A hospital nurse who gets the bus to work has criticised revised timetables for failing to help key NHS staff get in on time for their shifts.

Teresa Knapp, a nurse assistant, is now relying on friends and family to give her a lift to Darent Valley Hospital due to new bus times around Dartford which came into force over the weekend.

The 44-year-old said: "I live in Hartley and work at Darent Valley Hospital, I use the 423/433 from New Ash Green to Dartford to get me to work for 7am.

"I received an email informing me that the first bus will now leave New Ash Green after 10am and every hour until after 8pm.

"Considering the country is in isolation and the only people going out are the key workers, I'm guessing most of them will start before 9am.

"My shift starts at 7am, and if you work a night shift you finish at 7.30am.

"This means the first bus back to New Ash Green isn't until 9.30am, two hours after a 12-and-a-half-hour shift."

The bus company has announced it has reduced services further in towns where it operates around north and west Kent.

It is not only nurses and NHS workers who have been affected by this but other key workers who have no other way of getting to work.

An Arriva spokesman said: "The current revised timetable means the first direct service from New Ash Green to Darent Valley Hospital departs at 10.30am, with return services from the hospital running later than normal.

"From listening to feedback from our customers, we are aware of the increased demand for key workers travelling to both Dartford and Gravesend, and are therefore currently looking into providing an earlier service to cater for this link.

"We value the opinions of our customers, and we are listening to them regularly to ensure we are best meeting their needs."

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