10/02/2017 Newsround

Good afternoon, Ricky here with Friday's Newsround.

First, hospitals are really busy at the moment, and lots of people

think that's a big problem.

So what does it mean for children who have to go there?

Jenny's got the full story.

It's the middle of winter, which means it's a very

busy time of the year for the National Health Service,

otherwise known as the NHS.

People are worried it's now getting too busy

and overcrowded in hospitals, and this means they're having

to wait a really long time to be seen by a doctor.

I've come to Sheffield Children's Hospital to meet a doctor who works

in the emergency department to find out what's going on.

Is it true, are hospitals getting busier, and especially

at this time of year?

Yes, they are getting busier, and year on year we see

bigger numbers coming, but there is also an increase

in the winter, which is part of the winter pressures,

but we are prepared for those, we know they're coming.

How does this affect children?

If you're seriously injured, will you still get seen?

Of course, we have a system called triage, which basically means

sorting, so when you come through the door you're put

into a category depending on how severe the nurse or doctor

thinks your problem is.

If you were to come to our department tomorrow

and you were seriously ill or injured, you'd be

seen straight away.

If you came with a less urgent problem you might wait a while,

but you would definitely get seen.

OK, yes, hospitals are getting busier, but that doesn't

mean that you won't get seen.

So what's it actually like having to come into hospital?

Meet Lily and Jake.

Jake had to come into hospital when he thought

he'd broken his thumb.

And Lily came in after getting bitten by a dog.

What's it like coming to the hospital?

Well, when I came there weren't too many people there,

there were a few seats taken but generally it was quite quick.

Within ten minutes I was into the x-ray room

with the doctors and stuff.

It was quite a different experience for you, though, Lily.

Can you tell us what happened?

I got bitten by a dog out of a car window.

It took quite a long time to get here, then it was quite busy.

All the chairs were full up.

There were a lot of people there because it was on a weekend

and it took quite a long time to get seen, but I eventually did get seen.

So, what can be done?

Well, the Government have been criticised by doctors,

who argue that part of the problem is that patients who are well enough

to leave hospital can't because they aren't being given

enough support on the outside.

The Government say they know that hospitals are very

busy at the moment but that, despite this, the hospitals

are coping pretty well.

Next, rescuers are trying to save 100 pilot whales that have

become stranded on a beach in New Zealand.

Around 400 of the animals became stuck and sadly

many have died.

Rescuers have been working through the night to try to save the rest.

It's the worst case of this type the country has ever seen.

It's not uncommon for these animals to become beached like this,

but why does it happen?

Beaching is when whales becomes stuck on sand,

and it can be very dangerous.

Marine scientists don't have one clear reason

to explain why it happens.

Here are some of the theories.

It's thought some whales become stranded because they are sick

or injured and pushed in shore by currents or are

simply too old to swim.

Whales rely on something called sonar to work out where

they are and where they are going.

They send out sound waves or pulses which bounce

back off surfaces.

Some ships use sonar pulses too which have been linked to whales

getting stranded and marine scientists think if the two cross

paths the whales could become confused and injured.

It's thought changes in the environment can cause them

to behave differently too.

Perhaps food stocks are low, temperatures are unusually

high or low or the water they are in has become polluted.

And even whales make mistakes.

It's thought they can sometimes lose their way into shallow waters

by accident while travelling to warmer waters to mate.

Whales are very sociable creatures and often travel

in large pods or groups.

But marine scientists think if one is affected by any of the last four

reasons then others travelling with it will copy them.

After 112 years Dippy the Dinosaur has finally left his home

at the Natural History Museum in London.

He had to be taken apart bone by bone by a team of six people and,

just in case you're wondering, that's 292 bones in total,

so it took them quite a bit of time.

He will now be cleaned and repaired before starting

a tour of the UK in 2018.

Goodbye for now, Dippy.

That's all from me.