Many people will be aware of the incident on The Green on Friday 30th June (previous post HERE ) and the concern expressed as regards the failure of the Ambulance Service to provide the code to both the hall’s device and the delay in getting access to the one outside the Blacksmith’s in Kingsley Holt.

First of all we send our deepest condolences to the family of Mrs Kath Jones.

The Chair of the Hall committee wrote to West Midlands Ambulance Service immediately after the incident and asked that they investigate the circumstances surrounding it. This was followed by a letter from the family sent to the Parish Council which was forwarded on to the service.

Following the investigation and discussions between the hall committee and the WMAS we are able to advise as to the outcome of their investigation.

Quite simply the issue was one that is best described as an organisational failure in that despite being advised to the contrary, the ambulance service did not have a system that allowed call- taking staff access to the cabinet lock code via the box identification number. Senior staff had such access but the call taking staff had not been advised of this. This is the reason that when at both locations the box code was supplied the call takers did not know how to locate the lock code.

As a result of the investigation, a system has now been put into place and staff trained to prevent this occurring again.

Another issue that arose following the incident is that the location where the lady collapsed was just over 200 metres from the cabinet at the hall. The system that alerts call takers to the availability of the defibrillator had been set with a radius of 200 metres meaning that in this instance the call taker was not advised of the existence of the defibrillator by the call taking system. This prevented the code being made available automatically.

It is worth pointing out that when the devices were installed we were advised that the code was all that was required to gain the lock code and there was no mention of a 200-metre activation radius.

A senior manager from the WMAS attended the latest meeting of Kingsley Parish Council and updated councillors as stated above.

Initial discussions with WMAS has led to them extending the radius to 500 metres from each box, this gives almost complete coverage to Kingsley and improved for Kingsley Holt. It should be borne in mind that a person will potentially have to cover 1000 metres to get the device which may mean an ambulance being there before them.

The matter will be further  discussed at the next council meeting to decide on a number of issues namely :

1. The long term management of all three devices in Kingsley / Kingsley Holt and Froghall (there are also two at Whiston)
2. Taking up the offer of a further free device to be sighted in Kingsley Holt to give improved coverage (a further cabinet will need to be purchased via fund raising)
3. Raising funds to purchase a cabinet for the device at the Railway Pub at Froghall.
4. Consideration to taking off the locks from the cabinets – trials elsewhere have not led to thefts or damage to any devices.

In addition, the code has or will be given to the local school, bowling club, church and the Bull’s Head pub.

A number of nearby residents have volunteered to hold the code and have their details sited at the cabinet in Kingsley to ensure that should there be any issues access may be speeded up. This will be sorted out in the coming days. (Thank you to those who volunteered)

At Kingsley Holt, the new landlord has the code (the previous ones did not hand it over on leaving) and similar considerations as in Kingsley will be discussed.

It has been mentioned that the post code for the hall was not displayed by the cabinet. This was not required, as has been stated the box number should have been sufficient to elicit the code.

It is also worth pointing out that once the facts were ascertained it was clear that the actions of those on the night who tried to resuscitate Mrs Jones and to get defibrillator out of the cabinet deserve the highest praise.

We will, of course, update you in due course.

The scarecrow event will take place on 2nd and 3rd September in Kingsley and Kingsley Holt.

The crows will be judged at 11am on Saturday and prizes awarded for 1st, 2nd and  3rd place.

There will also be a ‘Peoples Choice’ prize where visitors can vote for their favourite.

The 75th annual show of this village institution takes place in just under two weeks.

As always there are plenty of classes for those who are serious growers and showers, those who bake or make, for photographers and not forgetting the children.

As always there will be a great raffle with lots of decent prizes and after the judging a chance to buy a prize winning entry be it vegetables, flowers or plants.

Entries can be registered between 10am and 2pm on the day after which there is the judging and then at 5pm doors reopen for the results and the auction.

Please do enter into the show, it’s not the winning seriously, its the taking part that makes the show.

The list of classes is attached here – Show Guide

The Post Master advises that due to holidays and long term absence the Post Office service will be reduced until 7th September.

Dates and the service are as follows :

Monday 14th and 21st August – 2.45pm to 4.45pm each day.

Thursday’s of those weeks remain unaffected.

Week commencing Monday 28th August (Bank Holiday) there will be no service on the Monday or Thursday.

Monday 4th September – 2.45pm to 4.45pm and Thursday 7th September there will be no service.

As from Monday 14th September normal service will be resumed.

Update 7/8/17 – bin found and returned!

On Friday 28th July the hall’s blue lid rubbish bin was left at the bottom of the driveway to await the refuse collectors.

Later that day when we returned to return it to the store it had gone. We have absolutely no idea where it’s gone or who has it.

We are quite sure it’s either children messing about or someone has mixed it up with their bin and might now have two.

To replace the bin will cost almost £40,  money we would prefer to spend on other things but we need a bin so our rubbish can get collected.

Please do let us know if you know where the bin is or have any information.

Due to holidays, the Post Office will have the following reduced hours next week.

Monday 24^th July & Monday 31^st July open from 2.45pm to 4.45pm.

The Post Master apologises for any inconvenience.

On Friday night a lady was taken ill on The Green.  Local residents assisted (and they should be commended for their efforts) and the ambulance was called. It was felt that the defibrillator at the village hall would assist and the ambulance service was asked by more than one person for the code to access the device.

For reasons that are unclear at this time the code was not forthcoming and due to the delay, the only option was for the door to be prised open to gain access to the device.

By this time the ambulance had arrived.

The device is housed in the cabinet for two reasons, one to keep it at a temperature that allows it to work in all seasons (it has a heater) and sadly due to the times we live in, to keep it safe and available.

When the ambulance is called they should be in a position to give out the code to gain access. They own the device and the cabinet is to their specifications.

Clearly, there is concern over ready access,  in an attempt to alleviate these concerns the code for the device will be supplied to the landlord at the Bulls Head. A poster sited by the device will advise of this.

In the days to come, we will write to nearby residents to ask if they are willing to have the code at hand and for their house number or name to be supplied on the poster at the hall so that in the event of a delay there is a more ready access than was the case on Friday night.

This does not negate the need to call 999 which is paramount as not every heart attack can be dealt with by a defibrillator and of course there are many other medical emergencies.

If anyone living near to the hall wishes to volunteer their house number and to have the code please don’t wait for the letter, do get in touch either via Facebook or by contacting the Hall via the form below.

The ambulance service has been written to and asked for an explanation and this will be shared when received.

Lastly, when the devices were installed over two years ago around 50 people volunteered to be trained in basic lifesaving skills. This is a very small proportion of the local population. If there is a need then the hall will arrange additional training, either to refresh those who have had training previously or to those who have never been trained.

The organising committee is more or less sorted and hope to publish the full day’s programme next week once everything is in place.
Remember that entry is FREE – the bouncy castle, coconut shy and quoits are FREE – there is also face and nail painting as well as stalls in the hall including alternative therapy and Angel Card reading.
The BBQ see’s beef burgers and hot dogs for £1 plus teas and coffees as well as pop etc.
Our afternoon tea from 3pm to 5pm is just £2.50 and includes homemade scones, cakes and cake !
Stone Cold Sober..ish perform for us in the evening with doors open from 6.30pm. Tickets are just £4 and include a FREE drink on production of your ticket. There is a licensed bar so it’s not a cup of tea or glass of pop (unless that’s what you prefer)!
Sounds great, however, ticket sales for the tea and concert are less than we anticipated and we don’t quite understand why that would be when they are such great value.
The tea will be by ticket only – we cannot justify buying food to throw away just in case people turn up, the concert ideally won’t see justify buying food to throw away just in case people turn up, the concert ideally won’t see entry on the night without a ticket and of course we have a seating capacity so no ticket might mean no entry as we are full.
So there you have it – if you want to guarantee an afternoon tea – book your ticket, same to ensure you have a seat at the concert.
To get your ticket call Martyn on 750657 or message the page, it’s as simple as that.

With just a month to go to the Hall’s wakes / community event, the committee is busy putting the final touches and preparing for the day’s events.

The afternoon’s fun in and around the hall is pretty well sorted – there is free entry and the bouncy castle and entertainments are free along the with face and nail painting plus a craft demonstration. As well as that there is a BBQ and refreshments with stalls in the hall selling a rage of goods.

However, the Afternoon Tea and evening concert with Stone Cold Soberi.ish have seen a disappointing level of interest given the excellent value the ticket prices represent.

It’s being pleasing to see some tickets purchased by people who haven’t supported an event at the hall in the recent past but we still have a way to go to sell the concert out and are short of what we anticipated the interest in the tea would be.

We are sure the day’s events from start to finish will be a lot of fun and look forward to seeing as many people as possible join us on the day. A great deal of hard work has gone into the event over several months and as previously stated this is about getting the community together and not raising money for the hall.

If you want any tickets they can be ordered via the wakes page on this site HERE, via the Facebook page or by calling Martyn on 750657.