26/08/2011 South East Today

Welcome to South East Today. Tonight's top stories: the man

whose death led to a paramedic being struck off. His widow wants

to know how the ambulance worker is still allowed to treat patients.

did not attempt to take any vitals, blood pressure, pulse, any of that.

He stood there. Tributes to the Sussex teenager who

died the day before she was due to get her GCSE results.

Almost 100 jobs are under threat as one of Kent's best known haulage

companies goes bust. Welcome due to Herne Bay while way

it are celebrating our final Festival Friday of the summer. The

sun has come out. It is Herne Bay's 19th annual festival.

There are all sorts of events. Bears live music, fun on the beach

and exhibitions. With many of the town's bigger

neighbours attracting serious investment, it is Herne Bay being

left behind or is it carving out a Good evening. The widow of a man

from Hastings is calling for tighter regulations of ambulance

technicians attending 999 calls. Anthony Fenn collapsed outside his

home in 2009 and died two days later. The paramedic at the scene

Andrew Read was struck off for failing to act properly. He did not

use blue lights when the ambulance was going to the hospital. He has

since been downgraded to technician staters but is still allowed to

attend emergency calls. Andrew Read -- Anthony Fenn

collapsed while walking up this pathway to his home in 2009. He

fractured his skull and suffered from a brain haemorrhage but his

wife says that when the ambulance arrived, the paramedic Andrew Read

just stood there. He did not attend to give him any oxidant, he did not

attempt to stop the bleeding on the back of his head or look at the

head wind itself. -- head injury. He did not attempt to take any

vitals, blood pressure, polls. When I say he stood there, he stood

there. This week, the health professions Council found that

Andrew Read had failed to fully immobilise him, failed to give

boxer giant and this amounted to serious breaches of called to do so

they struck him off the register. - - core duties. This was not these

first time in trouble. In 2007, they gave him a caution after he

failed to get life-saving care to a newborn baby. Sadly, that baby died.

In spite of these two serious cases, he is still responding to 999 calls,

albeit in the more junior role of ambulance technicians. The

ambulance service says that ambulance technicians respond to

all categories of call but are backed up where required by a

paramedic and act within a there was scope of practice. A health

watchdog feels that Andrew Read's position should be reviewed..

is not a failure of training or qualifications, it is someone who

knew what needed to be done according to the reports and has

twice failed to do it. That is clearly an unacceptable situation.

Andrew Read's failures did not contribute to Anthony Fenn's death.

The ambulance service says their thoughts are with his family and

are happy to discuss concerns with them.

A 16-year-old girl from Sussex has died while on holiday in Portugal.

Mia Knight from Hove was taken ill while swimming in the Algarve on

Wednesday, the day before she was due to get her GCSE results.

Tonight have friends are gathering in Hove to remember her.

She was about to reach a milestone that every teenage girl goes

through, getting her GCSE results. But Mia never will. She died the

day before she could. She was on a family holiday in Portugal but got

into trouble while swimming in the sea. Her parents were on the shore

while it happened. She died on the beach. We put her on the sand on

the beach, tried to recover her with the medical authorities but

she died. At her school in Hove, the shop was made worse by the

timing. Yesterday Mia's friends were arriving here to collect their

GCSE results. The school got record grades. At that stage, they were

completely unaware as to what had happened. By the afternoon, the

same pupils were returning to the school, this time with tributes to

their friend. She was described as a gorgeous, lovely girl. Everyone

in the school is going to be devastated by this news and our

thoughts and feelings are with the family at this very very difficult

times. Next week, the school is arranging counselling for Mia's

friends. The tragic end to the summer holidays will mean it is a

difficult start to the near term. There has obviously been a

heartfelt reaction from Mia's school friends? This is a tragic

story but made all the more poignant because of the timing. She

was obviously a very popular well- liked Gulf. Use of pictures of the

tributes, the cards and flowers, that people left at her school. She

was described as her closest companion, someone she could always

turn to buy it one of her friends. On Facebook, more than 1000 people

have signed up to a tribute paid. This evening, there is going to be

a candlelit vigil and her friends are going to be meeting at a local

park here in Hove. In a moment, beating the bug, how

rates of C difficile infection have dropped at the hospitals where 90

One of Kent's best known haulage companies has gone out of business

tonight with the loss of nearly 90 jobs. Founded nearly a century ago,

Dodd's Group is based in Sittingbourne. When the drivers

went to collect their monthly salaries this afternoon, they were

told the company had gone under. worked at the whole day and did not

get told until I went back to the yard. People on holiday still do

not know. We have told them that they have to come and get their

stuff out of their lockers. business correspondent joins us now.

Is the current economic climate to blame? It seems so. The

administrators have told us that the company has suffered from a

lack of working capital and it was heightened by the current economic

climate. You can imagine that hauliers are affected by the rise

of fuel prices, VAT and companies are not paying them as promptly as

they once did. One of the employees said that they wanted to see the

format own up by it back. We spoke to him and he says that is not

going to happen. The administrators now have to sell off the deficits

and pay off the debts. -- sell off the assets.

Each Friday we have taken South East Today on the road and for our

final Festival Friday, Polly and Rob on the north Kent coast in

Herne Bay. They have been down on the promenade all after known

finding out what the Herne Bay Festival has to offer.

Have you had a warm welcome? certainly have. Welcome to Herne

Bay. The famous clock tower is in the background. We are at the

bandstand for the Herne Bay Festival. It is a nine-day event

and has some 200 events going on. Most of them are free because the

whole idea is they want to bring the community together and create

some community spirit. Are you having a good time? Yes! They have

all been enjoying themselves. It is a great atmosphere here. There is a

real community spirit in Herne Bay. We have been hearing over the past

few weeks about how much money is being pumped into some of the other

resorts around the South East such as Bexhill, Margate or Eastbourne,

but is one -- is an day able to keep up? I have been finding out?

We all know what to do at the seaside when the sun shines. But

there are some days when the sun does not shine. What does a town

like her and they do then to survive? If you get a couple of

streets in from the seafront, there is a lot of other stuff going on

and it is not doing too badly actually. If you come into Herne

Bay town-centre some than years ago -- seven years ago, it nearly a

third of these shops would have been shut. Now there is 95%

occupancy and that is a major change. If you want to take the

temperature of how business is doing in a tan, asked a man who

depends on it. -- in a talent. Hello. How is business? Not too bad

think you very much. His Herne Bay it on the up? On the up, I would

say. We have got a very nice Seafront, it is well looked after,

it is a good link between other towns. People like to cycle. It is

a popular retirement area as well. Our prices, I think, are very good.

There are new businesses opening up like this cafes. Look at that,

fantastic. Come and sit down. How is it going? You have been open for

seven weeks. There is definitely money in Herne Bay. It has been

very noticeable after the past few weeks because we have got our

regulars and we have had holidaymakers which has been lovely.

I think how they has got a lot going for it. Do you think that

maybe in the past people have thought that the town was run down?

I can understand that. I think there are bits that we could

improve. I think that this street has got a nice buzz about it. In

the 10 years I have lived here, why have seen a difference to Herne Bay

and I hope this is the way forward. Perhaps if anywhere sums up the

change that Herne Bay is going through it is this shops. An old-

school traditional gentlemen's outfitters but on the other side,

not so much. When I first came to Herne Bay, it was a place to come

and retired. But there are a lot of young people coming to Herne Bay

and there is lots of development in and around Herne Bay. Why do you

like it? Because I live here and I believe in Herne Bay and I started

in the trade in Herne Bay and that is it. If there is a real concern

for the future of the town it lies with the pier. It has been through

some tough times. If the original pair burnt down in 1970 and was

cast adrift by storm damage in 1978. Now the sports hall is to be

demolished because of asbestos concerns. Nobody knows what is

going to replace it. That building has come to the end of its natural

life. It needs to be taken down. That provides scope for us to do

something exciting in the future. Beyond that, we have a business

plan that we are working towards to develop the pier into something

really exciting. I think we will generate income, business, and make

people who do not already know about the town want to come here.

And it something to be really proud of. They are wanting to do

something that they can make Herne Bay proud of. Let us chat to a

couple of people who are going to be involved in the process. You are

from the city council. What are you going to do with the pier? We have

formed the Pier Trust. I would say to anyone in Herne Bay who wants to

get involved and have a saying to join the Pier Trust to raise some

money and make them more influential and we can move forward.

He is it not dangerous, demolishing the building with no clear idea of

what is going to happen afterwards? We have always had the advice from

the consultants and the other experts that there was no prospect

of regenerating the pier and last we got rid of that building. It is

basically... But you have not got a plan? We have not and that is why

we have formed the Pier Trust. is your job to come up with the

imagination. What would you like to see? The first stage is the

reclaiming of the pier and that will happen post demolition,

probably in May 2012. The next stage is to regenerate the pier and

it will be a fantastic community people's pier and we welcome input

from the community, businesses, to support us in what will be a

fantastic year. We have to leave it there. Let us hope they will come

up with something exciting and that the people of Herne Bay will be

proud. I know you are with someone who is very proud to live in Herne

In at the corner they used to be a cafe. It was not as glamourous as

this. On a bad day, the EC would come up through the floorboards.

You come back care a lot now, don't you? I do. I love coming here. Hern

may has -- her and at bay has seven miles of beach.

There are plans to demolish the pier. What would you like to see

happen? The pet is a little bit of a carbuncle, -- at the Pier, it

will attract so many tourists. must have seen it changed a lot,

because it now it suffers. But it was not always like that, was it?

No it was not. It has gone into decline, but there has been a lot

of local investment going into Herne Bay. People want to go on

holiday, and Herne Bay is the second fastest growing resort in

the UK. And I think there is an appetite for tapping into that

older tradition, isn't there? there is so much to do here. You

can come on holiday or as a day- tripper. Herne Bay cannot deliver.

Look at this, sunshine! Thank you for joining us. If you want to keep

up-to-date, go on to Twitter. Or blob on to Facebook. -- log on.

Thank you. And we'll be back to Rob and Polly at Herne Bay later in the

programme. The number of people in Kent struggling to pay their fuel

bill has reached a record high, according to the Centre for

Sustainable Energy. It says around 130,000 households in the county

are spending more than 10% of their income on heating. That's around

one in five homes in Kent. It was the Kent Health Trust at the

centre of the worst Clostridium difficile scandal in NHS history.

Six years ago, 90 people died in two outbreaks of the superbug at

hospitals in Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells. Today new figures

show cases of hospital acquired C.Diff have dropped across the

South East. But from 2010 to 2011 that number went down to 67.

It may not be the most glamourous job in the hospital, but it is one

of the most important. Today's figures, which show a drop in

Clostridium difficile figures, are down to simple factors such as

cleaning and hand-washing. Here, this doctor was brought in to

ensure infection control was top of everyone's agenda. He it is

basically common sense. It is not doing anything to put our patients

at risk. Florence was one of the 19 people

who died after developing Clostridium difficile. The chief

executive at the time was forced to resign. Florence's son in law is

relieved that the changes. I am obviously very pleased indeed. I am

also satisfied that things are going in the right direction. It

will never be solved, but at least it is going in the right direction.

We will keep up the education process.

The figures have been heading the same way across the region. In East

Sussex, the numbers have plummeted. Medway has fewer than half the

cases it had in 2007, and in East Kent, the drop is less dramatic but

still by around a third. The war against infections is not over, but

the battle against the Clostridium difficile is being won.

Football, and all our major teams are in action tomorrow. In the

Championship, Brighton play Peterborough at home. In League One,

Charlton travel to Bury, and in League Two, Gillingham go to

Rotherham and Crawley visit Cheltenham.

That's it from me here in the studio tonight. Time now to return

to Polly and Rob who are live at the bandstand in Herne Bay for our

final Festival Friday of the summer. Welcome back to Herne Bay! We have

had live music. They are having a break at the moment, and we will be

finding out all the fun and excitement that has gone on here

today. Everybody has been getting involved. It is a real community

atmosphere. Lynda has been walking around the town all day, soaking up

the festival atmosphere. Never let the weather put a

dampener on at a community festival, come rain or shine, this is August

in a British summer after all. younger children like to know what

they do, how they hunt, how they fly, what they catch, what they eat.

We tell them what not to do with them if they get one in the future.

From the days Punch and Judy drew crowds, now they are relegated to

the museum. These days, people are drawn to more active displays.

have got a lifeguard at demonstration on the go. One of our

lifeguards responded to a casualty. We affected a very good at rescue

by one of our work Life Guards. The ambulance had been called. They are

on seen it now. They will be on the scene at shore leave. It is all

part of the demonstrations are the public can see what we are doing.

Them, the rain fell and fell, like any good British summer. But here,

people carry on regardless. There is always shelter somewhere, indeed,

there is skating on the pair until the Sports Centre is demolished

next month. Whatever the weather, the residents have been making the

most of what is on offer here. We are joined now by it leers, the

festival organiser. Thank you for joining us. -- By Liz. It is very

well supported by the local community. That is the idea, really.

You get everyone together and encourage community spirit.

absolutely. It is about what makes a Herne Bay it unique. Individuals

get to know each other's neighbours. Also, there is an emphasis on

volunteering as well, isn't there? Absolutely. We work closely with a

group to programme the festival, and they help us put events

together. There are also events like the giant picnic coming up

this Sunday. It is really individual.

By all accounts, it will be another successful year. Robert is whether

some of the people enjoying themselves today.

Let us have a chat with some of the people that have come down. What is

your name? Lynda. We are from Herne Bay. The festival is great, isn't

it? Most definitely. It is a free event, and very good for the

children. Excellent. We have got a couple of Herne Bay's carnival

Princess's here. You have been crowned this year, and you have to

do events around the carnival. Are you enjoying it? Yes. It Israeli

fund to dress up. -- and it is really fun. Everyone is really

sociable and fun. Or hello, what is your name and where you from.

I am from Herne Bay and my name is Caroline. They are looking at doing

their stuff with the pier. Are you confident they will do good things?

They have got to. He are you all enjoying your cells? I think that

is a fairly solid response. Everyone is enjoying themselves.

Fortunately, the sun has come out Fortunately, the sun has come out

You will be pleased to hear we all be climbing up the summer sunshine

at ladder. Saturday still a bit sketchy. But we will get the

sunshine it later on in the day, and from a Saturday afternoon

onwards, or we will be seeing better, drier, brighter weather.

And, the week looks good for next week. As far as the rest of this

evening goes, it is sunny here. And I think Ken and Heather will be

rather pleased, they are celebrating their 50th wedding

anniversary! Whatever you are up to, we have sunny spells, it is now dry,

and the rest of the evening should be hanging on to this dry weather.

Temperatures going down to 10-12 Celsius. A big debate cool started

the day tomorrow, but there will be sunshine to start the day. The

trouble is, a bit of a sunshine sandwich! The best of the weather

will be sandwiched in the middle of sloppy showers. Before 10am, after

3pm, that is when Pete Best of the sunshine and dry or whether it will

be. But we should still get up to 19 Celsius. Sunday looking pretty

good. Not as breezier either. Monday as well, we have sunshine

and good temperatures getting up to 20 Celsius. I think we can safely

say, it is a bank holiday beauty! Bank holiday beauty? Are we all

like that. Sadly, that is it. We want to thank everybody here in

Herne Bay. They have all made us very welcome. And thank you to

everyone else who came along to every other Festival Friday. We