01/11/2016 South Today

Hello and welcome to South Today, I'm Edward Sault.

They gave it up after just seven months.

Coperforma surrends its contract to run patient transport

But is the new provider at risk of overstretching itself?

Could these be coming to the leafy Surrey hills?

Protestors hope not as they set up camp.

Tomorrow morning there is the chance of Frost, I will have the wdather

details shortly. They had weathered the storl

but have now decided to throw Coperforma - the company

running the NHS patient transport service in Sussex -

is handing back the sixty ?62 million contract

after just seven months. in April, hundreds of patients

were being left stranded, Thousands soon signed a pethtion

calling for an end to the contract. providing ambulances went btst

and vehicles were seized. Then, in August, an NHS report

found Coperforma had failed to plan properly to take

on the service. Despite making big

improvements, the NHS today confirmed Coperforma had given up

the contract and South Central Ambulance Service will take

over for the time being. Let's join reporter

Anjana Gadgil who is live The writing has been on the wall

for some months now, hasn't it? Yes, the contract was awarddd

to Coperforma in April and health bosses in Sussex have been dealing

with the fall out ever sincd. There were angry patients

not being collected for hospital appointments,

angry staff not being paid, angry hospitals picking up the pidces

angry MPs and angry union mdmbers. At one point in the first

five weeks only 1 in 5 Michael is a former army officer

who needs dialysis four timds a week - but never knew

if the ambulance would turn up. It is annoying enough to have to go

in for dialysis. Then to waht for transport you know could be

organised better is annoying. Your thoughts on the fact the colpany

will no longer have the contract? I was going to say I am delhghted,

because they are not capabld of running it.

So were Coperforma pushed or did they jump?

By the summer Coperforma has begun to meet its targets but it lay have

struggled to make any money out of the service.

And much of this saga boils down to finances.

Up until 2014 South East Coast Ambulance Service -

Secam - were running Patient Transport Services

in Sussex but said it didn't want to to continue operating under

When the service went out to tender Coperforma were the only bidders.

One other company - called @rriva - had expressed interest

but withdrew because - like Secam - it didn't think

the contract could be delivdred at the price being offered.

Coperforma were providing the service through a booking hub

but employing transport providers to sub-contract the drivers.

And clearly there were lots of teething problems with that model.

Coperforma haven't spoken today but the NHS body which appohnted

Coperforma says it was a mutual decision.

We receive communication from the company that whilst perform`nce had

improved, the contract is not economical. We have an exit

arrangement for them. Well patients, MPs and the tnions

have been queuing up to say how pleased they are that the contract

has been handed back. Transport will again be

provided by the NHS via the South Central Ambulance Service

who already run the service But remember Coperforma werd due

to run the service for 6 ye`rs so there will have be

another tender process. South Central Ambulance

will have to get to grips It already runs patient

transport in four counties , it's taking charge in Surrex too

next April and now has to oversee all of Sussex where there h`ve

been on-going problems. So earlier, I asked Deputy Chief

Executive James Underhay how Our aim is clearly to utilise as

many of our own staff and vdhicles as possible, clearly the tile frame

for mobilising the contract is going to be shorter than we would normally

the patients and their families we the patients and their families we

want to have the right people with the right skills and right

equipment, to deliver a safd and competent service. Southeast

ambulances are stopped runnhng the service because they said they were

not being paid enough. Our south-central being paid more than?

Or is at the same value? It would be inappropriate to have that

conversation at the moment those are still ongoing discussions bdtween

ourselves and the CCG. Is there a risk of overstretching oursdlves?

Like I say we will put in place proper infrastructure, propdr

management, proper resources to run the contract in the same wax we run

other contract we currently hold. You can guarantee that Sussdx

patients, who have had a difficult six months, we'll get the sdrvice

they deserve and need? Absolutely, our priority is ensuring th`t those

patients and their families receive the service they should rightly

expect. Thank you for your time this evening.

Potentially it houses the fhfth largest onshore oil field in the UK

and could be worth millions of pounds - but drilling

into the Surrey Hills to extract it, is highly controversial.

Campaigners are concerned about the possible environmdntal

But the company involved has sought to reassure local people.

It is a popular part of leafy Surrey for walkers, cyclists, and horse

But now the area has become the site of a battle between the Europa oil

and gas company, and environmental campaigners.

Last Friday the campaigners began setting up this

protest camp, complete with tree houses.

Central government has completely overridden the wishes of

the people in this area, they have been made

completely clear, it could

not be more obvious that this is not wanted.

Today the Green party MEP for the south-east visited the site

There are enough people saying, hang on, this

is a beautiful neck of the

woods, literally, why on earth would we want to disrupt it?

The south already has a serhes of onshore oil

This site would allow the operator access to reserves

estimates that around 5 million barrels.

The site was approved by

the planning Inspectorate following a seven-year battle

but there are outstanding issues including an

application for new securitx fencing around the site.

It is over one hectare of l`nd that they are

It will be visible from the road, never in

Nobody from Europa oil and gas was available for

interview today but in a radio interview last Friday the company

stressed they will not use controversial fracking techniques.

It is a conventional exploration well.

So it predates the invention of fracking in the UK.

The oil industry says it has a good track record when

it comes to protecting the environment.

In the UK, and in particular, the area where this site

exists, we have already drilled about 250 wells.

It is essentially nothing dhfferent to what we have

Europa gas and oil does need a series of final

approvals before it can start work on this site.

The company is hoping to st`rt drilling here at some stage

Students from a secondary school near Chichester which burned down

in the summer have moved into their new temporary

It's been made from portabld buildings constructed on pl`ying

fields at The Academy Selsex for students and their families

I am kind of excited, now wd don't have to get on a bus every day. We

are just here and we know the place where we will learn everythhng.

It is amazing, really impressive. I cannot get over it, how quick they

have done it. It is great, better than the old school.

Champion jockey Jim Crowley has been released from hospital

Crowley, from Pulbrough in West Sussex, came away

from a horrific looking crash with only a broken nose.

Fellow jockey Freddy Tylitski remains in a stable condition

That's all from the South Today news team this evening.

We're back tomorrow with bulletins in BBC Breakfast and there's more

Here with our regional weather forecast is Alexis.

It is going to be very chilly overnight. Temperatures could fall

to around freezing, or just above, there's a chance of patchy frost in

the countryside, with the clearing sky. Still cloud around movhng

southward, clear skies will allow Frost to form, and there will be

fairly light northerly winds. A chilly start tomorrow, it is a

lovely day with lots of sunshine, one spells of sunshine throtgh the

afternoon, patchy cloud herd and there, temperatures a littld lower

today, reaching 12 Celsius with a light northerly breeze. Tomorrow

night, a widespread frost, high pressure starts to pull awax, with

clear skies it will be a chhlly start to Thursday, a bright and

sunny start but clouding ovdr with this weather front moving e`stwards

across the region during thd day. We expect patchy rain on Thursday night

into the early hours of Friday morning and also through Frhday Low

pressure takes charge through Thursday night into Friday, for the

weekend it will be quite chhlly Tomorrow, a frosty start, a high of

11 Celsius, and on Thursday the Frost

couple of days, frosty mornings before turning unsettled. Good You

know what, in evening. the last few days, much

more following the calendar. A warm end to October, 1st