A Guest Blog by Sian Elvin, of Kent Live…
I’ve worked as a journalist in the county of Kent for almost three years now since graduating from the University of Warwick, and as you can imagine the NHS has always been a topic of great interest in our newspapers and on our website.
Kent is home to the East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust, which is one of the largest hospital trusts in the country.
Recently it has come under fire for a variety of reasons. Hospitals in east Kent were revealed earlier this year to be suffering the second worst A&E waiting times in the entire country, with around 146 patients a day being forced to wait more than four hours to be seen.
Crowds protested against potential cuts to stroke services in Thanet, and the removal of a vital eye treatment service has left patients having to travel more than 20 miles away.
But despite the cuts and the criticism, many in Kent have praised the NHS and are fighting for its survival.
So to mark the NHS turning 70 this year – looking at the highs, the challenges and its future – Kent Live would like to hear about your experiences with the NHS in the local area.
Whether that’s accounts of activism, feelings, memories, or small anecdotes, we would like to hear from you so we can collaborate on a project to generate a local perspective on the NHS.
Earlier this year we ran this beautiful project about the centenary of women’s suffrage, and we would love to run something similar about the anniversary of the NHS.
If you have anything to contribute, even anonymously, please get in touch with Sian Elvin on sian.elvin@reachplc.com
