05/11/2012 Inside Out West Midlands

Hello and welcome to Inside Out. This week, we've come to the heart

of Birmingham to bring you three surprising stories from right

across the West Midlands. On the programme tonight: bad medicine,

the prescription mistakes that could cost lives. Well, he took it

thinking it was his medication and then within a couple of days, it

had killed him. Also on the show, off the back of a lorry. How cargo

crime has become big business in the criminal underworld. A truck is

a mobile warehouse. Even with a basic load, you can look at many

hundreds of thousands of pounds and that is on a vehicle parked in a

secluded layby with just the driver of as security. Under the Explore

the stunning secret garden where time has stood still. I have never

seen anything like this and all of my life. It reminds me of a

graveyard. That is all coming up on tonight's

Inside Out for the West Midlands, Now, when we are treated for an

illness, we take it as read that the prescriptions we are given are

correct. But that is not always the case. Researchers here in the

Midlands have discovered that a surprising number of mistakes are

being made and some of them could Modern medicine's a lifesaver and

we trust our GPs and pharmacies to get it right but picking up your

prescription can be a gamble. was terrible. I really felt ill.

When I realised that the chemist had made a blunder... He took it

thinking it was his medication and then within a couple of days, it

had killed him. In England, we get through 2.5 million prescriptions a

day, more than 900 million a year. That's billions and billions of

pills. But you only have to browse your local papers to see the scores

of stories about minor mixups. And take a closer look and you will see

some much more serious cases. For two years, Harold Moody's family

has been fighting for answers. Now, for the first time since his

father's death, his son, Philip, has agreed to talk on camera. He

wants to highlight the problem of medicine mixups in our hospitals.

He went into A&E, was kept overnight and came home with

somebody else's medication. Two bottles of methadone. He took that

over the weekend thinking it was his medication and that was it.

Have you any idea how that methadone got mixed up with your

dad's medication? Well, it came from the hospital and it had

originally belonged... Had been prescribed to the person in the

next bed to my father. How my dad actually finished up with it,

nobody has really made clear. You couldn't make it up. It sounds so

far-fetched, in a hospital which is supposed to be filled with trained

It is tragic. You don't always check your medication. They sent

him home from hospital. The nurses gave the ambulance people his bag

and everything so I would think at the age of 81, they would pack it

for him. So, it's a tragic situation, how it has turned out.

We haven't got any answers, have we? It is still unclear how the

methadone became mixed in with Harold's medication but the

coroner's report said the hospital should have stored the drug

securely, as was their policy, so the family's fight for answers

continues. Medicine mixups of this magnitude are thankfully rare but

how common are minor errors? We put this question to the NHS. It is

almost impossible to measure every mixup in medicines so we focused on

prescribing errors. Our findings identified more than 1,200

incidents across England, reported in 2011. More than half happened in

hospitals. More than a third happened in comunity pharmacies

with the rest in places like GP's surgeries and in community nursing.

Most were minor errors. 63 caused some kind of harm. In the West

Midlands, there were 64 incidents. 10 caused harm. Dr Tony Avery is a

Midlands GP. He carried out his own research for the General Medical

Council. It suggests doctors are making too many mistakes when

prescribing drugs to patients. Now, your research was about prescribing

errors in GP surgeries. It found one in 20, there were problems with.

That seems quite high. It is. I would like to first of all reassure

viewers that the vast majority of GP prescribing was safe and

effective. But yes, it is probably no different to what you find in

other parts of the world or even in hospital. From your research, what

are the remedies? How can things get better? There are several ways

in which we feel things could be improved. First of all, there could

be improvements to our computer systems which are already very good

but we can make them better... In terms of not over alerting us about

relatively minor problems but actually making sure that we do get

alerts for the more serious ones. Also, there is GP training. Some of

the young doctors in our study pointed out that they felt while

they had very good training overall, they felt they could have done with

more attention to prescribing and prescribing safety, particularly

prescribing for patients with convex health needs and multiple

medications. It is important for all of us to work together to try

and reduce the risks of errors and get that number down substantially

over time. While Tony's research is a concern, according to the NHS

data we obtained, mistakes at your GP are small compared to mixups at

a community chemists. I'm meeting Rita Parsons, whose pharmacy

accidentally swapped labels on her and her husband's medication. One

for a heart condition, the other for advanced stages of cancer. What

effect did it have on your husband? He was worried about me. He could

hardly move because he had only got a few months left to live and I

don't think he knew what to do anyway. So, he was dying with

cancer. And you were effectively taking his medicine. Yeah. Yeah.

It's shocking. What happened when you confronted the pharmacy? When I

came out of hospital after 10 days, she said... It wasn't the same

pharmacist. She says, these shouldn't have hurt you, they are

only iron tablets anyway. I said I was to speak to the manager because

it shouldn't have happened. Anyway, the manager came and promised an

investigation. Did you get an apology? From him? Yes, and he said

he would get in touch with head office. Ihe gave me a bunch of

flowers. But it was her attitude. It was a couldn't care less

attitude. They shouldn't have hurt you. But they did. A simple error

which made Rita's final few months with her husband even harder. As

well as a Midlands pharmacist, she is on the board of the Royal

pharmaceutical Society. I want to know how patients can feel

reassured. What sanctions can take place against a pharmacy who gets

it wrong? There is the ultimate sanction. We can be struck off. You

read about doctors being struck off by the GMC and we undertake ongoing

education so somebody might not be allowed to practice for a period of

time. I think we have to learn and we have two say, where can we make

improvements? One is the transfer of care from hospital back into the

community, back in to your home. And then secondly, shared care

records. At the moment, there are records in the GP surgery and the

pharmacy but we don't share that information. Sharing patients'

medical records I think is something we have to look at, going

forward, because I think that will really start to move into the area

which you're talking about which is we don't want terrorists take place.

Dennis Alcott lived near Burton on Trent. Ahis doctor mixed up his

surname with another patient and his pharmacist then failed to

properly identify him, so he took home the wrong tablets. For him,

any improvement has come too late. Dennis died after an allergic

reaction. Thankfully, errors like this are rare but the advice is to

pay close attention to the tablets in your hand and double check they

are the ones you have been prescribed. That way, you will

If you would like more information about that story, take a look at

In a moment, the HGV villains targeting our truckers. A truck is

a mobile warehouse and even with a basic load, you can look at many

hundreds of thousands of pounds and that is on a vehicle parked in a

secluded layby with just the drivers whereas security. Then,

digging into the past. The hidden horticulture at one of our best

loved stately piles. What is your first impression of this

fascinating project? I am speechless. It's brilliant. It

won't take long to clear all of this out of the way. Make sure you

take your coat off, throw it on the We see them all the time, don't we?

Lorries parked by the side of the road at night, driver asleep in the

cab. As a nation, we rely on them to deliver the things that we need.

But it turns out when they park about night, the truckers are

putting themselves and their Three o'clock in the morning, a

knock on the passenger's side door. I opened the curtain and this guy

is outside. "Security." "There is somebody messing with your

container." When truck driver Dennis Clark parked in a Black

Country street, he just wanted a decent night's kip. But his nap

would quickly turn into a kidnap. looked at the back of the container

and could see the problem and turned around and there was a car

there. That is when these guys came pouring out of the car. Dennis was

bundled into the boot of that car. His truck loaded with �130,000

worth of nickel was nicked. And he was taken on a frightening high-

speed, white-knuckle ride around the local streets. Terrified, not

knowing what was going to happen. You hear of people being left in

cars which are burning, or rolled or locked, or parked in buildings.

You could be there for days. So, I lost track of time. Worried sick.

Worried sick. Dennis was eventually dumped, shaken but unharmed, in a

residential road in West Bromwich. It still comes back Ralph. There is

barely a day goes by when something doesn't click it in as to whether I

should have done something No, it was relief when they opened

the back and I was still in one piece. A bizarre end to what you

might think is a fairly unusual crime. Well, that is not actually

the case. Thefts from lorries is big business in the criminal

underworld, some trucks carry goods worth hundreds of thousands of

pounds. And that makes them prime targets. And while the use of

violence may be rare, cargo crime is not. Last year on average, there

were more than 10 cases reported a week in Britain. And as the centre

of our road network, the Midlands is a hotspot. So what is behind

this modern-day highway robbery? And is anything being done to

tackle the cargo crooks? It is several months before Christmas,

the season of goodwill. A great time of year for the cargo crooks.

But they are not interested in giving, just taking the valuable

goods on the roads around this time of year. Christmas for the truck

industry, starts around October. That is when the stores start

gearing up with extra stock for Christmas, high-value loads,

alcohol, cigarettes, presents like PlayStation is an X-Boxes. A truck

is a mobile warehouse and even with a basic load, you could look at

many hundreds of thousands of pounds. And that is on a vehicle

parked in a secluded layby with just the driver there as security.

But PC Rounds is hoping to give the thieves a nasty surprise. A dummy

trailer, designed to catch them in the act. What we intend to do is

set this vehicle with 16 covert cameras, daylight coloured cameras

and nighttime infrared cameras, inside and outside, so we can

monitor whatever happens to the vehicle and film the criminality.

Now, if a gang or someone attacks the vehicle, it will set alarms off

- a silent alarm to alert us as to what is going on. We can then dial

into the trailer, via the Internet. We can look at and record the

action going on and we can have arrest teams deployed, ready to

arrest the offenders in the act. The police hope they can catch the

criminals whilst they are at it and they have certainly been at it a

lot. The most recent figures we have, show that across the country

in 2010, more than �25 million worth of goods was stolen from

lorries. It is often the truck firms that are left out of pocket.

It has cost the company over �100,000 in contracts a year. It

has increased our insurance premiums by 10% and we have had to

look in terms of driver training and everything else. Two of Gavin

Wright's trucks were hijacked in separate attacks in one year. They

were carrying metal and although he was insured, it still cost him

dearly. But he says it is not just firms like his which pay the price.

We actually end up paying a proportion ourselves through excess.

The ultimate end user is probably the one that pays. Transport costs

obviously have to go up because to do it, it is high risk. People need

to pay a premium for it. It increases the cost of the transport

which increases the cost of the end product. It's the consumer who pays.

Everybody out there is paying for this. Definitely. Bosses like Gavin

insist drivers park in secure spots. The problem is, there are more

trucks than secure places and that makes some sitting targets. Is

there anything truckers can do to reduce the risk of being hit? That

is good. That is good. So, we are checking for the condition of the

vehicle. Checking for any damage as we come down the vehicle. This

training company runs sessions on how to avoid the thieves and

hijackers. Today, the boss is putting me through my paces. What

you do have is quite a large open space there. Someone could be

hidden from view. I am carrying out the security checks that every

driver should do. The problem is, I've forgotten the basics like

locking the door. So, while I think it all seems to be going well, I'm

in for a bit of a surprise. Three points of contact. OK. You are

quite happy with the checks that you have done? I think so. That's

good. I could easily have missed something. I did! Yes. You got me.

So you made the point about taking the keys out. Yes. Which was good

and then left the vehicle totally insecure. We didn't need really to

worry about someone outside. It's just the familiarity. Drivers will

leave the cab. They will leave the engine running whilst they are

carrying out those checks and walking around the vehicle. So it

can be easy to fall prey to the cargo crooks. That means that when

truckers park each tonight, they are taking a gamble. Back at the

police yard, work is finishing on that capture trailer and whilst PC

Rounds know the police would be playing a game of chance, he hopes

this will shift the odds in their favour. It's quite difficult

because quite often, these places, where the crimes are committed, are

quite remote. They are in countryside areas which are

difficult to get to. What we need really is a vehicle fitted with

security systems like you would have on a cash in transit truck but

which we can monitor. And we can have teams ready to move in when

crimes are detected and we can arrest the offenders. Hopefully,

that will then filter through the organised crime gangs. The police

are trying to do some thing about truck crime. It is important to us

and we are going to catch the You are watching Inside Out for the

West Midlands. Now, have you ever gone past a stately home in the

country and wondered what it's really like? Former boxer Richie

Woodall has always been fascinated by an old manor house near where he

grew up. But as he discovered, it is not what is on the inside that's

amazing. It's what's just on the Well, here we are. As a kid, I was

obsessed with this place. I used to go fishing just over there and I

used to look back and think, who could possibly live here? Apley

House, just up the road from Bridgnorth, is one of Shropshire's

most prominent stately homes. The Hamilton family had owned it since

1980 and went on to sell the stately pad but kept the 8,500

acres of land which surrounds it. But now, I've finally got the

opportunity to have a good scout around, it's not the house I'm here

to see. Instead, I've been told of a hidden gem I should turn my

attention to. I am here to meet Lady Hamilton and take a look at a

hidden garden which has been locked away in the middle of the estate.

So, tell me how did you come to find this secret location? We were

just out for a Sunday walk one day with my parents-in-law, when we

first married, and they said, let's check out the walled gardens. I'd

never been here before and I was just enchanted by what we found. I

was amazed how untouched it was. am totally intrigued. Lead the way.

Come and see. Here at Apley, they've got big plans for the

massive four acre Victorian walled garden which has remained untouched

for the best part of 50 years. we are. This is the entrance to the

main walled sections. It is still very overgrown. Look at this. I've

never seen anything like this in all my life, I really haven't. It

just seems at one point, this must have been a hive of activity, lots

of people around. Now it's as if... It reminds me of a graveyard. It's

completely abandoned. It had been a very beautiful place, obviously.

You can still see the remains of that. It's wonderful and great to

be part of it and to be regenerating the employment

opportunities and breathing new life into this place. The family

want to restore it to how it would have been at its prime. In the last

century, you would find kitchen gardens alongside most country

homes. Originally, they were set up to provide food for the main house

but gardens like this were also a symbol of wealth. Mike, what is

your first impression of this fascinating project? I am

speechless. It's brilliant. I mean, the walls are in perfect condition.

You look at the vines over there, it needs a bit of... It looks far

worse than it is. It won't take long to sort this. Take your coat

off, throw it on the floor and start straightaway. Mike feels

right at home. He is a retired head gardener and has restored walled

gardens in the past. How does Apley fair? Look around these walls, you

look at the finishers. It goes to show this was a high status garden.

Everywhere you look, you find the coping stones, things hanging out

over the edge of the wall to protect the plants from the worst

of the rain. Look at the thickness on this wall. There is no

justification for a wall that thick other than it must be a he did well.

The prestige was that you could put citrus fruit, a lemon, and orange,

grapefruit in front of your guests. In nectarine, a peach, out of

season. It would have been a hive of activity. They were food

factories. I am told they were 30 staff employed here so you can

imagine the level of attention. It has that effect today that when

people come around and see these things being grown, it makes them

appreciate that it is not produced on a production line. Things

actually grow and they are picked As the years passed, the kitchen

garden began to fade away. This must have been one of the potting

sheds. Just imagine 50 years ago, people shutting up shop and leaving

things the way they are. Look. Vases just left on the table and

everything. Incredible. Restoring the garden to its former glory is

going to take months of planning, rebuilding and planning. But the

Hamiltons intend to complete the lot, all three gardens and even the

bothies where the garden hands used to live. It would certainly be nice

to see the buildings restored. is something the sons of the last

gardeners at Apley would love to see. Their dad spent years working

here. The garden was their life. How do you think your father would

react now if he was to see the place as it is? He would sob his

eyes out really, absolutely. He would. He would be upset to see it

as wild as this. Through a gardening at the end of the heyday.

With the garden lying abandoned for so long, restoring it is no small

job and a project like this takes time and money. Lady Hamilton is

hopeful about making it the pride of the estate once more. It's a

very special place and I think the special atmosphere is created by

the wall around it, and the door to which you go to enter it. You know

you are entering something which is enclosed, shut-off. The first

lettuce or cabbage? Hopefully we can get something planted. Perhaps

something by next summer, if we get something in the ground in the

spring of 2013. But we will see. It may be that the weed killing just

takes much longer than we think. When people come around and

actually see these things being grown, it makes them appreciate

that it is not produced on a production line. Things actually

grow and they are picked and taken away. So I think once again, that

would be one of the beneficial spin-offs of a restoration like

this. You are telling the story of food to people, putting it in front

You know, this garden stood still in time for all those years. I felt

like a kid. Rummaging around the place and now I cannot wait to see

how it all turns out. And who knows? The restoration here could

inspire a new generation of gardeners and the walled garden

Well, that's it for tonight but don't forget if you've got a story

you think I should know about, drop me an e-mail: I would love to hear

from you. Coming up on the programme next week: how the 14

month manhunt for a Midlands murder subject finally ended in Morocco.