02/11/2016 Look East (West)

still no decision on the long-term future of hospitals in Bedfordshire.

And London to Luton Airport in 30 minutes - the big plans

And another cold night on the way, with the risk of frost.

First tonight - three reviews costing more than $6 million

but still no decisions have been made into major health care changes

NHS bosses have been looking at a variety of options.

They include moving Bedford's maternity services to Milton Keynes,

merging services at three hospitals and saving money in A

Bedford Hospital has been under the shadow

In 2013, the ?2.2 million Healthier Together report was

published, which examines the future of services at five

In June this year, another separate report recommended

the maternity services here in Bedford be moved to Milton Keynes.

That report had taken two ydars and cost ?4.5 million.

Instead, it was absorbed into another wider review.

In fact, there have been multiple reviews, costing millions of pounds.

Now it's been leaked, the latest, which looks at Bedford,

Luton and Dunstable, and Milton Keynes,

suggests options including sharing back office staff and making A

savings, but crucially it's unclear whether maternity services

People I spoke to today at the hospital weren't happy.

It's pretty scary because if there are any issues or problems

with the little ones, it's scary that we don't have a place to go.

It could have been spent in the hospital

I think that's the saddest thing about it.

Tonight the authors of the official report say...

The plan is one of 44 being carried out around the country

but one expert questions how viable they actually are.

The harsh reality is that if we want to keep

up with the increasing demand and the ageing population,

we need a radical injection of cash into Health and Social Care.

And I think politicians are trying to have

their cake and eat it by giving little bits

of extra money and asking people to make some changes.

I'm afraid that's not going to be sustainable.

The latest report is expected to be published in full

at the end of this month, but it will be some

years yet before final decisions are made.

The report was leaked to the media by the Mayor

Earlier he told me why the local authority should have

It is not just hospitals, local councils have been asked

The CCGs have been asked to make savings but how can

How do we make it that people who do not need to go to the

hospital don't go but get the appropriate care?

Whether it be the pharmacy, the GP - or actually never go there

because of the engagement of social care.

Of course, we should be involved in terms of that cos we can stop

There isn't any more certainty about maternity

But given there's a shortage of midwives across the country,

isn't it better to consider one brilliant facility with the best

Obviously, we are considering everything but there are

3100 births in Bedford Hosphtal there isn't the capacity

to deal with them in any other hospital either.

They haven't got the physical beds to deal with them.

They have got no money to build new maternity facilities at Luton

It is important that we do have those births in Bedford.

Whether we have those births in Bedford or elsewhere,

there is still a shortage of midwives.

That's another issue that needs to be addressing.

Also, so that families can go and visit if there

is a longer stay once the birth has happened.

You've said that you are frustrated at being left

How engaged are the local community in what's going on?

I've had people asking me what's going to happen.

It doesn't say that maternity is going to close.

and I think the people of Bedford and the wider SDP area need to

know what's being said because they are making

up their own stories because it is being kept secret and

A public meeting has been hdld in Milton Keynes tonight

calling for more accommodathon to be made available for the homeless.

It's after a man died in his tent on Sunday,

the third homeless person to die in the town this year.

Our reporter Kate Bradbrook was at the People's Assembly meeting.

Tonight, just around the corner from here,

there have been discussions about what can be done here in

Milton Keynes to stop any ftrther deaths of those sleeping rough.

Many of those at the meeting did not want

to be filmed, but one who did was Ricky.

I've been campaigning about this since my best friend

died earlier this year and H was not expecting another death.

Of course, any possible solution is going to cost money.

One idea put forward tonight was for the council to hand

over empty buildings, such as office space,

We've got more empty buildings in Milton Keynes

including homeless families who are currently in bed and breakfasts.

It is very simple maths to figure out

that we actually have got f`r more space than we already need.

We want to see a change in the system and for people to get

access to housing, whoever they are and wherever they're from.

The Council themselves say there's no simple solution.

They say they are working with voluntary organisations

and they are assessing the needs of individuals.

Some people's needs related to the fact they've come out

of the Army and have sufferdd as a result of being in the Army,

some people's needs relate to long-term drug

There are different solutions needed for

I'm not going to push them altogether in one building.

What we need to do is find ` way of helping each person individually

to become independent again, to find a pathway back to work and,

in the longer term, find their own accommodation.

A winter shelter for use during the daytime is due to

But what everyone seems to `gree on is that it is a long-term

Next tonight, the multi-million pound rail link for Luton ahrport

that could help increase capacity to 18 million by 2021.

Passengers arriving at the Parkway station currently have to get

The new train line will make that quicker and easier,

This is how rail passengers currently get from train to plane -

a wait of up to ten minutes outside the station,

then followed by a bus journey, which can often be

You get off the train, you walk out of Luton Airport Parkway

and then you're waiting - it could be 10, 15, 20 minutes.

Especially bad in the winter times in the rain and the snow.

Would you prefer a tram rather than a bus?

I think this is terrible. SHE LAUGHS.

It's very annoying to take the bus all the time.

It's an easier access to the airport from the trains than a bus.

This is the end of a runway here and the terminal building

is just beyond that, but the rail station is just

As you can see, there is a real height difference,

so building this light rail link will be a real

And this is what that light rail tram scheme could look like -

all part of the airport's plan is to increase passenger

numbers by 5 million, to 18 million every year.

We are the fastest-growing `irport in the UK currently.

We will be at 18 million passengers by 2020.

By 2020, the impact of the airport will

be ?2.3 billion on the UK economy, over ?1 billion

per year to the Treasury and support over 7000 jobs.

Luton is currently at a competitive disadvantage to other

The region pass business community also

agree with the airport's management that this link

Simply, a lot more business being done, a lot more people

being employed, economic growth more people stopping on their way

through, which is of course good for the business in the town.

It will become more of a focus for people doing business ottside

the UK because the airport will be easier to get

Public exhibitions on the plans are now underway.

If approved by 2021, taking to the skies after taking the

train will undoubtedly becole significantly easier.

A Cambridgeshire police officer has been cleared

PC Rodger White, seen here leaving a disciplinary hearing,

was accused of saying all black people from London were liars.

During a three-day disciplinary hearing, he argued his commdnts had

been deliberately twisted by a colleague in order

Cambridgeshire Police has confirmed no further action

Alex has the weather next and the national

Temperatures have already taken a tumble this evening and cdrtain

Under clear skies, we may develop some mist and fog patches,

and for some parts of the region, temperatures could get

below freezing, bringing the risk of a frost,

so perhaps down to around -0 Celsius in some parts.

It's going to be a cold start to the day tomorrow,

but actually quite a lot of fine weather around.

The pressure pattern shows an area of low pressure pushing

in from the Northwest, but it will make slow

progress across the country, so for us here in the east,

after that chilly start and once we've cleared the mist and fog,

it looks like lots of fine weather, certainly for the first

As the day goes on, though, this area of cloud will start

It's starting to turn a cloudy in those northern counties

into the afternoon and tempdratures are on the cold side.

We'll only get up to around 9 Celsius through tomorrow.

Eventually, this cloud coming in and bringing us some

The national weather's coming up but here's our outlook -

it's staying cold, with some rain expected over the weekend.

up to around 12. Mick Miller has the national picture.

The weather may have turned colder but for many of us today there was

abundant sunshine. This is from the end of the day from Oxfordshire.

end of the day from Oxfordshire Cold and clear