13/01/2017 BBC News at One

Struggling to see patients quickly enough.

Over four in ten hospitals in England declared a major alert

Official figures today reveal the scale of the problem,

with hospitals warning of mounting bed shortages and trolley waits.

We'll have the latest in the continuing winter crisis

Flood warnings along the east coast of England,

as a tidal surge and gale force winds force people from their homes.

Meanwhile, snow and icy conditions are disrupting

A dramatic increase in the number of men in low-paid, part-time work.

And victory for Britain's women's number one, Johanna Konta,

in her final warm-up tournament before the Australian Open.

And coming up in the sport on BBC News,

Johanna Konta wins her second tour title, the Sydney International.

Ideal preparation ahead of next week's Australian Open.

Good afternoon and welcome to the BBC News at One.

Nearly half of hospitals in England declared a major alert

NHS figures released this morning reveal that 66 of the 152 hospital

trusts raised the alarm, as large numbers of patients

experienced trolley waits and delays in A

Eight of the trusts declaring a major alert reported

the highest level of alarm, meaning patient safety was at risk.

Our health correspondent Dominic Hughes reports.

Another busy day for the Health Service, where the pressure of

winter is unrelenting. Earlier this week, Leicester Royal Infirmary was

one of more than 60 hospitals in England to declare a major alert as

the strain on services grew. The latest data from NHS England exposes

how the Health Service is struggling to cope. One in five patients

admitted as an emergency last week experienced a delay of at least four

hours for a bed. Nearly one in four patients waited over four hours to

be seen in A In some place it's reached nearly half. More than a

quarter of ambulance as riving at A units waited longer than 30

minutes to hand over their patients, twice as long as they should. These

latest figures are further evidence, if any more evidence was needed, of

the immense strain the entire NHS in England is facing this winter. Those

strains are felt most acutely in Accident Emergency departments,

which are the front doors to most hospitals. The pressure is being

felt right throughout the Health Service. A is the canary in the

coal mine here for the Health Service. People arriving at A

because they can't see a GP. They're arriving at A because they're

poorly, but could have been kept well if only they could have got

access sooner. They're stuck in the hospital because of problems in

community services and in social care. They can't get them out

quickly. Just as they have across the NHS, staff at northwick park

hospital in North West London have been working flat out. There have

been moments in the last two weeks, like the whole country, it's been

frightening for the members of staff, for the nurses, doctors, for

the ambulance crews who are bringing patients in. There have been moments

where it's been very sticky. But we have managed as best we can.

Everybody's worked incredibly hard. It's not just England. The latest

available figures from Wales and Northern Ireland show A

departments there are also struggling to treat patients within

four hours in. Scotland the picture over Christmas week was better. But

every part of the NHS is finding this winter to be one of the

toughest in recent memory. As you say there at the end of your

report, these official figures come at end of a difficult week for the

NHS. Not just a week, but several weeks. This is a situation that has

been building really since the summer, when we were warned that the

pressures of winter hadn't really relented over the summer months and

we've moved seamlessly into the winter months, where the pressures

are continuing to build. What lies behind it? Well it's a mixture of

all sorts of factors, demographics, we have an older, sicker population

with complex health needs who are arriving at A departments and they

take longer to see, to be seen because they are sicker and they

have very many different things wrong with them. There's been a slow

burning yies is in prime -- crisis in primary care. GPs are saying

they're seeing more and more patients and are getting overwhelmed

as well. All this is playing out against a crisis as well in social

care. So hospitals are finding it extremely difficult to discharge

patients back home or into the community when they're fit enough to

leave hospital, but still need some care. That's clogging up the entire

system. All of this is playing out against the background of extremely

tight budgets. We heard the chief executive of NHS England Simon

Stevens this week tell MPs that the NHS hadn't got the money that it had

asked for from the Government, flatly contradicting the line from

ministers that the NHS had got everything it had asked for and

plenty more. All this creates a perfect storm that is now swirling

around the NHS in England, making it a very difficult winter for medics

and for patients, but also increasing the pressure on the

politicians. Dominic, many thanks. Dominic Hughes. There

Severe flood warnings are in place on the eastern coast of England

amid fears thousands of homes are at risk, as snow and strong

The risk of high tides has led the Environment Agency to issue

severe flood warnings - meaning danger to life.

This is the Environment Agency map, and as you can see, there are dozens

of locations along the east coast at risk.

Evacuations are under way in Jaywick in Essex,

There are 11 severe flood warnings in place across England and Wales.

-- 14 severe flood warnings in place across England and Wales

There are also 91 warnings, where flooding is expected

and immediate action is required, and 63 alerts where flooding

is possible and individuals should be prepared for rising water levels.

Our correspondent Danny Savage is in Skegness.

Rita, we're part way through the 24 hour period of concern now. The good

news is that the first high tides that have come down the East Coast

have not been as high as feared. But high tides come around every 12

hours. There are real concerns for the tides this evening, that they

will be higher than anticipated. Hence those evacuations taking place

in some communities in Essex and Norfolk at the moment. This ongoing

situation is causing concern for communities right along the East

Coast of England. Along the east coast of England,

the floodgates on sea defences The hours of darkness

were used for preparation. Seaside business owners

cleared out all they could, Full moon, high tides, strong winds,

the wind in the right direction coming down the North Sea,

rather than blowing off So, there will be a significant rise

in the water, but whether it will be enough to top the defences depends

on Mother Nature, I suppose. Soldiers were drafted

in to Lincolnshire to help About 100 of them were briefed

at the local police station. They were then sent door-to-door,

warning residents that We are here to warn

you about the storm and the flood. Is a reassuring or alarming

to have the army knock on the door? It's reassuring that they

are looking after us, but also a bit alarming,

you're thinking, is the house But I think we are

fairly safe, anyway. High tide in Lincolnshire

was early this morning. It passed without event,

despite concerns. But there are worries about other

parts of the east coast later today. The issue with the storm surge is,

it is about the high winds, coinciding with what would be

high tides anyway. If you get that, you get really,

really high levels. That can be changeable

through the day. We are forecasting it

as closely as we can. But it's really important

that people stay alert, because some of these high tides

will happen very late By lunchtime, East Anglia

was where the most severe In Great Yarmouth, sandbags

were being filled, ahead Further south in Essex,

a reception centre has been opened after a decision was made

to evacuate people from their homes Have a look at individual situation,

take some steps around That could be bringing

additional clothes, And really listen to what we are

saying, which is try and use the facilities down

here in the education centre in Jaywick, or make plans to stay

with friends and relatives. People are being urged not to be

complacent about the situation One noticeable thing over the last

few hours is that the northerly winds have got a lot stronger. That

is one of the factors involved here. Will that strong wind push the high

tides over the flood defences? The high tide times vary depending on

where you are on the East Coast. It's these key times, where it could

flood. Grimsby tonight, high tide 6. 5pm. Skegness, 6. 45pm. At Jaywick

and Clacton, about 12. 30am. People are encouraged to stay alert what's

going on around them with floodwaters. Danny thank you.

Snow, ice and high winds have battered much of the UK,

causing travel problems and school closures in some areas.

Our correspondent Helena Lee reports.

Heavy snow in some parts of the Scottish Borders meant

Up to seven inches of snow fell in parts of Scotland overnight.

In Newcastle, on the A19, traffic came to a standstill,

Impossible conditions led to cars being abandoned.

In the village of Battle in East Sussex, icy roads meant

emergency services were dealing with cars which had

In Canterbury, icy pavements made the school run this

Across parts of the country, dozens of schools were shut

For those who didn't have to travel, the snow brought much

excitement to younger people, and left many parts of the country

Well, let's get more from some of the worst affected areas.

In a moment, we'll speak to our correspondents

in Great Yarmouth, in Norfolk, and the Lickey Hills

in Worcestershire, but first to Sophie Long who's

Sophie, how are things where are you? Well, the wind is blowing very

strongly here at the moment. The snow and sleet has stopped. There's

also a bit of sunshine, which is helpful for those people evacuating

their homes. Essex police triggered a full evacuation plan not just here

this morning, but for mistily and west Mersea as well. Some are

heeding those warnings. We've watched people pack vans and drive

away from their properties along the seafront here. There's a large

police presence in the area at the moment. They are stopping the public

from driving along this coast road. Some people, though, seem to be

quite relaxed about the situation. There's a number of people who are

still in their homes, just metres from the sea wall. They're not

showing any signs of going anywhere at the moment. I spoke to one man a

moment ago who said, "It won't come over the sea wall. It just won't."

The Environment Agency has been clear, though it was good news this

morning, the high tide here wasn't as high as it had been expected,

they say tonight's high tide, which is due here just after midnight,

could be much higher. The police here are urging people to comply

with their instructions saying it is much safer to evacuate now during

daylight hours than it will be tonight. Thank you. Now to Great

Yarmouth. How are things looking there? It has been snowing here.

It's now raining very hard. The main problem here is a very Veer flood

warning, that's a danger to life. Because of a combination of high

spring tides and winds that are due to reach up to 50, 60mph the the

high tide is expected here at 9. 15pm. The authorities have already

started to evacuate 5,000 homes, each home which could be affected

will be visited by the police or the military. Behind me, the council

have set up a sandbagging area, where people can get free sand and

bags for their homes. Many of those people have told me that they have

moved carpets, furniture and pets upstairs ready for the water. An

evacuation centre was set up about an hour ago for those people to go.

To the hope -- to go to. The hope is those strong winds don't arrive.

Debbie thank you. Phil Mackie is in the Lickey Hills in Worcestershire.

A lot of snow earlier, but it looks like it's disappearing? Yeah, if

you're a snow fan you won't like the pictures. It's been rapidly melting

in the last couple of hours. Earlier today this was covered in snow.

There was a good covering. People were out on their sledges enjoying

it, taking the dogs for a walk as well. Good views of Worcestershire,

the Black Country and Birmingham as well, snow pretty much everywhere on

the ground. Never enough to cause great disruption. In Staffordshire,

100 schools were shut. Power lines were down, partly because of the

very strong winds. There is obviously a warning of ice to come

tonight and tomorrow morning. But at the moment, certainly, things are

not as bad as they might have appeared to have been earlier on.

It's actually been quite a nice day, if you're a snow fan. Certainly this

morning when the sun was out and the snow was covering the ground, it was

very, very picturesque, picture pretty and the sledges were out in

force. They will have been packed away as the snow has torted to --

started to melt. Phil, many thanks. You can keep up with the story

throughout the afternoon on the BBC News channel, online and also with

your BBC local radio station. The Labour MP Tristram Hunt

is resigning to become the director of the Victoria

and Albert Museum. He's represented Stoke-on-Trent

Central since 2010. In a letter to local party members,

the former education spokesman, who resigned from the Shadow Cabinet

when Jeremy Corbyn was elected leader of the party,

said serving in Parliament had been "both deeply rewarding

and intensely frustrating". Let's speak our political

correspondent Carole Walker. He was a big figure in the party,

how significant is his departure? It is a big loss to the Labour

Party. Tristram Hunt is somebody who was well-known, engaging,

charismatic. I think his departure is a further sign of the

disillusioned there is amongst many Labour MPs who don't share Jeremy

Corbyn's views. And it poses a big challenge for the Labour leader

who's going to have to fight a difficult by-election. Tristram Hunt

in that resignation letter says he's not trying to rock the boat, he

stresses how the new role at the fee and a will enable him to combine his

passions for education, public engagement and so on -- V He says

he feels frustration that now Labour is out of power, he's not able to do

as much as he would like to tackle inequality and poverty. In past

Tristram Hunt has been hugely critical of Jeremy Corbyn. Mr Hunt

was Shadow education spokesman, he stood down when Jeremy Corbyn became

the Labour leader. He said, after the EU referendum in the summer,

that he felt Jeremy Corbyn had simply failed to inject Labour

values into the debate, and he said that frankly Labour voters need a

new Labour leader. The challenge for Jeremy Corbyn will be to see whether

he can hold onto this seat. It is an urban working-class eat. Ukip edged

into second place, they will fancy chances here. The question for

Jeremy Corbyn is whether he can hold onto this traditional seat and

restore his party 's fortunes. NHS figures show nearly half the

hospitals in England declared a major alert in the first week of

this year. And still to come, how the evolution

of killer whales may hold the key to understanding the development

of human beings. Coming up in sport, while number one

Andy Murray draws in the Australian open as he heads into his first

grand slam as top seed. A 40-year study by British

scientists has revealed clues as to why some species stop having

babies half-way through life. Human beings and killer whales

are two of only three species where the female goes

through the menopause. Researchers say they have a much

clearer idea of the crucial role older females play among the killer

whale population and how that could teach us something about human

evolutionary history. Our science correspondent

Victoria Gill reports. These researchers have been

documenting the lives of killer And their findings have revealed

new insight into something we humans share with a mammal so very

different from us. Orcas and humans are two of only

three mammals on the planet that stop reproducing partway

through our lives. This 40-year study of killer whale

society has already shown that grandmothers play a crucial role,

leading their pod and helping But scientists have now used

this unique dataset, that recorded births and deaths

in every orca family here, to prove that it is crucial

for the survival of new calves for grandmothers to stop reproducing

when their daughters start. When a mother and daughter

breed at the same time, the calf of the mother has

about a 1.7 times higher risk of The benefits of grandmothering

are not enough to explain why It's only when you consider

the conflict of competition within the family group,

and that older females lose out, that you can actually understand

and explain why menopauses evolved. Avoiding this so-called reproductive

conflict between the generations seems to give babies

the best possible chance. It's really interesting just

how important that bond And that's something that could

finally explain human menopause. At some point in the evolution

of our ancestors, the researchers say that menopause evolved

as an adaptation, to prevent reproductive conflict

between older and younger women. This, combined with the fact that

grandmothers are of such huge benefit to their grandchildren,

explains why our reproduction stops, while our life span

continues to increase. We can't go back in time

to study our own ancestors' lives. But this long, careful observation

of killer whale society has finally revealed the origin of menopause,

something so fundamental to our own. The number of men in low-paid,

part-time work has increased New research by the Institute

for Fiscal Studies has found that one in five low-paid men,

between the ages of 25 and 55, That means wage inequality for men

has risen over two decades, Our personal finance correspondent

Simon Gompertz reports. It used to be mainly

the fate of women to work Now, increasingly,

it's men like Declan. He's found a London job delivering

takeaways on his bike, using his spare time to study,

but it's hard. If work doesn't go well one night,

you have to rearrange your plans so you work another night,

and you don't particularly feel You do just feel like

a piece of meat, really. The food business, shops, security,

all now looking for flexibility like Declan is providing,

and not necessarily full-time. For decades now, we've seen the pay

of women workers held down by casualisation,

by shorter hours working, And we are beginning to see

those trends happen right across the labour market now,

impacting particularly But insecure employment,

low-paid employment, is not good for workers,

and it's not good for The study looked at lower paid

men, the bottom 20%, and found that before,

two decades ago, one in 20 were working part-time,

whereas now it's more That group is working five

fewer hours per week. The big question is

whether they want to, This means people aren't

being forced to work long hours What they are doing,

is they are making a positive choice to find a job

which suits their life. And they are prepared to trade off

pay for getting the flexibility to spend time with their children

or elderly parents, I think that's a good news story,

that in today's society, people can choose and find a job

that fits with their lives. But the jobs we are talking

about are for less than ?8 an hour, Which, without tax credits

or a partner to help, can leave you struggling

to make ends meet. A woman who alleges

she was indecently assaulted by TV presenter Rolf Harris has

told his trial how he had put his hand up her skirt

after she asked for an autograph. She told the jury the alleged

indecent assault was Mr Harris denies seven

charges of indecent assault Let's apeak to our correspondent

Dan Johnson who's at Tell us more about this woman's

evidence. This woman, who is now in her 50s, explained how as a

12-year-old she and her mother went to a radio station in Portsmouth

after hearing Rolf Harris on the programme talking about his

favourite records. They collected autographs and thought they might

have the chance to meet him and get him to sign their autograph book.

That's what happened, as he left they approached him, and the woman

said, it was quite pleasing seeing him in real life. I had seen him on

TV, it was nice to see someone famous. They asked Rolf Harris to

sign, he signed her mothers, then turned to her, the 12-year-old. He

said, I think it's your turn, let me give you a little cuddle. She

explained how Rolf Harris but one hand behind her back, one hand down

her leg and then up her skirt, touching her beneath her underwear,

she explained. She said it felt horrible, it didn't feel right, I

didn't know anything about sex at the time, she said, but it felt

wrong. She said her mother was standing right her but didn't

realised what had happened. After Rolf Harris signed the book, they

left. She told her mother what had happened but wasn't believed. She

was challenged in court that she had made it up after Rolf Harris was

convicted two years ago, she said, no, this is true. Thank you.

Refugees and migrants are dying in Europe's sudden cold snap,

and the United Nations Refugee Agency is urging

The UNHCR said several migrants had died from cold

and exhaustion in Bulgaria, and it called on Greece to move

migrants from poor conditions on islands to better facilities

Our correspondent Sian Grzeszcyk reports.

Desperate to get out of the bitterly cold waters, these, just some of the

800 migrants and refugees that were rescued from the Mediterranean Sea

yesterday. The Italian coastguard helped them of the six rubber boats

they were trying to cross in. Freezing temperatures in Europe over

the last week have caused the UN to call on governments to do more to

help migrants. In Greece, the situation was so bad that this ship

was sent to Lesbos at the request of the Greek Prime Minister to house

migrants, amidst health warnings that condition that the main camp at

becoming humane. Hundreds of others in Lesbos are being transferred to

hotels. I am afraid but I don't know where I go. I'm afraid. At the

European Parliament in Brussels, a warning about how prepared the EU is

for a further increase in numbers. We are making a call for Europe to

prepare for possible new influxes. It may not happen, but we need to be

prepared. We are very concerned in a number of situations, Europe does

not seem to have a plan A or plan B. Conditions are also tough at this

migrant camp in Serbia. More than 1000 men from Afghanistan and

Pakistan are relying on one meal a day from volunteers, and having to

wash outside in the cold conditions. Concern is growing that more

migrants will died trying to survive these harsh conditions.

The General Medical Council has warned that hospitals

are failing to raise concerns about incompetent locum doctors.

The report says there's a reluctance to provide frank feedback,

and weaknesses in monitoring could put patients at risk.

Well, with me is our Health correspondent, Elaine Dunkley.

Is this about locum doctors not going through the proper checks

or about hospitals not giving proper feedback?

It's a little bit of both. There are around 8000 locum doctors working in

the UK, and according to this review, not all of them are being

checked. Every doctor, every year, should have an appraisal, and every

five years they must have their licence revalidated. This was

brought in to ensure patient safety. It follows cases such as Harold

Shipman who killed 200 patients. There was also a case in 2007 where

a German local doctor killed a patient on his first shift in the

UK. According to this review, there are still some locum doctors falling

through gaps in the system. So, why is it happening? According to the

review there is often confusion over which organisation should be

carrying out appraisals of staff on short-term contracts. Also, there

was criticism of hospitals for not speaking out and sharing information

about incompetent locums. There were also issues around some agencies,

not ensuring the right checks had been done and that there was enough

support to locum doctors. This review looked at monitoring

assessment for all doctors across the UK. It also found there was

evidence some patients were frightened to give honest feedback,

an important part of the revalidation process for the

relicensing of doctors. The Department of Health has said this

has had huge improvements on the system but also more work needs to

be done. Thank you. There were emotional scenes last

night as President Obama surprised his vice President with the

country's highest civilian honour. Mr Obama said he was awarding

the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Joe Biden for his faith

in his fellow Americans He described him as a lion

of American history. Mr Biden said the honour

was a complete surprise. The best Vice President America has

ever had, Mr Joe Biden! This also gives the internet

one last chance to talk Johanna Konta, Britain's number one

female tennis player, has won her final warm-up tournament

before the Australian Open. She beat Agnieszka Radwanska

in straight sets to win the Sydney International,

the second WTA title of her career. Our sports correspondent

Katie Gornall reports. In the tennis arena, Johanna Konta

demands attention. After extraordinary rise through the

rankings, she's now in the top ten. The big moments, the big players no

longer worry her. Across the net was Agnieszka Radwanska, the world

number three. A player should never beaten, you sense that was soon

going to change, as she took the first set 6-4. Despite a successful

2016, Johanna Konta has brought a new coach to Australia. Any fears

this could disrupt her rhythm were quickly swatted aside. Agnieszka

Radwanska is seen as one of the most intelligent players on the tour. She

was given little time to think, as Johanna Konta wrapped up the second

title of her career in some style. With the start of the Australian

open days away, she had to Melbourne as a genuine contender. I think

there's a good opportunity for her to get to the final. If you look at

her section, she starts with Kirsten Flipkens she's got Serena in the

quarters. Jo is playing the best tennis of her career right now. Dan

Evans reached his first ATP tour final after beating Andre Kuznetsov.

Tomorrow he will face a player ranked nearly 30 places above him.

As the Johanna Konta, who was born in Sydney before moving to England,

Australian tennis may see her as the one that got away.

We've got another couple of days of cold weather. Still some wintry

showers on the way today across many northern areas of the UK, and we've

got that strong wind blowing down that North Sea coast, in particular.

Let's focus on that. This is the area of low pressure. We still got

high tide on the way this evening. It's late this afternoon, so this

entire coastline, from the River Humber southwards around East

Anglia, all the way to the south-east, there are severe flood

warnings from the Environment Agency. Heed the warnings, stay away

from those promenades, those highways could prove

life-threatening. As far as this afternoon is concerned, for most of

us across Scotland and in the West we've got snow showers, a cold wind

blowing as well. Temperatures in many areas below freezing. By the

time we get to 5pm, snow showers and other wintry showers in Northern

Ireland and parts of Wales. Further inland, it's looking fairly quiet.

We've got some sunshine. We had the earlier band of wet and windy and

snowy weather across the South and the south-east. Very dramatic for a

time in London. Now that's gone. Through this evening a lot of clear

skies but wintry showers around some of these Western and eastern coasts.

Temperatures in towns and cities around minus one. Out in rural areas

it could be as low as -5 or minus six. Tomorrow once again any slush

is going to refreeze and it'll be icy on those roads. There will be a

lot of sunshine around. The good news is the wind will continue to

ease along those eastern coasts. If you more wintry showers, possibly

getting into parts of knowledge. We are starting to see slightly less

cold air coming into western areas. That is a hint of things to come as

we go through the course of the weekend. Today and tomorrow is still

cold. This milder air moves in off the Atlantic, with that weather

front. That basically means a lot of clouds and also some rain. This is

what it looks like on Sunday, a complete change. It may take time

for the weather to warm up across some of these far eastern areas, for

example in East Anglia could be around 5 degrees only. We are

talking about double figures that across many western areas. Next week

through Monday and Tuesday, it looks as though we are going to keep those

mild conditions with some rain at times. Weather you like it or not,

it looks as though there is some milder weather on the way.

It's goodbye from me, and on BBC One, we now join