More on KentOnline
More on KentOnline
Paramedics took about 30 minutes to reach an elderly lady who had fallen over in Faversham town centre because access was blocked by a barrier.
The obstruction has been ever-present in the town since Swale Borough Council and Kent County Council agreed to ban vehicle access in an effort to promote social distancing in the main shopping streets.
Responding to a call-out of a woman slipping on ice in West Street and injuring herself this morning, paramedics attempted to reach the victim in haste.
But an authority-installed barrier at Court Street meant they could not get the ambulance through to the scene of the accident.
Witnesses say they instead had to lug equipment by foot through the town centre as they reached the frail fall victim, who was being treated to by kind-hearted residents.
Frustrated helper Nathan Iliffe said: "I am beyond angry.
"An elderly and frail lady slipped on ice at the top West Street this morning. I and other local residents fetched her blankets, a hot water bottle and kept her as warm as we could in sub-zero temperatures.
"The ambulance took about 30 minutes to reach Faversham. Eventually two frustrated paramedics arrived on foot.
"They’d had to leave their ambulance at the barrier and walk with what kit they could carry.
"After about 10-15 minutes from them first arriving, someone arrived to unlock the gate and let them in.
"This poor lady had to spend longer than necessary in pain and on an icy pavement.
"They've (the councils) caused an injured, elderly lady unnecessary pain and stress and made the job of two dedicated paramedics more difficult - preventing them from caring for a patient as quickly as they would’ve wanted to."
'This poor lady had to spend longer than necessary in pain and on an icy pavement...'
Since July, traffic has been banned from travelling and parking in parts of Court Street, West Street, East Street and Preston Street - and the entirety of Market Place and Middle Row.
Each road shuts between 10am and 4pm Monday to Saturday.
It was first thought the stringent measures would last for six months. However, after coming to an end in January, the controversial traffic ban was significantly extended until 2022.
The closures were originally introduced at the request of the town council to ensure socially-distanced queuing systems could operate smoothly throughout the town centre.
Traders blasted the scheme and called for changes to ensure they could receive deliveries and serve disabled customers.
But now, the closures have been extended for an entire year following a request from Swale Borough Council.
Speaking on today's ambulance incident, county councillor Antony Hook said: “It is very upsetting to hear this has happened. Emergency services should not be held up at the gates.
“When the road closure was initiated by Swale Council and Kent County Council, town councillors were assured that emergency service access would be enabled.
“I have written to Kent Highways and Swale asking them to urgently look into what happened today and clarify the system that should be in place for emergency access during their road closure order.
“When the road closure was renewed in January the town council was not consulted and if we had been we would have asked about this matter again.”
A number of town residents have taken to social media to call today's events a "disgrace".
Cllr Monique Bonney, Swale council's cabinet member for economy, said: “We are sorry to hear about the incident on West Street, and hope the lady in question makes a full recovery.
“All emergency services have keys for the barriers and this arrangement was put in place some time ago to allow access to the area on market days when the barriers are also in use.
“We did update the three emergency services about the additional road closures in June last year, and we were also advised that they all carry bolt cutters should there be any issues.
“We had no concerns about this arrangement reported to us by the emergency services, but we will be contacting SECAMB to check the arrangements.”
The ambulance service has been approached for comment.
