KentOnline

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Podcast – Road rage killer Kenneth Noye ‘should not be released from prison’ – 23/05/2019

The detective superintendent who led the investigation into road rage killer Kenneth Noye says a mistake has been made in allowing him to go free.
The 71 year-old stabbed Stephen Cameron to death on the M25 slip road at Swanley in 1996 and was jailed for life four years later.
A parole board panel have now said he’s ‘suitable for return to the community’.
https://www.kentonline.co.uk/

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Podcast – New NHS drug could change teenager’s life – 22/05/2019

The mum of a Kent teenager with a rare disease says the decision to make a potentially life-extending drug available on the NHS is a dream come true.Mel Bolt from Minister has been campaigning for Spinraza to be made accessible to help her daughter Abbie, who has spinal muscular atrophy.The 15-year-old has battled with the incurable muscle-weakening condition since she was just two and is wheel-chair bound.
https://www.kentonline.co.uk/

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Podcast – Stroke unit decision will not be referred back to Secretary of State – 21/05/2019

Kent county councillors have decided not to refer plans create three specialist stroke units back to the Secretary of State.
Campaigners gathered outside County Hall earlier, urging them to change their minds.
They’re concerned patients living in Thanet and Medway will have to travel further for urgent care at the centres in Ashford, Dartford and Maidstone.
https://www.kentonline.co.uk/

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Podcast – mum to meet health minister over campaign for cystic fibrosis drug – 17/05/2019

A Kent mum who was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis when she was a young girl and is due to meet the health secretary as she campaigns for what could be a live-changing drug.
CF is where a sticky mucus clogs the lungs and can also affect the digestive system and other organs.
Orkambi is widely available across the US and Europe but not in the UK.
It costs around £105,000 per person per year.
Carlie Pleasant from Sittingbourne says having it on the NHS would make a massive difference – she’s been telling us her story.

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Podcast: Benny to be remembered through plastic waste sculpture – 16/05/2019

He may have left the Thames but a Kent artist is planning on creating a life-size sculpture of Benny the Beluga to raise awareness of plastic waste.
The whale hit the headlines when it turned up near Gravesend last September – and even led to the town’s annual fireworks display having to be cancelled.
Now Amy West is collecting rubbish that’s washed up and plans to create a piece of art to remember him and get across an important message.
https://www.kentonline.co.uk/

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Podcast – Suicide prevention conference held in Maidstone on Mental Health Awareness Week – 14/05/2019

As we continue to mark Mental Health Awareness week, a big conference on suicide prevention has been taking place in Maidstone.
Hundreds of people from councils, emergency services, healthcare centres, and charities across Kent met to hear from people who’ve previously tried to take their own lives, and discuss how to support those in crisis.
https://www.kentonline.co.uk/

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Podcast – concerns over potential release of serial killer – 13/05/2019

A Kent MP is concerned about reports a serial killer from his constituency could be released from prison.
Patrick Mackay, who grew up in Dartford, is Britain’s longest serving prisoner after being convicted of murdering 11 people in the 1970s – including a vicar from Shorne.
It’s understood the 66 year-old has already changed his name and is in an open jail.
Gareth Johnson has written to the justice secretary about it.

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Podcast – Dad raises money for hospital that removed golf ball sized tumour from his baby daughter’s brain – 10/05/2019

A Kent father has told us about the heart-breaking moment his 14 month-old daughter was diagnosed with a brain tumour.
Octavia Begbey had a growth the size of a golf ball in the middle of her brain.
Her dad Richard, who lives in Kings Hill, is on a fundraising walk to help other people who could benefit from the pioneering technology that saved her.
https://www.kentonline.co.uk/