25/04/2012

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:00:13. > :00:16.Fit for the future? Two reports on the state of care at Jersey's

:00:16. > :00:20.hospital are published after two deaths and weeks of pressure.

:00:20. > :00:24.Also, Trott stands down. In a shock announcement, Guernsey's current

:00:24. > :00:28.chief minister says he will not stand for re-election. He says it's

:00:28. > :00:31.for the good of the island. And as the cost of living rises and

:00:31. > :00:41.unemployment hits new highs, we jump on the bus and find out what

:00:41. > :00:47.

:00:47. > :00:51.that means across Jersey. Two reports into standards of care

:00:51. > :00:54.at Jersey's General Hospital have been made public today. The reports

:00:54. > :00:57.were commissioned after two unexpected deaths at the hospital,

:00:57. > :01:01.the most recent that of Joseph Vasse who died during a routine

:01:01. > :01:05.hernia operation. Professor Alan Aitkenhead warned in his first

:01:05. > :01:07.report that safety in clinical areas was below UK standards. He

:01:07. > :01:17.also said doctors should face an annual appraisal. Rachel Royce

:01:17. > :01:20.

:01:21. > :01:24.reports. Jersey's general hospital has been under scrutiny from

:01:24. > :01:31.Professor Alan Aitkenhead since the death of Joseph Vasse who died

:01:31. > :01:36.during a retune -- during a routine operation. He looked at whether

:01:36. > :01:43.patient safety levels are on a par with the UK. The professor visited

:01:43. > :01:53.the hospital twice, in May 2011 and again last December. In his first

:01:53. > :02:11.

:02:11. > :02:15.In his second report, he said Today, the hospital director said

:02:15. > :02:23.he welcomed the report and said he believed the hospital was as safe

:02:23. > :02:28.as any in the UK. It is important to put his comments in perspective.

:02:28. > :02:31.I believe he was referring to the fact that we were not able to

:02:31. > :02:37.evidence the fact our operations were as safe as UK hospitals

:02:37. > :02:42.because we were not subject to the same inspection regimes. It did not

:02:42. > :02:46.mean they were not saved. It was a strange press conference. Two

:02:47. > :02:51.report criticising the way patient safety is assessed and the way

:02:51. > :02:54.doctors are checked. Hospital bosses are content everything is on

:02:55. > :03:04.track and now the reports are published, others will be able to

:03:05. > :03:06.

:03:06. > :03:14.judge. Guernsey's get debt betray --

:03:14. > :03:18.deputy has ruled him self- out of the race.

:03:18. > :03:22.When the public voted for change some were not expecting things to

:03:22. > :03:26.change so quickly. First, deputy Lyndon Trott said he wanted to

:03:26. > :03:31.stand for re-election as Chief Minister. Then he surprised many by

:03:31. > :03:34.withdrawing, saying his nomination had polarised the States and

:03:34. > :03:39.brought about behaviour that he felt could damage the island's

:03:39. > :03:45.government. The deputy was unavailable for television

:03:45. > :03:51.interview today. The man left as only candidate says he will not

:03:51. > :03:57.withdraw. Until there is a change in the machinery of government, it

:03:57. > :04:02.is important, but not important enough for a constitutional crisis.

:04:02. > :04:06.What we have is an opportunity to work together and do so in a

:04:06. > :04:11.democratic and sensible way. Another person watching events is

:04:11. > :04:16.the deputy elect, Peter Harwood, who has been nominated for Chief

:04:16. > :04:21.Minister, even though he does not qualify to serve, because you have

:04:21. > :04:26.to be a deputy for four years out of the past eight. The move has

:04:26. > :04:31.been forward to -- put forward to change the rules. I do not think it

:04:31. > :04:36.is damaging. You are talking about an internal rule procedure changing.

:04:36. > :04:42.You should have as broader cross- section of choice for members to

:04:42. > :04:46.choose from. That would happen if the rule was rescinded. The stage

:04:46. > :04:51.its will debate whether to rescind the rule on the same day as the

:04:51. > :04:59.election on Tuesday. If approved, a new nomination period will be held.

:04:59. > :05:03.Between now and then, lot can change.

:05:03. > :05:07.If you would like to attend the hustings, they are taking place on

:05:07. > :05:13.Monday from 7pm to 9pm at the grammar school. The public on what,

:05:13. > :05:17.but only members can question the candidates. There has been more

:05:17. > :05:21.gloomy news for the economy in Jersey with another new record high

:05:21. > :05:27.in unemployment. Even those in work are likely to be worse off with an

:05:27. > :05:33.increase in the cost of living of 4.7%. We took to the buses today to

:05:33. > :05:38.talk to some of those affected. Meet Della, Pat and Kevin. They are

:05:38. > :05:42.travelling on the bus with me. Della is a mother of three, Pat is

:05:42. > :05:50.a pension and cabin has two children. They have felt the impact

:05:50. > :05:58.of the rising cost of housing and food -- Kevin. His very, very

:05:58. > :06:03.expensive. I do not know how first- time buyers do it. You paid the

:06:03. > :06:10.price for living on a beautiful island. A our rent has gone up each

:06:10. > :06:17.year with what they call the cost of living. Our landlord's has not

:06:17. > :06:21.done any massive jumps, and we are happy where we are but we play --

:06:21. > :06:30.pay a lot in rent. Fruit and vegetables, they should be cheaper.

:06:30. > :06:37.Three weeks ago, I bought some items that were three items for two.

:06:37. > :06:42.It was two for �3. And then it was two for �4. Along with an increase

:06:42. > :06:48.in inflation, we learnt that unemployment has hit another high,

:06:48. > :06:53.something that was a topic of conversation. More support is

:06:53. > :06:57.needed but there are not the jobs out there. It is more difficult now

:06:57. > :07:02.than years ago. Years ago you would leave a job in the morning and get

:07:02. > :07:10.another in the afternoon. Passengers are hoping the rising

:07:10. > :07:14.housing and food costs will come to a stop, just like the bus.

:07:14. > :07:19.A new TV show will explore the lives of doctors and nurses that

:07:19. > :07:22.work at Guernsey's hospital. Filming for the series will start

:07:22. > :07:26.at a Princess Elizabeth Hospital next month. The programme is due to

:07:26. > :07:32.be on TV in the autumn and will follow medical staff outside of

:07:32. > :07:37.work. We might find we can attract staff. People might see Guernsey on

:07:37. > :07:42.the television and think they would like to work there. It could be

:07:42. > :07:49.good for tourism. We have worked closely with the Department to make

:07:49. > :07:54.sure we maximise benefits. We are continuing our lookout Jersey's

:07:54. > :08:01.education system. 43% of secondary students on the island attend fee-

:08:01. > :08:04.paying schools, compared to 7% in the UK. That is because the States

:08:04. > :08:10.and subsidise his tuition fees, making it more affordable. But with

:08:10. > :08:18.more investment needed in the non- fee-paying sector, is it a model

:08:18. > :08:24.that can continue. We went to Victoria College.

:08:24. > :08:32.Victoria College, a beacon of educational excellence since 1852.

:08:32. > :08:37.Physically towering over St Helier and academically tarrying over most

:08:37. > :08:47.other Jersey schools. -- towering. Tradition is important, but it is

:08:47. > :08:50.

:08:51. > :08:55.not everything. Jeff Buckley in a music lesson, for instance. And

:08:55. > :09:00.opening up the image of the school is something the headmaster is

:09:00. > :09:07.passionate about. We are not stuffy and we are not elitist. Parents

:09:07. > :09:12.send children to us because of Our high academic standards. There is

:09:12. > :09:17.no doubt qualifications are important, but we offer

:09:17. > :09:21.opportunities in Sport and performing arts, in music. Maybe it

:09:21. > :09:30.is all science and genetics. Do you know the answer? Performing arts

:09:30. > :09:40.are big here, as well as sport, and even chess. It is a mix that keeps

:09:40. > :09:41.

:09:41. > :09:46.the boys interested. There is a variety of sport. It makes them

:09:46. > :09:53.proud to be part of a winning island next -- institution. You can

:09:53. > :10:02.see it for miles away. You can see us everywhere. I think we make a

:10:02. > :10:07.big impression on Jersey. We have the association and you find a lot

:10:07. > :10:11.of former pupils in businesses when you were looking for a job. The old

:10:11. > :10:19.Victorian association helps former students get on. Those contacts and

:10:19. > :10:22.the loyalty is something the school is keen to capitalise on. I have

:10:22. > :10:26.forged strong relationships with the association and we have set up

:10:26. > :10:32.professional dinners and we had our first one focusing on medicine in

:10:32. > :10:39.November. We have just had one on Finance and Accountancy. Over 14

:10:39. > :10:42.boys were attracted to those dinners. -- 40. Those things are

:10:42. > :10:49.invaluable on an island like Jersey. We will look to do those dinners

:10:49. > :10:55.once every town. Great contacts and better drub prospects as well as

:10:55. > :11:03.excellent grades -- better job prospects. That is if you can get

:11:03. > :11:07.in and afford it. It costs over �4,300 PA to send your child here.

:11:07. > :11:13.The state's more-or-less matches that, as they do for every fee-

:11:13. > :11:18.paying school. That means that many taxpayers are subsidising a public

:11:18. > :11:24.service they cannot use. Potentially they are subsidising

:11:24. > :11:29.the lifestyle choices of very wealthy islanders. There are

:11:29. > :11:35.wealthier parents at fee-paying schools, but in my view they are in

:11:35. > :11:39.the minority. The majority are fairly middle income Jersey people,

:11:40. > :11:44.who are under pressure in other ways. Under pressure, and therefore

:11:44. > :11:48.willing to exert political pressure. When the previous Education

:11:48. > :11:52.Minister trying to reduce the contribution to fees, meaning

:11:52. > :11:57.parents would pay more, hundred campaigned against it. The idea was

:11:57. > :12:03.dropped. The current minister says he has considered means testing

:12:03. > :12:08.parents, so that those who can pay more, do. He is not convinced by

:12:08. > :12:14.that either. The problem with that is if you do that you talk about

:12:14. > :12:19.taxation. Education is a human right and we all pay our taxes. Our

:12:19. > :12:23.taxation system is designed around the ability to pay, and if you

:12:23. > :12:28.start putting ability to pay into the education system, you will get

:12:28. > :12:34.into trouble. But education as a human right is interpreted

:12:34. > :12:41.differently by the head teacher at Beaulieu Convent School. For him,

:12:41. > :12:45.fees and religion do not mix. is wrong. There is a moral question.

:12:45. > :12:50.If a society is able to consider this aspect of education as

:12:50. > :12:58.important, it should be available for everyone. If there were an

:12:58. > :13:02.opportunity for just a -- Jersey to provide free religious education,

:13:02. > :13:08.we would willingly look to investigate and support that option

:13:08. > :13:12.for young people. A religious free school might be a maverick idea for

:13:12. > :13:17.an island so wedded to fee-paying, but for the girls at Beaulieu

:13:17. > :13:22.Convent School and the boys at Victoria College, the issue of how

:13:22. > :13:29.their education is paid for will continue to burn. Especially as the

:13:30. > :13:39.gap in achievement beef Tween their schools and 11-16 year olds grows -

:13:39. > :13:42.- achievement between. Tomorrow evening on BBC Radio

:13:42. > :13:45.Jersey Clare's hosting a live radio debate about the education issues

:13:45. > :13:48.we've raised this week. The panel includes the education minister and

:13:48. > :13:52.a journalist from the Guardian newspaper. Tickets are available

:13:52. > :13:56.newspaper. Tickets are available from secondary schools. Now the

:13:57. > :14:01.weather. There is no stopping this unsettled

:14:01. > :14:08.weather. Things are turning more Fourie after the heavy rain last

:14:08. > :14:12.night. This area of low pressure is still with us tonight. There are

:14:12. > :14:19.more showers to come, and they could produce heavier downpours.

:14:19. > :14:24.Low pressure tomorrow and strong winds to come. By Friday, the

:14:24. > :14:29.centre of the low pressure moves north. On Friday, the chance of

:14:29. > :14:35.some dry and bright weather but more wet weather over the weekend.

:14:35. > :14:43.Tonight, some showers around throughout the night. Dry and clear

:14:43. > :14:47.spells, also. Strong winds coming up from the south-west. First thing

:14:47. > :14:57.tomorrow morning, you will find there is some dry weather around,

:14:57. > :15:01.

:15:01. > :15:06.but also some showers. And strong winds with the showers. The winds

:15:06. > :15:16.coming up from the south-west. And also the scattered showers. The

:15:16. > :15:27.

:15:27. > :15:32.It will probably be choppy for the surfers. For the rest of the week,

:15:32. > :15:37.on Friday, although there is the risk of a shower, it should be

:15:37. > :15:42.drier and brighter with sunshine. Temperatures responding to that. On

:15:42. > :15:45.Saturday, low-pressure developing over the Continent will bring more

:15:45. > :15:55.wet and windy weather Bopper, wet and windy weather Bopper,

:15:55. > :15:56.

:15:56. > :16:03.wet and windy weather Bopper, Finally. Jersey badminton player

:16:03. > :16:10.Elizabeth Cann is out of the India Open Super Series. Her hopes of