:01:25. > :01:29.And in the Midlands, the fall-out from Stafford spread to three more
:01:29. > :01:39.our hospitals. They are under investigation because of
:01:39. > :01:39.
:01:39. > :37:15.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 2136 seconds
:37:15. > :37:21.persistently high death rate. Sound Hello once again from the Midlands,
:37:21. > :37:25.I am Patrick Burns and an joined today by two of our region's rising
:37:25. > :37:32.Westminster stars if you believe the hype. Nadhim Zahawi is the
:37:32. > :37:36.Conservative MP for Stratford-on- Avon and has been identified as the
:37:36. > :37:40.Cabinet minister in the year 2020 by the Conservative Home website if
:37:40. > :37:45.the party is in power at the time. In your dreams, says Emma Reynolds,
:37:45. > :37:52.the Labour MP for Wolverhampton because she has got to the shadow
:37:52. > :37:55.front bench. It is good to have you both with us. Let's get to business.
:37:55. > :37:59.The BBC has revealed that of all the compensation claims from people
:37:59. > :38:06.living on the proposed high-speed railway line between London and
:38:06. > :38:09.Birmingham, just one quarter have so far been accepted. The
:38:09. > :38:14.Exceptional Hardship Scheme was brought in for those who needed to
:38:14. > :38:21.move home early. 428 applications have been received but only 103
:38:21. > :38:29.have been approved. HS2 Ltd has bought 72 properties at a cost of
:38:29. > :38:32.�43 million. It took one resident from Wishaw four attempts to get
:38:32. > :38:35.the deal he deserved. It is devastating when you get turned
:38:35. > :38:40.down because you do not know why you will go forward, everything
:38:40. > :38:43.gets put on hold. He can't do anything, spend any money,
:38:43. > :38:48.everything you do revolves around the fact that you are basically
:38:48. > :38:54.stuck in time. You are waiting for them to make a decision. They are
:38:54. > :39:04.in a pretty clear cut case, by the look of it, Nadhim. It should not
:39:04. > :39:04.
:39:04. > :39:08.take four attempt. The evidence to have uncovered is disturbing and be
:39:08. > :39:17.compensation is pretty generous, people within the first 60 metres
:39:17. > :39:21.near the rail line will get market price plus 10% on top, up to 47,000
:39:21. > :39:26.and the next 120 metres is market price and beyond that, people can
:39:26. > :39:31.still make an argument for their property to be bought. It is a
:39:31. > :39:39.pretty generous compensation but if the time it takes is that long,
:39:39. > :39:43.that is the thing that is so painful. And quite enough
:39:43. > :39:48.aggravation, particularly among your party colleagues, if you do
:39:48. > :39:51.not get compensation early enough it adds to the desperation. Yes.
:39:51. > :39:57.Now we have got the right levels which are generous enough and in
:39:57. > :40:01.the right space, effectively, it's important that the implementation
:40:01. > :40:04.and the speed at which these things are dealt with is done efficiently
:40:04. > :40:10.and it is important that anybody watching this today who is having
:40:10. > :40:15.the sort of problems, they should take it up with their MP and the
:40:15. > :40:19.Secretary of State because we need to stamp on this. No wonder you
:40:19. > :40:29.support HS2 because it is a good way of getting Tory MPs at each
:40:29. > :40:30.
:40:30. > :40:36.other's throats! I agree with... One would be your point about the
:40:37. > :40:44.argument? I agree with Nadhim that it is the implementation that is
:40:44. > :40:49.key. That person's house should have been bought and he should not
:40:49. > :40:54.have had to make four applications. People attach to their houses, I am
:40:54. > :40:58.in favour of HS2 but we must reduce the disruption as much as possible
:40:58. > :41:02.for those affected on the line who have to move. A particular issue,
:41:03. > :41:07.not just for people close to the line and obvious cases but someone
:41:07. > :41:12.perhaps he may be half a mile away so on the wrong side of the
:41:12. > :41:17.compensation line but nevertheless their property is blighted by it.
:41:17. > :41:24.There is now a mechanism in place for those people to apply for their
:41:24. > :41:30.homes to be acquired. There are three levels, 60 metres, 120 metres
:41:30. > :41:34.and whatever is beyond that. But like Emma says, emotionally this is
:41:34. > :41:41.difficult for people. Suddenly your whole life is turned upside-down
:41:41. > :41:45.and the quicker that HS2 deals with it, the better.
:41:45. > :41:49.More Midlands hospitals investigated over high death-rate.
:41:50. > :41:55.We visit the Queen's Hospital in Burton where they are am about to
:41:55. > :42:00.welcome the inspectors. So soon after the public report on Stafford
:42:00. > :42:04.Hospital inquiry scandal. Much to discuss on that but let's talk
:42:04. > :42:08.first about the young woman from Birmingham who took on the
:42:08. > :42:15.Government and won, or did she? Cait Reilly was told that if she
:42:15. > :42:19.did not do two weeks of three work for Poundland, she would lose her
:42:19. > :42:23.jobseeker's allowance. It is seen as a major setback for the Back To
:42:23. > :42:26.Work programme but as Elizabeth Glinka discovers, ministers are
:42:26. > :42:31.determined to persevere with the scheme.
:42:31. > :42:35.It is the Government's flagship policy, to concentrate the minds of
:42:36. > :42:40.jobseekers but two weeks of unpaid work at Poundland in Kings Heath
:42:40. > :42:43.ment Cait Reilly had to leave voluntary work at a museum. Those
:42:43. > :42:51.two weeks were a waste of time on the experience did not help me get
:42:51. > :42:57.a job, I was not given training and I had no time to look for other
:42:57. > :43:00.work and do volunteer work. The core of Appeal work ruled that
:43:00. > :43:05.government regulations and are penning this had been inadequate.
:43:05. > :43:11.The Government has unlawfully required tens of thousands of
:43:11. > :43:16.unemployed people to work without pay and unlawfully stripped
:43:16. > :43:21.thousands more of their subsistence benefit. It is a major breakthrough
:43:21. > :43:26.for the law firm based in Birmingham. The company have worked
:43:26. > :43:29.on cases like the All treatment of prisoners in Iraq to the closure of
:43:29. > :43:32.libraries here. They have always denied that the work is politically
:43:32. > :43:36.motivated. They say that it is up to governments and councils to
:43:36. > :43:46.comply with the law. The Government is tabling new regulations which it
:43:46. > :43:49.says will avoid uncertainty. One of our region's MPs is not deterred.
:43:49. > :43:53.Young people find it hard to get jobs without experience and they
:43:53. > :43:56.find it difficult to get experience without having a job so these
:43:56. > :43:59.schemes help people. But if the Government must repay people who
:43:59. > :44:07.have to work for nothing, the bill for the taxpayer will be millions
:44:07. > :44:10.more than that famous �1. It certainly would. If you get into
:44:10. > :44:17.government, you will not be celebrating in the way that you are
:44:17. > :44:21.at the moment. The government is embarrassed but the Blairs could be
:44:21. > :44:26.on your back. I think the Government has a responsibility to
:44:26. > :44:32.help people get back into work -- but the lawyers could be on your
:44:32. > :44:36.back. In this case as your report points out, this might end up
:44:36. > :44:40.costing lots of money. The Government have paid to go to court
:44:40. > :44:43.on this and they will appeal which will cost more money and if they
:44:43. > :44:50.are unsuccessful, it is possible that thousands of people will
:44:50. > :44:54.demand a rebate if, in their case as well, forcing them to work was
:44:54. > :44:58.illegal. Nadhim, it looks like you have exploited this young person
:44:58. > :45:01.and a great expense to the public purse potentially. It is
:45:01. > :45:05.interesting what Emma thinks because one of her colleagues
:45:05. > :45:11.thinks we are doing the right thing. People in receipt of benefits
:45:11. > :45:15.should not be getting work- experience. We were on the way to
:45:15. > :45:19.passing legislation to correct what the judgement effectively said, the
:45:19. > :45:23.wording that was wrong with the previous legislation. But the
:45:23. > :45:28.important principle is that, should a young person get work experience
:45:28. > :45:33.to get them on their way to getting a real job... She already was a
:45:33. > :45:39.volunteer in a museum, she did not to stacks health. She asked for a
:45:39. > :45:44.retailing job if you look at her application -- to stack shelves.
:45:44. > :45:53.There is nothing wrong with stacking shelves. Terry Leahy
:45:53. > :45:58.started stacking shelves and became the chief executive of Tesco's. The
:45:58. > :46:04.worst programme it is working -- the work programme is working very
:46:04. > :46:09.well, costing �1 per person and under Labour, this was costing 20
:46:09. > :46:14.per times more when there is no money around. A does concentrate
:46:14. > :46:18.the minds of jobseekers -- it does. I agree with work-experience but
:46:18. > :46:23.that should involve training and if somebody is doing a full-time job
:46:23. > :46:26.it should involve them getting paid the minimum wage. In this
:46:26. > :46:29.particular circumstance, as you said, Cait Reilly was doing
:46:29. > :46:34.voluntary work at the museum and then forced to give up that
:46:34. > :46:41.voluntary work and was made to work full-time for David and Mark Short
:46:41. > :46:46.and she was not paid the minimum wage -- full time for Poundland.
:46:46. > :46:50.The number of people finding work in the private sector, you have to
:46:50. > :46:54.go back decades to get this sort of numbers we are seeing now. I agree
:46:54. > :46:58.with people getting experience but I also think it has to be done on a
:46:58. > :47:04.case-by-case basis and in this case, she was a geography graduate and
:47:04. > :47:07.she should have got some training. She is now working at the
:47:07. > :47:11.supermarket as we speak so that was not the principle of this case, the
:47:12. > :47:15.principle was she was not paid. you are in receipt of benefits,
:47:15. > :47:19.there is nothing wrong with the getting work experience, that is
:47:19. > :47:22.the principle. We will leave it there for the minute. One week
:47:22. > :47:28.after the France has report into catastrophic failings at Stafford
:47:28. > :47:34.Hospital, -- the Francis Report, three other hospitals are under
:47:34. > :47:40.investigation. In total, 14 major hospitals across England are being
:47:40. > :47:44.examined including those in Dudley and Nuneaton. BBC Radio Stoke's
:47:44. > :47:53.reporter Phil McCann has been to the third in Burton on Trent to ask
:47:53. > :47:57.if a new watchdog is at least part Put yourself in the shoes of these
:47:57. > :48:03.patients. Would he be wondering if this hospital could be another
:48:03. > :48:07.Stafford Hospital? Every time I have been here personally, they
:48:07. > :48:12.have sorted my kids out very well. If you have to come in, you have to
:48:12. > :48:16.come in. There is nothing you can do about it. It is being
:48:16. > :48:26.investigated because of higher than expected death rate over the last
:48:26. > :48:28.
:48:28. > :48:31.two years. Queen's -- George Eliot Hospital is also being investigated.
:48:31. > :48:35.We welcome the opportunity for the review. There are always things we
:48:35. > :48:40.can learn and improve prison services, will come the review and
:48:40. > :48:44.the findings and opportunities. Mortality rates, people described
:48:44. > :48:52.them as a smoke alarm. It is only right and proper that as part of
:48:52. > :48:56.the process we look at our services What happened at Stafford Hospital
:48:56. > :49:02.was so grave it prompted five inquiries including two led by
:49:02. > :49:06.Robert Francis QC. Out of his first was born Healthwatch, the
:49:06. > :49:12.Government's vision for delivering health scrutiny which had been
:49:12. > :49:15.conspicuous by its absence at Stafford. Jan Sensier will run
:49:15. > :49:18.Staffordshire's Healthwatch. She will be the was of thousands of
:49:18. > :49:22.patients giving them the courage to speak up when things go wrong so
:49:22. > :49:28.who should be involved up? I do not think we need the medical expertise.
:49:28. > :49:32.Lots of people within the NHS have the expertise and we are not trying
:49:32. > :49:36.to replicate that, we are trained to ask what does it feel like from
:49:36. > :49:39.the point of view of those experiencing it? But on a strict's
:49:39. > :49:44.programme, the boss of our region's biggest hospital had misgivings
:49:44. > :49:48.about the top of people who might be asked to carry out inspections.
:49:48. > :49:52.If you have them, they should have the credibility to do it so it
:49:52. > :49:57.involve patients to use the service and also doctors and nurses,
:49:57. > :50:01.physiotherapists, people who lie in current practice. It has been a
:50:01. > :50:10.week of intense pressure for the NHS in the Midlands, one of our
:50:10. > :50:14.hospitals found itself at in the discussion and no shortage of
:50:14. > :50:21.talking points. We will pick up on some of those
:50:21. > :50:24.talking points now. During the package from Phil McCann, we met
:50:24. > :50:32.the chief executive of Burton Hospital. We are also joined by
:50:32. > :50:37.somebody else from another Midlands hospital and, Kevin McGee runs the
:50:37. > :50:43.George Eliot Hospital at Nuneaton and Warwickshire. You and your
:50:43. > :50:49.colleagues say you welcome this review. Through gritted teeth,
:50:49. > :50:53.presumably. I personally do welcome this inquiry. We have done lots of
:50:53. > :50:57.work at George Eliot Hospital in terms of trying to improve our
:50:57. > :51:00.quality and patient experience. We have got a good story to tell. We
:51:00. > :51:03.are not perfect and we need to improve but we have got a good
:51:03. > :51:09.story to tell and the work we have done can be shared across the wider
:51:09. > :51:13.NHS but also another point which is important. As the chief executive,
:51:13. > :51:17.if there is anything that we are not doing that we should do, I want
:51:18. > :51:21.to know so this review is important. Let me ask you a direct question,
:51:21. > :51:27.what would you say to patients who may feel entitled to ask if there
:51:27. > :51:32.is another step at hospital out there, if George Eliot Hospital is
:51:32. > :51:36.another one of the basis of this review? We have done a lot of work
:51:36. > :51:39.looking at mortality and also patient experience and the vast
:51:39. > :51:44.majority of our indicators show that we are a safe, good, local
:51:44. > :51:48.hospital providing good care with dignity to our local population are.
:51:48. > :51:52.We talk about higher than expected death-rate, do you have a view on
:51:52. > :51:58.what sort of numbers we are talking about? The impression is rather
:51:58. > :52:03.vague at the moment. It is difficult to actually get a handle
:52:03. > :52:09.on the actual number but what we can say is that we have more
:52:09. > :52:14.expected deaths in our hospital but that can have many factors
:52:14. > :52:17.contributing. For instance, in our part of the country, we have no
:52:17. > :52:21.Hospice in-patient beds so more people will come into the George
:52:21. > :52:26.Eliot Hospital at the end of life than would elsewhere. So we also
:52:26. > :52:31.take more emergency activity than planned activity which will
:52:31. > :52:35.increase the risk and death rate within the hospital. Is that why
:52:35. > :52:39.you preferred to use the expression "mortality indicators", because it
:52:39. > :52:46.is not an exact science? You have to take account of the complexity
:52:46. > :52:50.of challenging cases? That is correct and we have and we need a
:52:50. > :52:54.debate which is mature. The mortality indicators give us a
:52:54. > :52:59.general overall direction. It can be a smoke alarm but you have to
:52:59. > :53:06.look at much more subtle indicators. Looking at all safety indicators
:53:06. > :53:12.but also patients' stories. We need to get much more mature and rounded
:53:12. > :53:17.debate about what people are saying. His Healthwatch, the Government's
:53:17. > :53:21.vision for scrutiny on the ground, is that the answer -- is
:53:22. > :53:28.Healthwatch? So scrutiny of hospitals is really important.
:53:28. > :53:34.must listen to what patients are telling us. Nadhim, you are saying
:53:34. > :53:42.this must never happen again, what to say about this? Calling a review,
:53:42. > :53:47.does it heighten the MORI or give a -- height and the worry or give
:53:47. > :53:51.people an idea that it is being looked at? I had a lady called
:53:51. > :53:56.Gillian who set up a charity in my constituency called kissing it
:53:56. > :54:02.better, a phenomenal idea because of its simplicity. They go into
:54:02. > :54:06.hospitals and bring compassion back into the wards. Going in with drama
:54:06. > :54:10.students or students who do hair and beauty, to be there with them
:54:10. > :54:16.and talk to them, but one of the frustrations is bureaucracy gets in
:54:16. > :54:25.the wake of what you have here a, sentence of an over-bureaucratic
:54:25. > :54:28.system. Staff had suffered because of been counting. They cannot put
:54:28. > :54:32.any part of the walls because of health and safety, that might not
:54:32. > :54:37.be related to the performance of a hospital, it is the culture. It is
:54:37. > :54:42.no longer human, compassionate that you are talking to patients, it is
:54:42. > :54:46.all about paper-filling and targets. We need to bring that discretion
:54:46. > :54:50.back into the hospitals and make them human again. In the meantime,
:54:50. > :54:53.we are hearing from the police commissioner in Stafford among
:54:53. > :54:57.others and local MPs, that prosecution should be brought after
:54:57. > :55:03.Stafford and so far nothing has happened. What is your view of
:55:03. > :55:07.these increasing demands? I agree with the demands and anybody who
:55:07. > :55:11.read the recent report at what happened at Stafford will have a
:55:11. > :55:17.chill in their spine. It is unacceptable but we must see this
:55:17. > :55:26.in a wider context of the NHS in overall providing a good level of
:55:26. > :55:33.care... Sorry, Patrick. Overall patient expectation levels are very
:55:33. > :55:38.good. Should people be held to account would this in law, Nadhim?
:55:38. > :55:42.Not a single person has been fired in this, it is amazing. People hide
:55:42. > :55:49.behind all sorts of bureaucracy. Whistleblowers get trodden all over.
:55:49. > :55:52.Yet this is disgraceful. That is about culture and it comes from
:55:52. > :55:58.people covering their own backs. They believe that bureaucracy will
:55:58. > :56:02.save them. That is wrong and need to be stamped out. You are hearing
:56:02. > :56:05.the strength of opinion and it you are having to manage all these
:56:05. > :56:11.issues while dealing with the pressure on budgets and reforms,
:56:11. > :56:15.how is that going? I have worked in the NHS for over 25 years and by a
:56:16. > :56:19.passionate about it and I am immensely proud of the people that
:56:19. > :56:23.were within the NHS, the doctors and nurses. At the George Eliot
:56:23. > :56:28.Hospital is a good local hospital providing good local services but
:56:28. > :56:33.we need to be accountable to our population and what will come from
:56:33. > :56:38.this inquiry is more accountability and that is correct. Good of you to
:56:38. > :56:42.be with us, Kevin McGee. Now for our regular round-up of the
:56:42. > :56:52.political week in the Midlands, as told by a BBC Hereford and
:56:52. > :56:53.
:56:53. > :56:57.Legacy - what legacy? Birmingham taxpayers may have to stump up �8
:56:57. > :57:00.million because of problems with an Olympic catering contract involving
:57:00. > :57:03.a council-owned firm. Talks are taking place.
:57:03. > :57:08.Taoiseach announcement that the Pope is resigning triggered
:57:08. > :57:12.memories of his visit to Birmingham in 2010. All over the region, an
:57:12. > :57:16.appreciation that he had come to us and that was a very special moment
:57:17. > :57:21.for the city and its people. Pay up or get out. That is the
:57:21. > :57:28.message from the owners of the Ricoh Arena to Coventry City. After
:57:28. > :57:32.a row over unpaid rent which comes weeks after the council step in.
:57:32. > :57:38.Were kiss have demonstrated over fears of the privatisation of
:57:38. > :57:41.Telford's on a supply base. -- workers have demonstrated.
:57:41. > :57:48.And Staffordshire is the first council in the region to take
:57:48. > :57:55.overseas before off school and care home menus after the horsemeat
:57:55. > :57:59.gamble. The council say it is a belt and
:57:59. > :58:03.braces measure while tests are carried out. Politicians are
:58:03. > :58:07.starting to play the blame game. Labour are blaming the Government
:58:07. > :58:10.for being slow off the mark. The Conservatives are blaming the
:58:10. > :58:15.supermarkets for being economical with the truth. Is it because that
:58:15. > :58:19.both are correct? This scandal came to light on 15th January. The
:58:19. > :58:23.Government has been set at the wheel and the Conservative chair of
:58:23. > :58:27.the committee that shadows that Department for Environment and
:58:27. > :58:33.rural affairs so that they had been caught flat-footed. At the same
:58:33. > :58:38.time, Patrick... But Owen Paterson was in Brussels last week trying to
:58:38. > :58:43.get European action rather than posturing. Why was he not on top of
:58:43. > :58:51.this on 15th January? Why did it take him a mug to come to terms
:58:51. > :58:54.with this? -- taking a month. The retailers are clearly the ones who
:58:54. > :58:57.were clearly responsible even though the Government has some
:58:57. > :59:02.responsibility for setting out the framework and regulation to make
:59:02. > :59:12.sure this does not happen. impression is, Nadhim, the control
:59:12. > :59:12.
:59:12. > :59:18.of the Food chain is out of control. If you start throwing names around,
:59:18. > :59:23.Ed Miliband gave an interview to the Financial Times and laughed
:59:23. > :59:28.food safety off as a joke so nobody saw this as a danger but where it
:59:28. > :59:34.really does matter is the accountability of the food
:59:34. > :59:37.processors and retailers. We did a scrutiny for the Ombudsman for
:59:37. > :59:43.supermarkets and at the time the industry did not want one. And that
:59:43. > :59:48.is why it is important to have an ombudsman. We must leave it there.
:59:48. > :59:51.Thank you to Nadhim and Emma. We support to a story about top sports
:59:51. > :59:55.stars refusing to compete in this country because of our tax laws and
:59:55. > :59:59.it turns out somebody in authority must have been watching because the
:59:59. > :00:02.regulations will be suspended next July's so they can appear at the