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Times
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Wednesday January 8 | 2020
Turnaround continues as Trust hits all cancer targets THE NHS Trust that runs Tunbridge Wells Hospital, which was at the bottom of the list for cancer waiting times in the UK, has announced it has achieved all government targets for the disease for the first time in five years. Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells [MTW] was ranked worst out of all 131 NHS Trusts earlier this year for cancer referral targets. In September, it revealed it had reached the target for 85 per cent of cancer patients to start treatment within 62 days of a GP referral. Now the latest data has shown that MTW has hit all eight NHS cancer targets, placing it in the top 20 nationally.
Changes
that they ‘prepared students for their futures beyond school and made the ordinary, extraordinary’. A panel of expert judges will now choose the six finalists, to be announced on January 20, after which the public can vote for their favourite. The overall winner will be revealed on February 3. Mrs Hill was thrilled to hear the news, saying: “It was a lovely surprise. My
It has achieved the 85 per cent mark for three months in a row, and also the aim of seeing patients within 14 days of GP referral for a second consecutive month. MTW has also exceeded six other measures including treating 96 per cent of patients within 31 days of decision to treat, and 90 per cent for treatment within 62 days of screenings for cancers such as breast and cervical – reaching almost 96 per cent for October. Figures from September 2018 showed MTW was treating just 58 per cent of patients within 62 days. The trust came out of special financial measures the following month after more than two years. The last time all eight cancer targets were met was in March 2014. In the face of rising demand, the Trust has turned its performance
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SHORTLISTED: Nicola Hill from Slade Primary School says books help the imagination and allow children to connect with the world around them
Teacher in running for award as the ‘most dedicated in world’ By Andy Tong andy@timesoftonbridge.co.uk A TEACHER from the town has been nominated as one of the ‘world’s most dedicated teachers’ in recognition of her project to help more children enjoy reading. Nicola Hill of Slade Primary School made the shortlist of 50 teachers across the globe chosen by Cambridge University Press to ‘celebrate the vital role
they play in the lives of their students’. Last summer the 46-year-old mother of three set up a ‘Look for a Book’ scheme, leaving children’s books in plastic bags around Tonbridge and Hildenborough. They are then circulated among the community for free. Finders can keep the books, but Mrs Hill encloses notes suggesting they also repackage and leave them elsewhere. Mrs Hill, who teaches Year One, also encourages readers and parents to
leave their own notes inside when they have finished with the stories. She was chosen from more than 6,000
‘Reading is important as books are magical’ Nicola Hill, Slade Primary School nominees, originating in 97 different countries, which were submitted to the elite university’s publishing company. One of the competition’s criteria was