07/11/2011 Inside Out South East

The closure of Pfizer - we've a special report on the future of

jobs in East Kent. Does it want remain beautiful and bucolic or is

it willing to sacrifice countryside to provide industrial premises for

jobs for local people? And how healthy is your hospital? We look

at how the new Pembury Hospital is coping. The service has been

amazing, the nurses made me feel at home. I am horrified by the care.

You would not leave somebody for five Alice with a broken hip.

Natalie Graham with the untold stories, closer to home. From all

round Kent and Sussex, this is Hello, tonight I'm in Crowborough,

the highest town in Sussex, which is also where Sir Arthur Conan

Doyle chose to live. But we start over in East Kent. It was the place

where they discovered Viagra - but that wasn't enough to save the

Pfizer site in Sandwich. The drugs company are axing around fifteen

hundred jobs. So what on earth does Kent do now? Vince Rogers finds out.

The science of pharmacology is a wonderful thing. The boffins can

create chemicals which kid diseases and saved lives. But there is one

problem they cannot cure. The patient with the illness is the

county of Kent. A body blow for East Kent, Pfizer closes its

research centre. Pfizer of pulling out. This means the loss of 1,500

jobs with the damaging effect on the economy of Kent. Who has got

the job of dealing with the problem? That would be it Paul

Carter. He is the chairman of the sand which economic development

task force and the leader of Kent County Council. Tim Leunig is from

the economic History Department of the London School of Economics. I

am going to get the council leader to explain what he will do to

secure the future prosperity of Kent and if Tim thinks it's a good

idea. Has the area got a choice to make?

East Kent has big choices. It is beautiful. But jobs are ugly and

East Kent has a choice to remain beautiful and bucolic but people

will leave the area or is it willing to sacrifice the

countryside to provide lots of industrial premises for jobs for

local people? Let's get down to specifics. We want to know Paul

Carter's priorities for saving Kent. Obviously the first is to sort have

a problem in Sandwich. Number one, back Phil Pfizer. That means Pfizer

selling the site, rebranding it as Discovery Park and getting smaller

pharmaceutical companies to move in, employing the same number of people

as if nothing had happened. These are not just office spaces, it is

high-tech laboratories and research and development facilities. Pfizer

announced last week 650 of their jobs will stay on the site. It is

good news they are not shutting down altogether. But when you look

at the number of additional jobs that are not from Pfizer, it is the

relatively few. One of those is a company called Unilabs. They are

fantastic laps. The staff are experienced and hard to come by.

Some ex employees are setting up the run businesses on the site.

parted company with Pfizer in August and the company launched in

mid- August. There are 5,000 jobs to be created to get back to square

one. Is this possible? Paul Carter says it has happened before in

Runcorn, Cheshire. ICI it needs to make �30 million worth of savings,

350 jobs are expected to go. closed their factory in the north-

west in 1999. Made hundreds redundant and put it up for sale, a

similar situation to Pfizer. More people employed on the site are

contributing to GDP than there were in the heyday of ICI.

difference with Runcorn is it was the manufacture and plant and those

jobs a reason to replace because they are low skilled. Have you been

to run corn? Actually, the ground would preview run -- wrong. The

research and development is going on on the site. The previous site

had a big trunk of manufacturer. But when you look at the back of

the support to ICI in this country and the research and development

that went on at one corner, you can compare the numbers. The government

has made Discovery Park an enterprise zone which means

business rate discounts, simplified planning rules and support for

improving Broadbent. What about the enterprise zone? It is worth having

but you do not want to go overboard, there was one in Medway and Medway

is not the world's most prosperous place. The danger is it can attract

people from elsewhere in the region, across the border but it could be

bad news for Thanet. We do not want job displacement, that's what he is

referring to. We do have some control over making sure the rate

relief goes to new businesses or new investors and does not displace

jobs and elsewhere. Tim says the important thing is to keep the

critical mass of pharmaceutical jobs on the site where Pfizer leave.

It is a tough call and when the workers leave, the intellectual

capital has disappeared. Frankly, it would be close to gain over for

those jobs. It did not happen in Runcorn. No, but many places it has

happened. Additionally, Kent Cancer Council have applied to the

regional growth fund, a government pot of money. We learnt four East

Kent districts have been awarded �43 million, most of which will go

on grants and loans for local businesses with low interest rates.

I am delighted. 43 million is 43 million to spend in helping

supporting existing businesses to grow and new businesses to invest

in those districts including Discovery Park at the former Pfizer

site. So, to summarise, it is important to keep a critical mass

of jobs at Discovery Park, it is now on enterprise zone of a tin

says it can damage local business. The government has given �43

million to encourage entrepreneurs. This is not just about Pfizer. The

question is what we need to inject into the county to keep the whole

economy going? And so, the next priority for Kent. No. 2, in

structure. Paul says East Kent would benefit from the development

of Manston airport and interconnecting high-speed trains.

The largest runway in mainland Europe, it would increase

productivity. It could deliver Manston airport with the

equivalents of Stansted. About �6 million of the 43 million regional

growth fund is to be spent on upgrading the lines so high-speed

trains can run through Canterbury to east Kent. The ambition is to

make Sandwich as accessible from London as Cambridge. Some rare

experts have their doubts. They were never achieve that because

someone like Sandwich is stuck at the end of a long winding a line

and it will take longer than an hour for trains to get there.

ambition is to turn Manston into something like Stansted and get

train times from East Kent to London down to an hour but experts

doubt it is possible. The next priority for the future is the kids.

Number three, education. No one would deny that education is vital

for long-term economic prosperity. But, Kent has two problems. There

are many people doing well in schools who go to university and

leave and moved to more affluent parts. I did that. I grew up in

Chatham, I left Oxford and never came back. What is worse, according

to research, kids from poor families get a bad deal in Kent.

you are poor in Britain, you do less well in schools in Kent than

anywhere in London or any when neighbouring London and that is a

challenge. You are comparing a standard comprehensive in the North

of England with a high-school were 25% of the cohort is moving into a

grammar school education. No, I am not. I am looking at children in

the bottom quarter by income and how they would do at 16

irrespective of what school they go to and tense does worse than any

borough in London. Well, I challenged the statistics. I would

send an teeth. They were published in the Financial Times. I have

checked the myself. Chris Cook from the Financial Times is the person

who did the research. What we found is in Kent there is a higher than

average propensity for poor children to fall by the wayside. We

found that was because of the grammar school system so the

grammar schools are fantastically effective but if you do not get in,

you will do badly. You have to consider all the factors. Grammar-

school education helps socially deprived students to attain

university placements and more academic success than any other

system. So, Kent is not serving children from poor families to the

detriment of the economy. But Paul Carter and some head teachers

No. Four, green technology. Paul Carter says Kent has untapped

potential for many new jobs. There are some things like the emphasis

on green technology that every council leader across Britain is

claiming their area has a special advantage. We have to be careful

some of these jobs do not turn out to be like the Silicon Glen in

Scotland or the manufacturing of televisions in South Wales which

seemed wonderful in the 1980s but disappeared after five years.

disagree on the basis we have the longest coastal regions of every

county -- any county in a country and proximity to where the energy

is consumed. He points out the best us -- a Vestas may start assembling

at wind turbines in Sheerness if the government says that a clear

long-term policy on wind farms and this would create 2000 jobs on the

Isle of Sheppey. One economist says studies have been made about

turbines in the county. If you look at the figures, the only way you

could justify the prediction is if there was a serious expansion in

production of turbines. Paul macro reckons Kent has great potential in

renewable energy but economists say it depends on the Government's

So, that's the plan - get people working again at the Old Pfizer

site, invest in structure -- infrastructure, ensure high

standards of education and take advantage of emerging green

technology. Many people will be hoping that that works, because the

Vince Rogers reporting. A surge in patient numbers and widespread

confusion in Kent and East Sussex. Here at Inside Out core we have

been investigating how the new �235 million hospital in Pembury has

This shiny new hospital opened its doors in September. It serves

500,000 people in Kent and Sussex, everywhere from Crowborough to

Aylesford. But behind the gloss, we discovered not everyone was happy.

In spite of a brand new hospital in Pembury, would Maidstone lose out?

We have lost our local service. The complications of all that are going

to be very serious. With the new hospital came major changes to how

and where patients are treated. When Pembury opened, Maidstone lost

its full maternity service and the ability to deal with major trauma.

There is still an axe two department at Maidstone, but many

patients needing treatment for the most serious injuries are

travelling to the new Pembury Hospital instead. -- and A&E

department. And while an increase in private patients her push NHS

people to the back of the Ku? We can reveal the hospital's plans to

step up the number of private beds. Our investigation began with e-

mails and complaints. Since the service changed, we have heard

staff and patients were worried. Among concerns were long waiting

times in A&E, poor patient treatment and safety. We decided to

look at the changes and take your concerns to hospital bosses.

weaving the environment is overwhelmingly positive. Why are

going to take a look at what is going on. First up, A&E. The number

of patients going to Pembury's A&E has increased beyond expectations.

Since it opened, it has been claimed a n d staff are under

pressure. The hospital has overwhelmed and is concerned about

the impact this is having on patients. Isabel is At Hand has

Alzheimer's. Sandra Springett from Age UK took her to hospital with a

broken hip and says she had to wait five hours to be seen by a doctor,

and tend to go to bed. Isobel does not have any next of kin and I am

horrified by the care she received. You just wouldn't leave somebody

fought five hours without -- with a broken hip. That hurts. By 12pm

collar they had decided they would not be able to operate that day so,

at that point, she could have a cup of tea and something to eat. Very

important for all the people to keep hydrated - I think they might

know that in our hospital. Hospital bosses say they have been teething

problems and Pembury was not expecting such a high amount of

patience. Nicki Luffingham is the chief operating officer,

responsible for running Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells. We have had

some challenges. We were not expecting, despite our best plans,

the rise in attendances that we got on day one and two. We got about

25% more patients than expected. Everyone understands you are a new

hospital but we have heard of and 80-year-old woman waiting five

hours in A&E with a broken hip. Surely this is unacceptable.

would accept that this is not the standard of care that we would like

to portray. It is not what we want to do and, without going into

details - because obviously, I can't - we will apologise for any

patients who have had delays. while A&E in Pembury has been busy,

in Maidstone it has been much quieter since the service changed.

Since the new hospital opened, Maidstone's A&E department is in

around 130 cure patients each week compared to last year. -- fewer. It

has left doctors like Paul Hobday worried that falling numbers of

admissions could mean it is downgraded to a minor injuries unit.

A I have spoken to a few colleagues and they are very concerned about

the running down of Maidstone Hospital. We feel the next thing

that they will change at Maidstone is, despite their denials, closing

A&E. Their words are all very well but look at their actions. They

have got rid of maternity at Maidstone, most of paediatrics,

trauma and orthopaedics has gone, and a lot of other facilities. It

makes it inevitable that more services will be squeezed out of

Maidstone - not least because they need the money at the Tunbridge

Wells and to run a big hospital. But despite the drop in numbers,

hospital bosses say Maidstone's A&E is safe. At the moment, A&Es on

both sides are fully functioning. We have only seen a 5% drop in

attendance rates at the Maidstone A&E, which was predicted. We have

not dropped further from there and we are committed to providing two

A&E services. So you can give a guarantee that the Maidstone unit,

through less use, it won't be downgraded? Be it is only a 5% loss

at the moment. There is no way we can downgrade it with a 5%

reduction in attendances. hospital says the decision to

remove -- remove trauma from Maidstone was taken in the

interests of patients. An independent health expert says

having doctors in one place means they see enough patience to build

expertise. The move in the NHS is to have more specialist sectors.

Specialists for trauma called Orthopaedic, for cardiac services,

because we are better at doing stuff if the experts are doing it.

It is the same with maternity. What we are likely to see is the

evolution of more specialist services. The problem or benefit,

depending on how you see it, is that you can't have a specialist

service on everyone's street corner. The old idea of the district

general hospital - and it was a general hospital - is defunct now.

Now a look at maternity. When it lost its consultant-led maternity

service, Maidstone Open de birthing unit. It offers home-from-home

midwifery care and is for low-risk pregnancies. If complications

happen, women have to be taken nearly 20 miles to Pembury. Marijke

Kenny experienced this journey first hand. She lives in Maidstone

and wanted to give birth there. When she went into labour, she had

to travel to the new hospital. is worrying because they's it just

so many things that can go wrong. It can happen so quickly and you

can be in danger really really quickly. I personally feel that

it's awful that the services aren't at Maidstone any more. One of the

protesters who tried to save the poor maternity service at Maidstone

was Dennis Fowle. He is worried the hospital could eventually be left

without any maternity care. doubt is that the unit in Maidstone

will have a long life. I have always seen it as a sop for our

area. They knew that Labour going to take a service away from us and

that would be very unpopular. We want our consultant-led service

back in Maidstone. That is where it really belongs. We were desperately

sorry to lose it. Joy Kemp is a maternity expert and was

responsible for helping to plan Maidstone's new birthing centre.

She believes passionately that splitting the service was the right

thing. The government wants every woman to be able to have a choice

between giving birth in a hospital, a midwife-led unit or Birth Centre,

and giving birth at home. We are one of the very few places in the

country that actually offers all of those three choices. But because of

the changes are Maidstone, fewer women can give birth there. Over at

Pembury, they are busy. Last month, more than 350 babies were born here

and the mothers we spoke to were delighted with the standard of care.

What do you think of the maternity service? Are very good. It has been

really nice since I've been in here. The service has been amazing. The

nurses have made me feel completely at home. The facilities and

everything... Next, the hospitals' plans to attract more patients who

pay. The new hospital looks magnificent. Modern facilities and

equipment. It could not have been built without a �235 million

private finance initiative. It let the local trustees private money to

avoid paying upfront costs for the building. Private finance

initiatives, or PFIs, are controversial. But Pembury could

not have been built without one. Some say these schemes end up

costing us millions more than they should. The trust is currently

paying back around �20 million a year and experts say in the end,

the scheme could cost �600 million. That is money that needs to be paid

back. So is the answer to attract more private patients? Inside Out

discovered the trust plans to increase the number of private

patients it sees. I gained access to this document which talks about

a proposed PPU at Maidstone Hospital. That is a private

patients' unit. It talks about plans to ring-fence beds, operating

theatres and diagnostic sessions for private patients. However, when

I asked the trust about it, they said there were no plans for any

more private beds at Maidstone. Not content with the answer I got on

the phone, I decided to ask Nicki Luffingham about the plans in

person. With less people using Maidstone

Hospital, are there plans to use the beds for private patients

instead? Less people using Maidstone Hospital - our full

Electa services are there, so people having day surgery and in-

patient surgery and all that outpatients are fully running. --

elective services. We can possibly close some beds but that is about

efficiencies and the system and improving our length of stay, of

which is going to be much better for patients. We have opened a

private unit on the Tunbridge Wells site. We knew, a good year ago,

that we had some capacity in our system, following those

efficiencies. We also knew we had a financial gap, following be PFI

initiative, and we needed to do everything we can to bridge that

gap before asking for help. But are there plans to introduce a private

patients' unit at Maidstone? It is very early days for this private

patients' unit. It has only been open for two weeks at the site. Our

ultimate strategy is to have private patients' units across our

organisation. We do not know where it will be or how big it will be

but we do wish to provide private patients' services in both

hospitals. How do you think services -- patients in Maidstone

will feel that they have lost services? That has a very negative

story. We believe it to be a very positive story. We may not be

looking at a ward. We have not decided where we will be put in it

yet. We have quite a lot of spare capacity at Maidstone when we have

finished reconsider it - but reconfiguring hour services. This

is capacity we are not using for NHS patients. We are not depleting

it in any way. We believe we are adding. But some doctors are

concerned that are raising money through private patients is

becoming more of a priority. Private Patients in the NHS

hospitals have always had a little impact but it is the scale of it.

We have all known, as doctors, that it intrudes. When it intrudes to a

small degree because the numbers are small, people have tolerated

that since 1948. The scale now is going to be in a different league.

It will have the same impact as in Tunbridge Wells on NHS patients,

which is that they will inevitably be squeezed from more operating

slots, diagnostic slots, and that means waiting lists will increase.

A Health & Social Care Bill is going through Parliament. It could

end the limit on the amount Hospital raised from private

patients, meaning more could be treated at NHS hospitals across the

country. Roy Lilley says that far from being a bad thing, the trust's

plans to increase the number of private patients is good. There is

no silver bullet. This is part of the book shot. It is income.

Providing it goes to any to services, why should we worry?

hospital's running costs are high due to the money it owes under the

PFI. The trust says private patients would help pay back the

money it owes, meaning they don't have to take away cash from

frontline care. It is all about us ploughing that money back into a

major services. The money we made privately goes back to alter Milly

improving patient care. We want to do it at both sides. As the paint

is barely dry and staff settle in, it is clear they are trying hard to

get used to live at the new hospital. It has brought changes,

challenges and some difficult decisions which may yet have to be

made to make sure it remains A If you want more information

about a night's show, you can visit our Kent or Sussex websites. You

can also watch the whole show again by putting on the iPlayer. Coming

up next week: Kent's most annoying crime wave - a metal thefts.

What was taken was the sheets of lead that covered this roof. They

were 4 ft wide and 7 ft long. They came and rolled them up and took

them away. If it isn't locked down now, it just disappears. What

squatters left behind in Sussex. There are dirty towels, food left.

Hardly any empty bottles. I can't believe it. And would you donate