25/02/2014 Reporting Scotland

sunshine and showers continuing. And that is all from the BBC News at

six. It Tonight. A leading doctor claims

hospital staff are under almost intolerable pressure because of NHS

cuts. Back in Scotland, to a heroes

welcome. The GB curlers return home with their Olympic medals. School

meals, the survey that says children want more say over what's being

served up. They're training for the

Commonwealth Games but they aren't the athletes, they are the police

assigned to protect the Queen's baton.

I'm gonna tell you why I'm coming here, to kick Ricky Burns ass. And

the trainer warns Ricky Burns is about to lose his WBO title.

Good evening. A senior Scottish doctor has warned that NHS staff are

being placed under almost intolerable pressure. The outgoing

President of the Royal College of Physicians is claiming that cuts in

the number of hospital beds increasing admissions and workforce

shortages are under mining the quality of care.

The latest Scottish Government figures show a big increase in the

number of patients waiting to leave hospital after treatment. But they

also show the waiting time target for treatment within 18 weeks of

referral is largely being met. And there's been a small increase in the

number of people working in the NHS in Scotland.

More from our Health Correspondent, Eleanor Bradford.

The NHS is facing increasing demand from a population that's getting

older. Today, the outgoing President of one of Scotland's medical

colleges said staff were now working under almost intolerable pressure.

And the NHS in Scotland risks falling behind England, the said.

The NHS is under pressure most of the months of the year. In England,

the scandal surrounding the unnecessary deaths in

Mid-Staffordshire led to the NHS adopting new standards of care

there. This doctor is calling for the same changes here. But some say

the NHS in Scotland is already performing better than England.

How can I help you... This medical Ward at St John's Hospital in

Livingston Sears 900 patients a month. Five years ago, it was

considering expanding in order to cope. But staff improved care and

cut the death rate by monitoring their performance more closely.

There's been a huge improvement because there are more discussions

with the whole nursing team. We do what's called a safety brief every

day so we talk about the quality indicators every day, how we can

improve our performance, what we can do better at and what we are doing

well at. You need a method to implement the standards... It's part

of a patient safety programme which Scotland's chief doctor says is

already leading the way. If you look at what NHS England have

just decided to do, they have decided to run similar

collaboratives to the Scottish patient safety programme across NHS

England because they have decided safety is a challenge that they are

not meeting. I don't think we have solved it or

fixed it, but the Scottish safety patient programme, which you have

seen in this ward, is an example to other countries about how that

transformation might work. There is no doubt this system needs

to work to cope -- cope to work with uncreasing demand. It's arguably

already in a better place than other NHS Trusts in the UK.

They have already been to Downing Street to be congratulated on their

achievement. Now Britain's mens and women's curling teams have flown

into Edinburgh Airport to enenthusiastic welcome. Cameron

Buttle is there. As you can see, they are setting up

for what's hopefully the last press call of the day for these guys. Team

GB went after three medals, they got four tworks from the Scots curlers.

They arrived them to a very warm welcome. The women's team, with

their bronze medals,s the men also. So far, there hasn't been much

chance for these guys to relax and it seems like the party is just

getting started. Here thisser in all their glory...

The games may be over but a busy day in the media spotlight begins. Easy

to handle when you are Olympic silver medallists. We look at

performances over the two weeks and it was incredible, the hard work we

put in to get there. Not everyone can win the golds. We'll have that

silver medal now and are really pleased. Huge expectations of both

teams. European and world titles already were secured. For men, a

shot of gold ended in resounding defeat to a silver.

For the women, crushed at not making their final, but a gritty fightback

won them bronze. Britain have won the bronze.

Regardless of the colour of the medal, the national recognition for

their success and the huge lift of the profile of their sport is a huge

boost. Congratulations, well done.

Thousands more are signing up to try curling across Scotland. As for the

medal winners, they know this is their time to shine and they hope to

make the most of it. Delighted to say I'm joined by the

two team skips, eve Muirhead, is it God to be back? It's great to be

back in Scotland and what a welcome we got tonight in Edinburgh, the

great to see so many people come out to see us home after a great cupful

of weeks out in Sochi. Massive disappointment when you didn't make

the final, but you came back with a bronze, has that settled in now and

have the bad feelings gone? Yes, it was a roller coaster week. You lose

that chance to get to the final and chase your dream and get the gold

but I think it showed what greatest athletes we were managing to bounce

back, straight back on ice the next morning and win the bronze. It was a

great couple of weeks. David, a huge buzz about the sport. You are

talking about going curling crazy, thousands turning up for the sport.

It must be great to know you created that boost? Incredible. We hoped to

put on a great performance and it really captured the nation, everyone

got into curling and wanted to know what was going on and who the team

were. It was fantastic. Was that surprising to for you? A little bit.

We stay on the social media throughout the weeks and had a

feeling about the buzz back home. People are starting to get into it

and talk about it. It's special knowing that was happening. There

have been some questions about you're future. Any decisions made?

Not yet. I'm going on a break. Obviously I need to speak to the

guys and funding partners about going forward. It's a real young

team that's done so well and we want to have a good think about that and

the gold is an option in four years' time. Thank you very much and

congratulations once more. You get that feeling that the party is just

getting started here. Many thanks.

Police have launched an inquiry after a man claiming to be the

parent of a primary six child called a school in what appears to be an

attempt to abduct her. The man asked staff at St Mary's Primary to tell

the tend-year-old girl not to take the bus home as he'd collect her.

Our report Searle at the school tonight. This happened just before

home time last Thursday. A man phoned the school here. He was

pretending to be the dad of the girl who's in primary six. He told staff

to tell her not the take the bus home but that he would come and

collect her instead. Staff were immediately suspicious about this

call. They phoned the girl's real dad who was able to confirm that was

a bogus call. It's understood that the man got the girl's details

through a social net working site. The parents have been sent home this

letter by the school. In it, it warns of the dangers of children

leaving their personal details online and it asks mums and dads to

be particularly vigilant of apps such as talking Tom and talking

Angela where children might be asked to leave information about

themselves. In this letter, it says staff should

be aware of what happened but she asks parents to be reassured because

it says the school has robust procedures and wants to ensure the

safety and well-being of pupils. A spokesperson for Renfrewshire says

that the prompt action here prompted what could be a very serious child

protection incident. Police Scotland say they are continuing their

inquiries into what happened here and that they are working with the

school and the council to ensure the safety of the children. . You are

watching Reporting Scotland from the BBC. Still to come.

They'll run a half marathon every day. We meet the special police unit

assigned to protect the Queen's Baton in Scotland.

In sport, we meet the American who is undefeat and wants to end the

glory days of Scottish world champion Ricky Burns. And, gearing

up for a Highland Derby revenge at the global energy stadium in

Dingwall with hopes there's no power failure tonight.

Britain's oil and gas industry has warned it faces its biggest

challenge in 50 years due to the low levels of exploration.

Costs of production have also been rising steeply though the industry's

annual survey of offshore activity has found investment remains very

high. Our business and economy editor

Douglas Fraser is here with more. Thank you. As one of Britain's

biggest industries, the positive news for oil and gas is that it's

maintaining high levels of investment this year. At ?13

billion, that's down from last year's record. Recent sharp falls in

output slowed last year, down by 8%. And, due to that record investment,

new fields are coming on stream this year so that production line is

expected to rise again. But there are troubling signs too.

Only 15 exploration wells drilled last year, that is seen as falling

far short of what is necessary to sustain the industry. The reasons

for that is that there are not enough rigs, funding is tight and,

well it's been rather stormy. You remember that we have had

extremely bad weathered this year. We are operating offshore in some of

the most hostile waters in the globe, therefore there's been a lot

of waiting on weather which has impacted too. The industry report

says oil firms are facing rapidly rising production costs. The average

spend for extracting a barrel of oil was up by 27% in only a year. The

accelerating increase in costs is causing operators, such as Centrica,

to focus future investments on other countries. There's plenty of life

left in the old dog yet. There's just a case that in recent years, we

haven't been exploring and identifying the new assets and new

fields that we know are there or strongly suspect are there nearly

fast enough so that's really got to be ramped up. It doesn't help that

the costs of exploring are increasing rapidly. The oil and gas

industries are very important as an employer and as a big payer of tax

too. The bill is expected to fall this year from ?6.5 billion to ?5

billion. That number may look big to you or the fall from last year,

maybe what -- may be what gets your attention because those figures are

important for the arguments for or against Scotland becoming

independent. Three teenagers have admitted

stealing alcohol, cash and charity tins from the Clutha bar in Glasgow

weeks satisfied ten people died there in a helicopter crash. Jordan

Parry, Darren Melrose and Charmaine Holmes pleaded guilty to breaking

into the pub in December. They were caught after being seen by a man who

was paying his respects to a friend who died there three weeks before.

At the court, sentence of the teenagers was deferred and they were

remanded in custody. Children want more say over school

dinners. A review out today suggests many of them want to be more

involved in decisions about what to put on the menu or how to run the

service. The Government's due to publish new

guidance shortly. Our education correspondent has been to a school

that took part in the study. At this primary School in Glasgow

lunchtime is a chance for youngsters to socialise together and learn

about healthy eating. It is really healthy. I like being healthy

because I just feel better. What could make having your lunch at

school even better? Not to have not sought anything in case you are

allergic. This school has even got the children to act as secret

shoppers. It is all about their experience with food. They wanted

more adults, more interaction with adults and a good expedience just

like you or I would want when going out for lunch. Concerns included

insufficient or unappealing choices and the time spent in queues. Other

ideas included making more use of local and seasonal produce. This

comes as the government prepares to publish more guidance on its school

dinners. We have school meals that are regulated because of nutritional

quality but it is not just about the quality of food, it is how we think

about schools, primary and secondary is very different so what do we need

to do to work with those children to make eating and the school meal

experience so much more fun? The review will also include the views

of educational experts. Now we look at some other stories happening

across Scotland this Tuesday. The danger of metal theft has been

discussed by emergency services and businesses across Scotland today. If

the year it causes millions of pounds worth of damage as well as

affecting public safety. The summit was to raise more awareness of the

time. The introduction of average speed cameras on the A9 will damage

the economy according to business leaders. The delivery will be

delayed until the autumn due to technical problems. Some

organisations say the cameras will harm competitiveness by increasing

journey times. A man who barricaded himself inside the house in Dumfries

has been taken into custody following a stand-off that lasted

for 14 hours. Negotiators coaxed the man out of the house and he

eventually gave himself up this morning. Plans to buy this village

and Lewis have gone to postal ballot, 250 people voted for the

buyout while 86 voted against. We will be looking at trying to get

development projects in place to benefit the local community. That is

what this is all about. It was called the ferry Toon and its main

industry was granite quarrying. These two claims to fame have been

incorporated into a new public artwork today at the entrance to key

town. The bell on top the calls home people once summoned the boat to

cross Wigtown Bay. Now, as the Queen's Batten heads to the

Falklands head of the Commonwealth this summer, police office are

preparing for its return home in June. Police Scotland is setting up

a special Baton security force, to accompany the Baton as it spends 40

days travelling around the country. Our Commonwealth Games reporter Lisa

Summers has been to the police training college in Tulliallen to

find out more. The police Batten team get a flavour of what will

happen this summer in Scotland. It has been good getting out, obviously

there will be a lot of meeting of people and meeting other as well. If

there is an attack on the Batten what I want you to be thinking about

is to you feel alert and thinking about the potential issues that may

be created when you get out there. The initial test was to whittle down

100 applicants to 80 recruits -- 40 recruits. Our role is to make sure

it gets safely around the country saw that as many members of the

public can enjoy the expedience. The officers will run the equivalent of

half marathon per day but the biggest challenge will be running at

this pace. They will be looking to make the most of their 200 metres in

the limelight. It is quite unnatural for myself as a runner to go at a

slower speed. I think the more we practised the more we will get used

to it. Trying to keep the pace quite slow will come into a problem when

you have to react to something. These officers will have to prepare

for all eventualities, running in all weathers. Leasing the Batten

will be the first test of becoming a single force. Now let's get the

latest sport. Very slow running sounds like the ideal job for me!

Ricky Burns' challenger is tonight apologising to the World Champion's

fans, that's because he says he's here to take away Burns WBO

lightweight title. Terence Crawford met the media for the first time

today ahead of this weekend's fight in Glasgow. And the man from

Nebraska and his entourage left quite an impression. Here's Phil

Goodlad. Meet Terence Crawford, American, undefeated and very

confident. I came here because Ricky has got something that I want. I'm

going to take it. Here's not the only one who believes in his

ability. I am 100% confident in what Terence is about to do. He is about

to create the world champion out of Nebraska. Such confidence comes from

Crawford's record, years undefeated and has not got 16 of his 22

opponents. I have the desire, the determination, the veil, I have got

whatever it takes. If that was not enough it seems like the Crawford

camp does not really rate Ricky Burns. He has never fought anybody.

I am going to keep saying the same thing about Ricky Burns, he is like

a third-place golden Globe winner. I wonder what Ricky Burns mix of all

this? Fight night cannot come fast enough. Inverness Caledonian Thistle

manager John Hughes says they will be looking for "revenge" over local

rivals Ross County in the Highland derby tonight. County currently hold

the bragging rights after winning the New Year's Day fixture.

Tonight's game is a replay of a match in the autumn that had to be

abandoned due to floodlight failure. Andrew Thomson reports. These

highland derbies have become known as elk ethical in reference to the

Keswick bridge behind me here. These Inverness Caley Thistle and Ross

County fines -- ties have added the lot of spice to football heeding the

Highlands. From my point of view we want to continue our success this

season in the derby match, that is by winning at home, we are obviously

in confident mood. County won the last match. They have strengthened

their squad since then. The other team also have more in their

armoury. We have a full strength squad with no injuries, the manager

has his grip on the team and we know how we are going to play. The fans

will be hoping there is no repeat of what happened back in the autumn

when a clash between the sides had to be abandoned due to floodlight

failure. It would be nice to get some revenge, I have been involved

in derby matches where there is a real undercurrent of unpleasantries

behind the scenes, this is different. It is fantastic for

Highland football that the two teams are playing in the SPL, competing

against each other, I look forward to it. We can look forward to more

of tonight's footballing action and the rest of Scottish sport. It was

an uncommon defeat for Celtic in the Scottish cup just over two weeks

ago, tonight they face Aberdeen again, this night on league

business. Does Neil Lennon have revenge on his mind? Revenge is too

strong a word, it is just focusing on what we want to do at home. There

is a big crowd here tonight and they will be willing the team on.

Aberdeen are well capable of beating Celtic at Parkhead and Celtic a

result tonight at Pittodrie. -- getting a result. There is coverage

of that match tonight on radio Scotland, it is already on year.

Bradley Wiggins says he intends to ride at the Commonwealth Games in

Glasgow later this year. He has the Commonwealth silvers and says he

would like to add a gold to his tally. Steve Cram won two gold

medals the last time the Commonwealth Games were in Scotland,

he believes Usain Bolt will be here for Glasgow 2014. He is beginning to

think about what have I achieved in my career? He has not won a

Commonwealth gold medal and engine maker that is big currency. There

are more sports stories 24 hours a day on our website. That is it for

tonight. Now let's get the latest weather. Good evening. Today brought

a mixture of sunshine and showers and that is the theme that continues

over the next couple of days. This evening and overnight will continue

to see these showers become confined to the north-west and the Western

Isles. Elsewhere will become largely dry with clear spells around leading

to a touch of Frost for the sheltered north-east, the risk of

ice on untreated roads and surfaces. Temperatures holding up elsewhere

around five Celsius and the wind will continue to ease for most of us

tonight with the exception of the Western and Northern Isles. There

they will be strong at times. We start tomorrow on a dry and bright

note or much of the East. More showers. Read through the country

during the course of the morning, perhaps falling as snow over high

ground for a time in the morning. We will continue to see a few showers

across the Northern Isles during the afternoon. For much of the

north-east corner there will be fewer showers and more in the way of

sunshine tomorrow. In the sunshine temperatures will peak around 10

Celsius. For the Western Isles and into the north-west Highlands,

Lochaber Argyll and central and southern Scotland a mixture of

sunshine and showers will continue. Highs generally hear of around eight

Celsius. Tomorrow evening we will see some showers for a time and into

tomorrow night we will see an area of rain moving into the West. That

will cross the country during Wednesday night with strong

southerly winds for coastal areas and over high ground. Into Thursday

we will see this weather front moving away with some rain lingering

for a time in Shetland. Sunshine and showers elsewhere. Now a reminder of

tonight's main news. A senior Scottish doctor has warned NHS staff

have been placed under almost intolerable pleasure -- pressure.

Workforce shortages are undermining the quality of care. A judge has

ruled that a suspected IRA terrorists charged with murdering

soldiers in 1982 will not now stand trial because of the mistake made by

Northern Irish police. That is Reporting Scotland, we are back with

the headlines that eight. Until then, good evening. -- the headlines

at eight.