23/09/2012 Sunday Politics West Midlands

In the Midlands, the millions of pounds lost when patients Mr

hospital appointments. With nearly 10% failing to turn up, is there

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 2004 seconds

From the Midlands, RIM Patrick Burns. I am joined by two MPs to

have more than a passing interest in the great debate raging over the

West Coast Main Line franchise issue, Gisela Stuart, the Labour MP

for Edgbaston, and John Hemming, the Liberal Democrat MP for Yardley,

whose party in the West Midlands.A parliamentary cheerleader for a

just two. It must have been music to your ears to hear her talk about

the FirstGroup being a prologue to High Speed Rail. He is right. By

9th December, we have to have a decision about whether Richard

Branson will challenge the franchise. It is �900,000 we're

talking about. You could build a big hospital. The Government needs

to prove that the decision was the right thing. John Hemming, some

people clearly have sympathy for Virgin. I am a heavy train user

myself, but my concern is a long- term concern that if you reduce the

number of players in the business, you have less competition, which

could end up costing the Treasury more in the long term. I am

concerned about that. I have not seen the grounds for the judicial

review and I do not know what the chances are. The Government

decision to reward the West Coast Main Line contract to FirstGroup in

preference over Version was the subject of a Westminster debate

last week. I asked the Prime Minister a question at PMQs about

the process. I do not recall hearing any questions from Labour

ministers or MPs challenging the process or challenging when the

decision would be made. Is this not the Labour Party jumping on the

bandwagon? If staff are concerned about their futures, they may

decide that if there are any opportunities available, to go

elsewhere, which may impact on the service that the public can expect.

Gisela, did Labour jump on the bandwagon? There was no great fuss

made while this process was going on. While the process was going on,

I think they were right to see that proper procedures were being

followed and that the Government should make a decision based on

fact. Also, of former ministers know that sometimes projections

need to be a bit of testing, and they are making sure they are

getting it right. They need to get this pinned down quickly. Briefly,

it was a competitive process. might mean less competition in the

future and more money from the taxpayer.

Coming up, we report from the hospitals where it costs over �100

every time a patient this is an appointment. By almost 10% of

outpatients across the Midlands failed to show up, millions of

pounds are wasted every year. His party's ratings have slumped to

half of what they were before the general election. The Liberal

Democrats have three MPs in a region with a 60 constituencies,

only one MEP, and they only run one local authority here. When I caught

up with Nick Clegg in Whitehall preparing for his party conference,

he was in no mood to say sorry. Prime Minister -- Deputy Prime

Minister, can we begin with the question of regional pay, not

something that generally commands much favour by your party. The

Chancellor does think that it would make sense to bring to regions like

the Midlands more in touch with the real economy rather than an

artificial -- artificial one-size- fits-all model. If there is

evidence that this would be good for everybody, we should be

considerate. But if there is any risk that this will deepen the

North-South divide, I am against it. Let's turn to another issue which

is very sensitive, which is aviation policy, airports. He said

recently that developing Birmingham as a possible major transport her

book might make more sense than a third runway at Heathrow for will

stop a new link between Birmingham and Heathrow could be part of the

answer. I don't know. I do know that I am not in favour of a third

runway at Heathrow. Let's that the experts do the work, and then we

are free to look at their recommendations and to decide

whether to listen to them or not. The constituencies boundary review,

we have had a chance to look in some detail at how some individual

constituencies would be affected, and by standardising the electoral

size, you would produce a situation where one voted one part of that --

one vote in one part of the country is the same weight as anywhere else.

That has got to be fair. Why are you withdrawing your support?

Because, unfortunately, this being part of a wider package of

political changes, constitutional changes that we wanted to introduce,

another part of the package, which was House of Lords reform, that has

not proceeded because of objections from the Conservative Party. If one

party does not stick to it side of the bargain, that has implications

for other parts of the package will stop Nick Clegg carefully

preserving his position on the constituencies issue. John Hemming,

do you feel that they could be some kind of a deal coming in?

I think one can assume that the boundaries are now as they are

going to be. Say you have, in effect, block something that would

deliver fairer votes? The argument is very simple. There is a balance

between the executive and parliament, the Government and

parliament, and the proposal was to reduce the number of MPs but have

an elected House of Lords, which would have balanced out so that

Parliament would remain strong compared to be Elek - back

executive. If you reduce the number of MPs without having an elected

House of Lords, you are strengthening the power of the

executive, and that is wrong. Gisela, you are one of the Labour

MPs which supports present boundaries.

For the first time in the last three years, my constituency

boundaries have been concurrent with ward boundaries. The

Birmingham seats were contained within the city of Birmingham, so

there was a direct relationship. It would have created constituencies

without a natural centre. A completely mad system!

airport now. This is a great area of sensitivity. You have a

constituency close to Birmingham Airport. What is your view of the

possibility of expansion? I don't think we should have a second

runway at Birmingham Airport. Their policy, which we support his

maximum use of the airport, because it provides jobs locally. We have a

global problem with a shortage of energy which will affect the price

of air travel, and you will not be able to have a massive increase of

air travel generally, because there is no oil. Should it be developed?

Yes, it could in the current Configuration be used far more.

That would not just relieve congestion in the South East but

would also rebalance a regional inequality. Using burning a more is

good for us in the West Midlands and also for the rest of the

country. She is right about that. Too much agreement at the moment!

What about regional pay? I think if you take the Civil Service, it is

difficult, if you are going to have regional variations other than

between London and the rest of the country, so I do not think it is a

good idea. If it were only about regenerating areas that you could

regenerate, I do not think the Government have ever intend to do

that. I do not support it. It is just a cost-cutting exercise.

The Liberal Democrats are not the only ones in conference mode. The

UK Independence Party gathered at Birmingham's town hall in the last

few days, breathing down the necks of the Liberal Democrats, according

to most opinion polls. Elected as a West Midlands UKIP MEP, but now

sitting as an independent, Nikki Sinclaire is forming a party to

fight the 2014 European elections with a demand for an in and out

referendum. I put did te UK's even this could split the vote. -- I put

it to UK's leader. I don't think so. It is very much harder to establish

political parties in this country and to get them through national

elections than people realise. point is that the debate is

shopping around a referendum. She says she is making more of a

running on this and your party is. That is nonsense! Let her say what

she likes. I am not interested. used seriously thinking that you

could ever take over the Liberal Democrats? York ratings suggest you

are breathing down their necks at the moment. I first said this 18

months ago. We have a chance to get things right to become the third

force in UK politics, and part of that is Porton in our policy based

and -- policy based. A couple of recent opinion polls have put us

ahead of the Liberal Democrats. I will not stand here now and say

that we are the third party, but we are getting there.

Nigel Briers. -- Nigel Farage. think they were third will seconds

in the European elections last time. But they will not be the same in

the general election. Whatever the political party leaders are saying

now, Nikki Sinclaire clearly feels she has made a lot of the running

on this.. -- on this point. three parties promise a referendum.

Some countries were forced into, like France and the Netherlands,

they had it. I think a lot of the factor is what will happen in

mainland Europe. At his conference, Nigel Farage says that your party

was the most Europhile of the lot. In the end, they will have to be a

vote. Gisela Egan has got it right. Things are shifting substantially,

and we need to work out where we are sitting in respect to that.

There is a logic to have a referendum and that stage. Thank

you very much. Our big talking point this week his

research by this programme which has discovered that people failing

to turn up for out-patient. Mense - - out-patient appointments is

costing millions of pounds to our hospitals every year. While people

abusing his free service? Whispered to a politician who has spent a

lifetime working in the NHS. Anxious, nervous, headache. Out-

patient clinics are some of the busiest times in hospitals across

the region. But they should be even busier. Sarah has turned up as

requested at hospital, but there are plenty of people who haven't.

In the health service, Mr Quinn mints are known as it did not

attend. They are a headache. have about 19,000 Mr Twigg makes

every year. It is a lot of resource time gone. Across the West Midlands

last year, there were more than 6.7 million out-patient appointments,

but more than 600,000 were missed, which is more than 10%. It might

look busier today, but this empty chair represents one of the people

who has not turned up for their appointment, which is costing

hospitals in Coventry and Warwickshire more than �8 million.

It is a cost multiplied across the region, as hospitals have told this

programme. The bill for missed appointments in Wolverhampton tops

�900,000. In Birmingham, it is just over �2 million. It has put a

strain on departments like this. They are working at full tilt all

the time. People to have more of a conscience. They send out all the

remind us through the post now and text messages to remind you. If you

can't turn up to the appointments, whatever is wrong with you got be

that serious. The doctor is here waiting for you, and somebody else

could have taken it. It is wrong. Why don't people turn up? I am off

to talk to GPs to send us to hospital in first place. In

Coventry, they have been analysing the proper and. Some people no

longer require the appointment and they may be don't think it is

important to cancel the appointment in advance. He did not realise the

impact it has on the service. Some people forget all they have

childcare issues or sudden illness. It is a mish-mash. The Government

is urging hospitals to come up with new ideas such as text messages and

internet consultations to get the number of missed appointments down,

but even they understand that will make mistakes. Speaking as one who

has actually missed an appointment by mistake, and I was very

embarrassed about that, but it was one of the appointments which was

set a long time in advance and I forgot to put it in my diary and I

thought it was nearer than it was and I forgot. That was terrible. So

I know how these things can happen. Hospitals and the Government insist

the best cure for this chronic problem is that will take more

responsibility. We have the right to treatment, they say, but not to

waste resources. Incidentally, our reporter tells me

that they are expecting 565 patients on the day she filmed

there, and 61 did not turn up. We are joined here today by Philip

Hunt, labour's deputy leader in the House of Lords. He began his career

in the NHS 40 years ago, although he may not thank me for pointing

that out. He is the chair of the Trust which runs hospitals in

Birmingham. The figures are staggering. What can be done about

them? They are staggering. I have an attack our own figures, and we

reckon it is about 90,000 a year, 10% of all outpatients to do not

turn up. It causes mayhem. It is really bad for doctors and nurses,

who are not sure how many people will actually come. It wastes a lot

of time and resources. We really have to do something about it.

Government is talking about using technology to pursue people, Skype,

text messages and so on. Should the NHS be chasing people for what is

really a privileged? We send letters out four weeks before every

appoint them. We bring up two weeks before. We are looking at text

messages and Skype. We are looking at a campaign with GPs, putting up

notices and encouraging GPs to get their patients to turn up for

appointments. We need to get it over to people that missing an

appointment messes it up for everyone else. The NHS is a

wonderful service, but we need to use it responsibly. One of the

things that is clearly enshrined in the constitution of the NHS is that

patients have rights, which are well known, but with that goes

responsibility. Yes, and if you think about 90,000 Mr. Beds, that

is a problem. Whilst we can do a lot to remind people, and I think

text messages do offer a lot for the pew -- future, because you can

descend deeper message just before they are due to come, in the end,

what you want people to do is exercise responsibility and

recognise that if I don't turn up, I am excluding somebody else that

needs to see a doctor. Margot James there, candid about missing her

appointment. Is it an issue that sometimes appointments are set too

far ahead? Yes, they are, and that is why we have phone calls four

weeks before we have letters. I think a text message the day before

is what people need. I think, myself, my chiropodist knows that

she needs to ring me the day before I have an appointment. Have you

ever missed an appointment? I don't remember doing so, but we have to

remember that it is not a massive saving, necessarily, because people

expect some people to miss appointments, so they tend to go to

the next in the queue. Although it is worth trying to reduce it, it

will never be brought down to zero. Some people miss appointments for

valid reasons, and you cannot find people for missing appointments. It

is not a magic pot of money which we can invent for the health

service. In practice, the same people are there and they do not

sit around doing nothing when people don't turn up. Have you ever

Mr. -- an appointment, Gisela? recently! We need to point lead to

people afterwards, we are sorry that you have missed Europe. Then,

is there anything we could have done to help? Nevertheless, this

does cost something, and it costs the NHS something. That raises the

thought that perhaps they should be sanctions imposed on people if they

miss an appointment. If you take Gisela's suggestion, it is fine for

GPs to be told if patients are not turning up for appointments. BTP

needs to know that. If you start to charge people a couple of pounds,

the problem is that it costs so much money to administer that you

would actually lose money. I do not think that would make sense.

find people is unfair. Thank you very much. Here is our

regular round-up of the political round-up -- the political week in

the Midlands. Another significant week in the

life of Stafford Hospital. The public inquiry into appalling

standards of care has delayed its final report. The news came as

campaigners delivered a 25,000 signature petition to the Prime

Minister. They are upset at the continued overnight closure of

accident and emergency departments. The waiting continues. We thought

it would be October, and now it is going to be in January.

Farmers in Gloucestershire will be allowed to shoot badges. The coal

is designed to stop the spread of TB in cattle. Opponents are

considering legal action. Hundreds of -- hundreds have come

forward to buy a boarded-up houses in Stoke-on-Trent for just �1 as

part of a city council regeneration scheme. Meanwhile, the National

Housing Federation says that waiting lists for social homes

across the Midlands have risen to 180 thousands. They are calling for

more affordable developments like this one in the Black Country.

Imaginative solution they in Stoke- on-Trent, but given the scale of

the problem here, the length of the waiting lists, we do need an offer

of dances if we're going to solve this, don't we? If you look at what

Stoke did, because some of the Government funding streams were

taken away, that made some of the schemes no longer viable, Stoke-on-

Trent looked at their -- look at that and asked what they could do.

Do you see a way, John, of getting houses into use and building new

ones? There are always going to be limits on building, because you do

have issues like green belts and the losing of parks and that sort

of thing. We also need to be aware that the word affordable often

means cheap houses to sell. Some people cannot afford an affordable

property. We need to be aware that we need low-cost housing for rent

as well, of an adequate standard. My parents were both born in

council houses in Birmingham, and I think council housing was a good

system to have. We have moved away from that. Do you have a final word,

a magic bullet? IT not think the Tory government was right to reduce

maintenance grants which were going out. That is why places like Stoke-

on-Trent had to come up with new idea is. That is really where we

have to leave it for today. Thank you both for being with us. Gisela

Stuart and John Hemming, thank you. Next week, in the second of our