Kirkup Report into Maternity Services in East Kent

The report from the independent investigation into maternity services at the East Kent Hospitals was due earlier this month but its publication was delayed following the Queen's death.

It is now expected in October, although no firm date has yet been set.

James Melley, a BBC journalist, is keen to speak to families affected - both those that gave evidence to the inquiry and those that didn't.

James’s email address is james.melley@bbc.co.uk and he is on WhatsApp on 07971403324.

Meanwhile, a parent-led support group has now been set up for families involved in Bill Kirkup's inquiry into maternity services in East Kent: if you know anyone involved, please do pass the details on to them.

This is the page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/589502759298276

Thank you

Name tile replacement

Work to replace the nametiles in the ground surrounding the mosaic at the Ashford Baby Memorial Garden is going well and the namestones themselves are now all in place.

The final work to cut and fill in the gaps will be completed early next week, after which the contractor's fencing will be removed.

Here is a picture showing the work so far.

We still have quite a few of the 'old' terracotta namestones which we would love to pass on to families, so please get in touch!

And just to confirm, the newer tiles on the upright boards are NOT affected!

Nametile Update

Thank you to the 80 families who came along yesterday afternoon to collect their namestones from the area surrounding the mosaic in the Ashford Baby Memorial Garden.

If you could not make it, it would be great if you could collect your 'old' namestone from 13 Goldings Court, TN24 9JR, any day this week between 3pm and 8pm - please just let us know when so we can have your stone ready for you.

If that will not work for you, please let us know and we'll see what else we can arrange!

The new stones will be going down this week.

Just a reminder that this is just the stones in the ground, surrounding the mosaic - those on the upright boards are NOT affected!

And a big 'Thankyou' to our wonderful volunteers who worked so hard yesterday, lifting up the stones, cleaning them and getting them to the families.