KentOnline

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.
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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.
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A Kent teenager who suffers from a liver condition that affects only one in a million people says she still hopes to go to university…
Hannah Bullard can only walk with aids and needs a powered wheelchair to be completely independent.
But the 18 year-old from Sandwich doesn’t qualify for funding on the NHS.
She’s now trying to raise £10,000 for the equipment.

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.

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.
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The Jeremy Kyle Show has been permanently scrapped by ITV following the death of a guest several days after filming.It’s thought the 63-year-old took his own life, before the episode he featured in had been broadcast. The talk show has been going for 14 years – but the company says it’s now the “right time” for it to end.
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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.
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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.

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.
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Jeremy Corbyn has launched Labour’s European elections manifesto in Kent.
The party’s leader gave a speech at the universities at Medway Chatham campus, saying a vote for Labour is a vote to bring our divided country back together.
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