on local businesses to how they adapted in this unprecedented new world.
01:29And Kristen Hawthorne has been speaking to people on the streets of Maidstone
01:32to get a sense of what life looks like five years on from that very first lockdown.
01:38Five years ago, the UK experienced its first lockdown for COVID-19,
01:43changing daily lives across the UK.
01:46While restrictions are long gone, the impact of the virus is still being felt,
01:51particularly when it comes to long-term health.
01:54It has still affected us to get very, very tired.
01:56I'm not able to do the long walks I used to be able to do and that's changed my life really.
02:03Mentally now it's walking the ducks back, it's sort of gone but the sort of lingering
02:09fault on the financial effects that it had are definitely still there.
02:14Well it's not actually to do with COVID itself, it's the fact that I couldn't get to see a
02:18consultant when I discovered that I was no longer able to balance myself properly
02:23and I was bumping into things. So I have been seen since.
02:27I've seen a neurologist and hopefully I'm just going to be able to manage it.
02:32But it made me very unhappy for quite a while.
02:35Dr Julian Spinks explains how the understanding of COVID has evolved over the years.
02:40Five years ago we really didn't know what COVID was. It was so brand new and it's easy to forget
02:46now that we were trying to deal with a very unknown prospect. We didn't know how dangerous
02:51it was going to be, we didn't know how to stop it, we didn't have vaccines. So it was a very
02:56different world back then. We now understand a lot more about it, we know how to reduce the
03:01amount of it going around in the population, the right precautions to take, those which aren't
03:06needed or aren't helpful.
03:08Despite this, attitudes towards the virus have shifted, with many treating it like a seasonal
03:13illness. But for those still struggling, support and recognition remain crucial.
03:18We now have assessment services and clinics which can take you with long COVID and rehabilitate
03:24them. We don't have a single treatment, there isn't a drug we can give to people which fixes
03:29them, it really depends on what their main symptoms are. But we can help people, the
03:33trouble is that you can't genuinely say we can cure them.
03:37Five years on, the world has moved forward. But COVID's legacy, both in health and in
03:41how we approach illnesses, continues to shape daily life.
03:45Kristen Hawthorne for KMTV.
03:51Now, nurseries and child miners across Kent say they're being set up to fail. They've
03:56changed the government-funded free childcare spaces. This year, eligible parents of under
04:01five will be entitled to 30 free hours of childcare. However, some childcare providers
04:07say they may have to leave the scheme due to rising costs, which they claim aren't being
04:13covered by the scheme. Charlotte Rowles, the deputy manager of Dimple's daycare nursery,
04:18joined us on the Kent Morning Show earlier.
04:21We're underfunded by about £3 per hour, and we're just expected to make up that shortfall.
04:28And the government say they want quality, cheap, or quality and free childcare. And
04:33unfortunately, if you want quality, it doesn't come free.
04:36So what does this mean for your nursery? What exactly is going to happen? What will
04:39it look like?
04:41So at the moment, we don't know. We only received on Thursday the addendum from KCC,
04:48which is supposed to be implemented from the 1st of April. We haven't received any further
04:54guidance or information as of yet. We're not sure. Nobody knows if they are going to
04:59be sustainable or not. If we can't get this back to Parliament and government and get
05:04this either delayed so that we can work out a plan of action, or if we can get some of
05:11the rules changed, then unfortunately, I think lots of settings are either going to have
05:16to opt out of the funding or close their doors, because we can't offer those things for free.
05:22We are, we pride ourselves on being a really top quality early years provider, where we
05:29offer so many things that are, you know, they're extras, but to us, they're not extras, because
05:34that's just part of what we offer. And that's what makes us outstanding.
05:38And yet we're being expected to charge additional for, you know, obviously, we have to charge
05:43additional for that, but we're being told that we're maybe not allowed to charge that.
05:47So it's just, it's ridiculous.
05:50I think people at home may be watching and thinking, it is wonderful that you do all
05:55these different things. But if the country itself, the sector itself is under so much
06:01financial strain, you may have to consider reducing some of those extra activities and
06:07parts of what you do. I know you're shaking your head and I know you fundamentally disagree
06:11with that, because this is the foundation of your business. You've obviously set yourself
06:15apart with all those outstanding ratings. But perhaps there will be people out there
06:19that say they just want that childcare for their child. They want it the cheapest they
06:24can. And they need to get that and they need these free hours as well.
06:30So then I'd say that obviously, they have to look for a setting that's not our setting,
06:34then a setting that's willing. And unfortunately, that is part of what we're worried about with
06:39the underfunding and the new rules.
06:41But should children who perhaps come from families that can't afford it, should they
06:44have to miss out on all these wonderful opportunities? It seems incredibly unfair.
06:47But then we should be being paid more by the government. So then it comes back down.
06:52Unfortunately, it's that vicious cycle. It comes back down to the underfunded.
06:56Now, with more than 30,000 people unemployed across Kent,
07:00how can we get more people in the county to level up their skills while still earning
07:04a decent living? Well, our local democracy reporter Gabriel Morris caught up with the
07:10county's MPs at the Maidstone Apprenticeship Fair to find out why these schemes are so
07:15important for Kent's communities.
07:19Do apprenticeships get overlooked? Are they just as important as perhaps going to university?
07:23They absolutely are. This is the seventh apprenticeship fair that I've been involved in.
07:30I started it with Tracy Crouch, actually, in 2018. So we've done seven. There was a gap
07:36because of COVID. And, you know, apprenticeships are fantastic. They are a great way to earn
07:42and learn at the same time. This apprenticeship fair is brilliant. Every year, I meet students
07:50who've come here to find out what the options are. It's clever that there are lots of young
07:55people now going to university who don't come from families who went to university before.
08:00But that's not for everybody. And the advantage of an apprenticeship is you can earn while you
08:05learn. And it's a great way into loads of other potential careers. And this is a way for students
08:11to find out. I think what's important for young people is they have options available to them
08:15to fulfil their full potential in life. And what we see today is just so much excitement from
08:20hundreds and hundreds of young people from across Kent coming here to see these brilliant exhibitors
08:25and finding out what opportunities are available to them. I think the work that the last government
08:29did, particularly with the apprenticeship levy, has made apprenticeships much higher profile.
08:33And I think that that wasn't a moment too soon. And we can't talk about them enough. I think it's
08:38really important that our young people know that it's an option for them,
08:42not if they don't want to, to go to university, to take all of the debt that comes with that,
08:45but actually to be paid all the way through and to train at the same time.
08:50Now, the people behind new banking hubs in Kent say they're vital for families and businesses
08:56who still rely on the cash. The newest one has opened in Sheerness, with others recommended
09:02for Dover and Tunbridge. They've been set up in response to branch closures most recently,
09:07Santander, after a drop in football. Well, we talked about this earlier on our morning show.
09:15A banking hub, well, it looks like a bank branch. It feels like a bank branch. And if you go into
09:21it, you can do all the things you could expect to do at a counter of a normal bank branch. So
09:27managing your cash on the high street, which we think is a really important thing for places like
09:33Sheerness and Dover and Tunbridge, and they're having a real impact on the high street across
09:38the country for people to manage their cash. We are seeing closures of high street banks,
09:45the traditional sort of brick and mortar stores. We're seeing these sort of virtual banks popping
09:51up as well. How do you stay sort of competitive with them? How do you make sure that there is a
09:56space for these banking hubs? So our role is actually to step in when the banks have closed.
10:04So we work with the banks. All these banking hubs are funded collectively by the banks,
10:10and it's all underpinned by legislation to make sure that when a bank branch does close,
10:16there is still the right level of service on a high street. And those 5 million people across
10:21the country can continue to access cash. So this is a collective endeavour to make sure
10:28that we've got cash on the high street while loads of people are moving on to digital. People can
10:34still access it if they need to budget or, frankly, if the systems go down and we need cash to fall
10:40back on. The action since it's been open in Sheerness, of course, there's other proposals
10:46for different locations in Kent as well. What have people been telling you? And have you seen a lot
10:50of people using them? Yeah, so we've recommended over 200 banking hubs now at Link, and there are
10:57over 140 of them operational as of today. And they're proving really popular. People need to
11:05manage their cash on the high street, and people are using them to do basic banking services. They
11:12are going in there and being able to chat to someone every day of the week. And then on specific
11:17days, someone from their bank being there for more complex transactions as well. So overall,
11:24they're proving really popular. And I would just say also for local businesses, if there's local
11:29businesses choosing whether to take cash or not, being able to go back to the local branch and
11:35manage their cash on the same high street is getting really good feedback across the country.
11:41Well, more news after this breaking cleaning about which Morrison stores in Kent
11:45will be closed following national cuts. See you in a few minutes.
12:10Transcribed by https://otter.ai
14:40Transcribed by https://otter.ai
15:11Hello and welcome back to Kentonite live here on KMTV. Now two Morrison stores in Kent are set to
15:19close as part of a nationwide raft of cuts at the supermarket giants. A total of 52 cafes and 17
15:27stores will be shut in total. There's a number of in-store services including meat counters.
15:34Here in the county, a Morrison's daily convenience store in Tunbridge and a Morrison's market kitchen
15:39in Gravesend have both been earmarked for closure. The changes are said to be putting more than 350
15:45employees at risk of redundancy. Morrison's chief executive said the move is to focus investment
15:52to areas customers really value. Now a woman in Broadstreet has been accused of attempting to
15:59murder her own daughter. Carla Lovejoy allegedly stabbed her daughter Isabella multiple times,
16:05leaving with substantial injuries at her bungalow in Guy Close. She was arrested after the incident
16:12with a number of police and paramedic vehicles spotted in the area with an air ambulance landing
16:17nearby and a forensic investigation taking place. She appeared in Folsom's magistrates court today
16:22to confirm her name, age and address with a plea and trial preparation taking place on the 22nd
16:29of April. After losing her son suddenly when he was just 11 years old, Emma O'Brien from Gravesend
16:36is making it her mission to help other families and children with epilepsy. Leo tragically passed
16:43away from sudden unexpected death in epilepsy just after his birthday in 2023. The hope is now with
16:51awareness and funding, better technology can help avoid this happening to more families.
16:57Emma joined us in the Kent Morning Show earlier today. Leo's Angels was really founded out of our
17:03own, well partly personal experience, trying to support our youngest son Leo through his
17:10health challenges that he had before he died. But also coupled with my own professional experience,
17:15I run a digital transformation consultancy, so it became acutely aware to me that technology
17:21could play a really major role in helping other families and other children like Leo.
17:27And tell us about what happened to Leo. Of course this must have, I can't even begin to imagine
17:32how this must have felt for you and your family. Tell us a bit about him and then what tragically
17:38happened. Yeah, so Leo is the youngest of our three children and he was diagnosed with epilepsy when
17:48he was just three years old. It came out of the blue one day, he had a seizure, we took him into
17:53hospital and they diagnosed him. But he was very quickly put on medication and to be honest,
18:00life just carried on as normal. The medication was helping to control his seizures, we really
18:06didn't have any major issues until the middle of the Covid pandemic. Leo was also diagnosed with
18:13autism and he just really struggled with the whole lack of structure around going to school.
18:20And even though he was actually in a special needs school at the time, the school didn't
18:25support him at all, we couldn't even get a phone call with the teacher and we really did notice
18:31how he was not responding very well during that time. And unfortunately the anxiety, the lack of
18:36routine just took its toll on Leo and he had his first cluster of what we saw as tonic-clonic
18:43seizures in June 2020 and we struggled to recover from that after that point. His seizures became
18:51more and more violent, they became more and more out of control and he was transferred under the
18:57care of the Evelyn Children's Hospital who were amazing and they did everything they could. But
19:03what we found was the communication between the hospitals, the ability to communicate between
19:09ourselves as families to the hospital about Leo's deteriorating condition was really, really
19:15challenging and everything was incredibly manual. So you'd go into a review appointment and you'd
19:21spend most of the appointment verbally telling them how many seizures he's had and writing everything
19:26down and we just found it incredibly reactive and unfortunately all of the other really important
19:31parts of Leo's condition, I just don't think we managed to communicate them very, very well.
19:37Unfortunately he then suffered a seizure in December 23 that was his final seizure and it
19:43hit us really suddenly. No one had talked to us about the risk of sudden unexpected death in
19:49epilepsy. We were really taken aback as a family and to be honest I think his medical team were
19:55also really surprised about it. But when you look at the data points and what we know now and as
20:01cold as it sounds looking at data points of your child, the signs were all there,
20:06that they were all there and if they had been captured in a way that his medical team could have
20:11actually seen what was happening with him, I do think that we possibly would have got slightly
20:15different intervention. I think he would have been recognised as significantly high risk of
20:20SUDEP long before he died. Well Emma we're so, so sorry to hear what you and your family have
20:25gone through. We're looking at some lovely pictures of Leo now on the screen. You mentioned there
20:30about some of the difficulties of actually going through the treatment and communicating with
20:35hospitals. I know this is something that you're working quite, quite strong to, you know,
20:41working quite hardly to make sure that other families don't have to go through. What sort
20:46of change would you like to see to make it easier or sort of, yeah I suppose easier for families to
20:52go through? So there are technology solutions out there. I think it's first of all, I'm not
20:58starting from scratch here trying to create something that hasn't and doesn't already exist.
21:03There are technology solutions out there to help manage and track seizures and capture all of the
21:09important aspects of a child's, or an adult actually, you know, it kind of goes across the
21:15across the whole of the epilepsy community. The problem we have in the UK is that is not
21:21integrated into our NHS system. So the clinicians and the medical teams just simply don't get
21:27visibility of what's happening. So what we would really like to do is we want to raise awareness,
21:33but we also want to raise funds to enable us to be able to take technology that already exists
21:39and enhance that in a way that we can integrate that and give the clinicians and the medical
21:43teams within this country visibility of what is happening on a day-to-day basis, proactively
21:49alerting them so that they can spend their time on the patients that really need it.
21:54And it's not without a cost. You're trying to raise £750,000 on your GoFundMe. That's a lot of money
22:02and of course this is the type of money needed to tackle something so huge and
22:06in this sort of mission that you're on. Where's that money going to come from?
22:11That's a great question, isn't it? It's big, it's bold, it's ambitious. Can we do it? I have absolutely
22:17no idea. But as my husband says and my friends that have supported me in getting me to this
22:23place, if you don't try then you're not going to get anywhere, right? So we're going to try and do
22:28whatever we can. So we are currently in discussions with a number of corporate partners, collaboration
22:34partners that will help us, that will work collectively with us. We are obviously doing our
22:40own fundraising. We're about to kickstart a big event where I'm going to be joined by a 20 to 30
22:46female entrepreneurs and we're doing a 60 kilometre hike in Portugal with backpacks and
22:51God knows what else. So I'm hoping to really leverage the generosity of that network as well
22:57and their own networks. But we're also looking for corporate sponsors so I'm going to be tapping
23:02on the shoulders of many technology companies to see if they will all consider just making
23:07a small donation. Now it's time to take a very quick look at the weather.
23:17Tonight is looking misty, an average temperature of around six degrees joined by low wind speeds.
23:23Going into tomorrow morning, highs of 12 over in Dover, temperatures around 11, 10 degrees,
23:29some sunshine across the county. Disappearing into the afternoon, clouds moving in, temperatures
23:34still rising to 13 over in Medway though. And for the rest of the week, sunny on Wednesday and
23:40Thursday, more cloud on Friday, highs of 17 later in the week. And finally, it's the first of its
23:55kind Thanksgiving service and it's being held at Rochester Cathedral to celebrate the hard work
24:00of volunteer-run organisations here in the five towns. More than 700 volunteers were invited to
24:06the service from the likes of community sports groups, charity organisers and food banks and
24:11Henry Luck went down to find out more. A special night was held for many valuable charity services
24:18in Rochester Cathedral as the Lord Lieutenant and High Sheriff of Kent hosted their first
24:26Thanksgiving service. The event saw the place of worship completely full of volunteers from those
24:34who save lives to those who educate others to experience a night of heartfelt thanks and
24:41gratitude for their hard work. Who decided that we wanted to have a service where we could say thank
24:49you to all the volunteers that do so much fantastic work in the county. So I think we've
24:56got representatives from over 180 charities and organisations coming and they're expecting around
25:07800 people which is absolutely fantastic. The volunteers are unsung heroes. They work tirelessly
25:15and they offer no recognition and no reward which they don't see. So we thought this was a good opportunity to be able to
25:27express our thanks in a public way and recognise what they do. One of the many volunteer-run
25:34services being congratulated is the Medway Queen Preservation Society. It's always good to be
25:41acknowledged and recognised by organisations and by the Lord Lieutenant and others that they
25:48actually acknowledge and value the work that the volunteers do right across the county. So the
25:53Medway Queen's here being representative but it's also key to acknowledge that there's many
25:58organisations here today and without those volunteers playing their key parts and roles
26:05to deliver the services that are valued by the people of Kent and the organisations like the
26:09Medway Queen, we certainly wouldn't exist. Afternoon turned to night when the ceremony
26:15concluded and an experience was created to motivate volunteers across Rochester. Many charities are
26:23going home with their heads held high after the first successful High Sheriff and Lord Lieutenant
26:31Thanksgiving service here in Rochester Cathedral. Henry Luck, McCain TV in Rochester.
26:41Lovely good news story that one. I'll see you tomorrow evening. Good night.
27:01you