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Catch up with all the latest news from across the county with Finn Macdiarmid.
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00:27Hello and welcome to
00:29Kent tonight, live here on KMTV. I'm Finn McDermid and here are your top stories on Wednesday
00:34the 29th of July. Converting care. With the Prime Minister announcing new social welfare
00:40reforms, what do Kent's care providers think of the proposed changes? The real challenge
00:45for social care most of the time is to do with funding initially, so it's about having
00:49enough money in the system to look after the amount of people that we have that do need
00:54care. Handling the heat. With the fourth heat wave hitting Kent, our reporter on the show
00:59on the ground shares how you can stay safe. And we'll meet again. The historic Maidstone
01:05Carriage Museum celebrates their 80th anniversary. We need to know where it is we've come from
01:10in order to be able to grow the skills and the knowledge as to where it is we need to
01:15go next.
01:25First tonight, Andy Burnham has today announced plans for new social care reforms that will come
01:31into effect in Kent and the rest of the country by around 2028. These include the creation of a
01:37national care service and plans to improve the pay of care workers. I've been speaking to care providers
01:44here in Kent to find out more about what they think of the new news coming out from number 10.
01:50Care workers are calling it one of the biggest political moments for their sector in years.
01:55And Kent is just one of the many counties set to be affected by Andy Burnham's proposed reforms to social
02:00care.
02:01The new Prime Minister says he'll want to make sure that the care workforce are fairly paid and adequately trained.
02:07And carers in Kent do agree. But providers say it's not an issue of if, but of how.
02:13Staffing and training and well-being are always issues within social care, as they are within the NHS.
02:19But that isn't really the kind of biggest challenge that social care is facing.
02:24The real challenge for social care most of the time is to do with funding initially.
02:27So it's about having enough money in the system to look after the amount of people that we have that
02:33do need care.
02:35So my concern is really ultimately that still all of this has to be paid for.
02:40So whether it's paid for by the private sector or whether it's paid for by the state, the money still
02:44has to come from somewhere.
02:45And as social care has been so dramatically underfunded for 30 years, that number is terrifying,
02:50which is why consecutive governments have kicked it down the road and refuse to deal with it.
02:55His company, Nelsar Homes, run care services in Kent and across the southeast.
02:59And he added that integrating social care into a national service would present unique challenges
03:04because of the long-term nature of the social care compared to the NHS.
03:07Another key part of Andy Burnham's speech was that many people are paying high prices for services that aren't always
03:13up to scratch.
03:14In Kent, several years ago, we had 13 care homes, all in special measures,
03:19with the highest number of inadequate ratings in care homes in England at the time.
03:23And while there are still problems, most of the county's care homes have now received positive ratings.
03:27With the system set to change, how will this affect Kent County Council,
03:31who have a range of jobs when it comes to social care, like assessing people's needs or providing support plans?
03:37I think it's important that we remember that adult social care is a service in its own right.
03:41We aren't just a crutch, excuse the pun, for the NHS.
03:45But absolutely, I agree.
03:48It does need to be an integrated system.
03:51Home care wherever possible.
03:53I think he mentioned that today.
03:54That is something that we at Kent County Council absolutely agree with.
04:00Person-centred goes without saying.
04:02I really look forward to, you know, his proposals and how he's going to,
04:07what the fruits of his labour is going to look like for adult social care in Kent.
04:11At this stage, we don't know all the details about how the reforms are going to work.
04:15But across a sector that says it hasn't had the financial backing it's needed for years,
04:19the main concern isn't in the fine details, but in the funding.
04:23Finn McDermid for KMTV.
04:26Temperatures are set to reach 33 degrees today as Kent has faced its fourth heat wave.
04:31The effects are being felt across the county, from health concerns to environmental impacts.
04:36And our reporter, Maisie Walker, joined us earlier for the latest advice on how to stay safe.
04:42Well, Maisie, thanks so much for joining us.
04:44First of all, tell us a bit about what the atmosphere is like down there.
04:50Well, it's absolutely packed.
04:51You know, we've been here for almost an hour now and people haven't stopped coming.
04:55And of course, that's because it's reaching up to 33 degrees today.
04:58And it looks like it will be the last hot day so far
05:02before things start to get slightly more cooler into the end of this week and into the next.
05:09Now, Maisie, this is the fourth heat wave of the year.
05:11So how can people make sure they're staying safe in this heat?
05:14Well, with families, families are making the most with the summer holidays,
05:19obviously coming to parks like the Strand.
05:23And of course, it is still so important to remain safe,
05:27especially in UV levels like this.
05:29At the moment, it's a seven, which is very high and can cause burns.
05:33So it is advised to wear sunscreen to seek shade when you can.
05:38And of course, keep your fluids up.
05:39Keep on drinking that water in order to avoid things like heat exhaustion and sickness.
05:46So some may even be tempted to cool off in open water like the River Medway behind me.
05:51But that, of course, comes with its own hazards.
05:54With just two years ago, testing found that E. coli levels in parts of the river
06:01were more than three times than what's considered safe.
06:05So contact with this polluted water can cause extreme sickness,
06:09such as vomiting and diarrhoea.
06:11And there's also, of course, that risk of getting cold shock.
06:15I see.
06:16And it's not just people being affected by this heat.
06:18What kind of environmental impacts have we seen across the county?
06:23Yeah, exactly.
06:24So this hot, dry weather brings the increased risk of wildfires with the dry grounds
06:31helping fires spread more quickly because the moisture,
06:36there's no moisture there to kind of prevent it or to squash the fire.
06:41We saw that yesterday in Sittingbourne near Green Porch Close.
06:45It's where around 40 firefighters took almost four hours overnight trying to put out the fire that was there.
06:52And the good news is that temperatures are starting to cool down as we head into the end of this
06:58week and into the next.
06:59But whatever the weather, it is important to stay safe, follow expert advice.
07:04And hopefully with a 30% chance of rain next Tuesday, some of those dry grounds will start to ease.
07:13Now, let's take a look at the weather forecast as Maisie's just given us a sneak peek there.
07:23Well, we'll see highs of 27 degrees tonight there in Dartford, cooling in the south and towards the coast, 22
07:30there in Dover.
07:31It's looking a little bit cooler in tomorrow morning.
07:34Lots of sun, but the temperatures aren't matching it.
07:3615 degrees there in Ashford.
07:37Tomorrow afternoon, warming up slightly more.
07:3926 there in Ashford and Maisie's just some cloud cover as well.
07:43And as we move into the rest of the week, the sun returning for a nice looking Saturday.
07:49And it's getting slightly hotter, but nothing like what we've seen so far.
08:00Well, on the subject of all that heat related news, I'm joined by our resident health expert, Dr. Julian Spinks,
08:06to tell us more.
08:14Well, thank you so much for joining us in the studio, Dr. Spinks.
08:18First of all, I feel like we've had you in the studio many times now to talk about heat health
08:24related advice.
08:25So I suppose this being the fourth heat wave of the year, are there any main concerns around repetitive having
08:31to experience this kind of heat on an almost regular basis now with four times in one year?
08:36I certainly think the longevity is a problem because you have many days, you don't have recovery days particularly.
08:44And so there's a danger that people can actually gradually be more susceptible to heat, particularly those who are at
08:51greater risk, such as babies, older people and people with chronic illnesses.
08:54So it is a concern.
08:56And of course, we've now got a situation where it's getting more difficult to get out into a garden, which
09:00is now dry and brown and scorched and so on.
09:04So really, we need some slightly cooler and wetter weather.
09:08I see. Now, Julian, I often find it quite difficult to get to sleep during the heat.
09:13Is that something that can really affect us when we go into our daily lives as well?
09:18Obviously, if you don't sleep well at night, the next day you're tired, you don't perform as well and so
09:23on.
09:23There are things you can do.
09:25Certainly, as it gets to the cool of the evening, you can open windows.
09:27And if you can open windows on two different sides of a house or an apartment, then you'll get a
09:32through breeze through.
09:33That makes a difference.
09:35Light bedding goes without saying.
09:38Again, having some fluids near you so that if you wake up in the middle of the night dehydrated, you
09:42can grab them and take them.
09:44And that will actually help us.
09:45Drinking cold water will cool the inside of you down a little bit.
09:48I see. And during the winter, people are taking things like vitamin D to make sure that that particular vitamin
09:54is kept up.
09:55Is there anything we should be really making sure we're keeping on top of in the summer, whether that be
09:59a vitamin or anything else?
10:01I think with vitamin D, it really depends on what your lifestyle is like.
10:05If you're going out and getting some exposure to sunlight and just having your face and hands exposed for about
10:1015 minutes is enough to give you your vitamin D for a day.
10:14But if you're indoors all the time, if you're flying a desk most of the time and so on, then
10:19you may still need to take vitamin D supplements.
10:22Are the supplements less important?
10:25I much prefer people to have a healthy diet and actually have a mix of things and getting their vitamins
10:30that way than taking pills,
10:32because there is evidence that the pills are less effective than getting the vitamins in a natural way.
10:37I see. Move on.
10:38There's been a recent sort of trend of people making this viral drink called a huache, I'm not sure on
10:43the pronunciation there, saying that it's more hydrating than other drinks.
10:47Obviously, most people will bill water as the main thing you should be drinking.
10:51But viral drinks like these or milk, what's the best thing that we can be drinking?
10:56Well, water is pretty good.
10:57It hasn't got sugar in it.
10:59And so it is well hydrating.
11:00There is some evidence for milk.
11:03And when they did a head-to-head of water, some of these sports drinks for rehydration after exercise and
11:09milk, milk actually did best.
11:12Heche, which is a Korean thing which has lots of fruits in it.
11:16It's a bit like a Korean fruit cocktail.
11:18Based on mostly watermelon, has some interesting ingredients such as strawberry milk and fizzy drinks and things in it.
11:27But it should be pretty hydrating.
11:29All the fruits are in there, have got a lot of water inside them.
11:32The only worry I have is it's likely to be fairly high in sugar, especially putting things like strawberry milk
11:37in it.
11:38I see.
11:38Thank you so much for your time, Doctor.
11:41Well, that's all the time we have for this part of the show.
11:45Join us in just a few minutes.
11:46We'll be bringing you all of your news from the rest of the county.
11:50See you in just a few minutes.
12:03See you in just a few minutes.
15:55Next,
22:13Two,
22:15Where
22:29anniversary. The museum shows how people travelled, worked and lived from the 18th to the early
22:3620th century, each vehicle reflecting the changes in society, craftsmanship and everyday life.
22:42The carriage museum has evolved in the sense of the way that the carriages are interpreted and
22:47displayed is very different. There are a huge amount of vehicles in here so the way that they
22:53have been displayed hasn't necessarily changed a huge amount but I think our appreciation of them
22:59and understanding of them has changed a lot in that time as well. One of our first visitors was
23:03actually the previous Queen Elizabeth I when she was Princess Elizabeth and we're held in really high
23:10regard with places like the V&A who we also have loans of some of our carriages from. So I
23:17think
23:18our kind of role within the museum sector and our role for visitors is very different to what it was
23:23originally when we set up as well. Some may question the role of museums like this today
23:28but Maitstone Borough Council says they're the key to preserving local heritage and keeping Kent's
23:33history alive. To understand where it is we've come from we need to know where it is we've come from
23:39in order to be able to grow the skills and the knowledge as to where it is we need to
23:43go next
23:44and that's the importance of this museum. Every vehicle has a story to tell and as the museum celebrates
23:5180 years visitors can take a ride through Kent's past. Maisie Walker for KMTV, Maitstone.
24:00And just before we go, did you know the latest Spider-Man film, Brand New Day, was filmed in
24:05Chatham. Scenes were shot at the historic dockyard where Turk's boatyard was transformed into a villain's
24:11lair and the HMS Cavalia also featured in the production. It's the latest major film to put Kent
24:17on the big screen and joining me now to talk all things superheroes is Paul Blakeborough who runs
24:22Get Ready Comics in Rochester. Thank you so much for joining me Paul. I mean growing up reading Spider-Man
24:28did you ever think that he might be swinging around in Chatham of all places? Absolutely not,
24:33Finn. It's a really really exciting time I think for the area, for the dockyard. It's much needed for
24:41this industry really I think ultimately. Absolutely and what does it mean to you to see a production of
24:48this scale filmed here in Kent? Is there sort of a sense of pride? Obviously Get Ready Comics is based
24:53down
24:53in Rochester. Yeah I'm huge huge fan of Spidey. We've got a life-size Spidey statue in the shop for
25:01anyone that wants to come and see it and our warehouse is actually based on dockyard property so
25:07it just it's an amalgamation of some really really great locations and really showcases Kent
25:13and the Medway area specifically for us and the dockyard and I'll be doing their film and tv
25:21location tour soon which runs until the 26th of September by the way. Oh amazing so you'll have
25:27some extra material then? Yeah I need to see all the less it's not just Spidey that's filming there's so
25:32many amazing um Marvel productions and many more that have been at the dockyard and the fact that
25:38these guys were actually in town uh is it just blows my mind there's some serious talent uh on show
25:44and obviously it's the it's the UK premiere tonight in London uh we've got loads of Spidey merch in
25:49stock so we we welcome people to come and have a look and also visit the dockyard and see where
25:54the
25:54magic happened. Absolutely yeah we can see some uh some visuals there of some of the sort of famous
25:58locations where Spider-Man has been before Venice uh New York um so um it's really great to see uh
26:06I suppose just before we go I'm very curious you have a life-size Spider-Man how did that end
26:11up in
26:11your in your shop? Well there was a shop called American Comics in Chatham that sadly they retired
26:17Kelly retired and um I to maintain their legacy I took it into our shop so he now sits proudly
26:24in our
26:24shop and all the kids come in and have pictures with him and they love it at the weekend we
26:28might
26:29consider pulling it out onto the street and getting everyone involved in taking some spidey poses
26:34outside I think that'd be really fun weekend just gone we had an event with Spider-Man cosplayers down
26:39so right we try to have fun where we can I'm gonna cut you off here I'm afraid around time
26:44sure we'll
26:44be seeing more Spider-Man cosplayers very soon thank you so much for your time Paul and uh thank you
26:48so
26:48much everyone at home for watching
27:24you
27:48You
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