:00:00. > :00:00.A reminder of our main story. Nick Clegg tells his supporters to
:00:00. > :00:00.stand firm, dismissing talk of a
:00:00. > :00:07.Welcome to a special edition of BBC Points West on a remark`ble day
:00:08. > :00:12.for the NHS, with the opening of this brand new hospital.
:00:13. > :00:14.The new Southmead in Bristol is reckoned to bd
:00:15. > :00:28.Single rooms for most and luxury fixtures and fittings.
:00:29. > :00:38.Today, the first patients had their say.
:00:39. > :00:41.We'll be assessing the impact the new hospital will have
:00:42. > :00:43.on the treatment offered to thousands of patients.
:00:44. > :00:48.A damp start to the Bath West as the Duchess
:00:49. > :00:51.of Cornwall listens to farmdrs caught up in the winter floods.
:00:52. > :00:55.And a big night for Bristol Rugby as they begin their final ptsh
:00:56. > :01:12.Good evening and welcome to the new Southmead Hospital in Bristol.
:01:13. > :01:16.I'm standing in the atrium of the new building which opendd today
:01:17. > :01:19.and represents the biggest leap forward in hospital care in the West
:01:20. > :01:27.It's cost more than ?400 million and we'll be paying for it for the
:01:28. > :01:33.next 30 years, but what's h`ppened on this site is truly remarkable.
:01:34. > :01:38.Instead, patients have the sort of experience you'd get
:01:39. > :01:43.Tonight, Southmead is fully open, caring for patients from right
:01:44. > :01:51.But before the doors opened, I went on a tour of the new facilities
:01:52. > :01:54.This is the NHS, but not as we know it.
:01:55. > :01:57.The new Southmead is on the old site, but it's a different
:01:58. > :02:24.And then you are told which gate to go to to get your treatment.
:02:25. > :02:26.It's atrium is the size of a Cathedral.
:02:27. > :02:29.The building faces the outside world to make the most
:02:30. > :02:33.Tatty NHS posters warning of grim diseases are banned, replacdd
:02:34. > :02:44.This hospital lifts the bodx and soul.
:02:45. > :02:51.When you are feeling a latest nice to see green things.
:02:52. > :02:55.The government is buying thhs on tick ` the mortgage paymdnt
:02:56. > :03:00.But staff insist that's good value for money, for facilities
:03:01. > :03:07.Each with a pleasant view and floor to ceiling window.
:03:08. > :03:16.There is an ensuite bathroom`come`wetroom.
:03:17. > :03:26.In the past one of the worrhes about single rooms was patients could be
:03:27. > :03:32.out of sight and out of mind. If NFS `` if a nurse stands here and moves
:03:33. > :03:35.like that you can see directly into four separate rooms.
:03:36. > :03:39.And if you dont get your own pad, you come here to a four`bedder,
:03:40. > :03:44.The beds and hoists are deshgned to cater for all shapes and sizes `
:03:45. > :03:49.The curtains would be fine in a five star hotel.
:03:50. > :03:51.Everywhere there's a loving attention to detail.
:03:52. > :03:56.But comfy beds and swish curtains mean nothing without great nursing.
:03:57. > :04:03.So what standards can patients expect?
:04:04. > :04:07.It's actually high standard. We have put a lot of work and effort into
:04:08. > :04:16.this. We will be giving every pathent
:04:17. > :04:19.every hour. It's called intdntional grounding. We will be checkhng on
:04:20. > :04:59.patients for their care needs. There are 800 beds in this new
:05:00. > :05:04.hospital. They are expecting 80 000 patients over the next year.
:05:05. > :05:06.Here, there is a helicopter pad outside the back door.
:05:07. > :05:09.At Frenchay the plane had to land on the village green.
:05:10. > :05:19.The chopper land just outside on the backyard and then you are brought in
:05:20. > :05:29.here for a full body scan and recess is standing
:05:30. > :05:32.Thousands will be born here, thousands will be healed here, and
:05:33. > :05:49.This new hospital replaces Frenchay, so some people will have further to
:05:50. > :05:52.And I warn you that car parking is a nightmare!
:05:53. > :05:55.It will be some time before the new car parks pl`nned
:05:56. > :06:01.Staff at Frenchay have been working flat out, closing down the old wards
:06:02. > :06:08.Scott Ellis has been followhng a ward sister from Frenchay
:06:09. > :06:18.The old neurosurgery ward at the old Frenchay hospital.
:06:19. > :06:20.Emma Wright worked here for 15 years.
:06:21. > :06:24.Before it closed she showed us why the old war hospital nedded
:06:25. > :06:42.This is one of our shower rooms As you can see it is not very big and
:06:43. > :06:46.there is often quite a long wait in the morning.
:06:47. > :06:54.NHS beds have got bigger ovdr the years.
:06:55. > :06:58.And there's more lifting eqtipment, creating another problem.
:06:59. > :07:17.And that takes it toll on p`tients, too.
:07:18. > :07:27.It's very noisy. You are looking if somebody is not well or sick or
:07:28. > :07:31.having problems, it keeps everybody awake.
:07:32. > :07:33.Despite the old building at Frenchay, it's become
:07:34. > :07:47.Well, here's Emma two days after the move.
:07:48. > :07:49.To the large, wide, airy, bed`pushing`friendly Brunel
:07:50. > :08:02.A curtain that we can have ht. We could never do this at
:08:03. > :08:15.But most impressive are the en suite single rooms.
:08:16. > :08:17.Privacy for patients and it should reduce the risk
:08:18. > :08:40.I hate being shut in anywhere. It's like a first`class hotel.
:08:41. > :08:57.I think it's a positive. People are happy to be here. It's very
:08:58. > :09:04.This is a hospital Emma can be proud of.
:09:05. > :09:06.And you can't help thinking she and the rest
:09:07. > :09:09.of the hard`working staff at the old Ward Four at Frenchay deserved
:09:10. > :09:14.I'm joined by Andrea Young, Chief Executive and Trisha Down, Project
:09:15. > :09:33.It's been a massive move. There have been teething trouble is th`t you
:09:34. > :09:43.would expect that. We've bedn really pleased with how it has gond. We
:09:44. > :09:52.achieved it very successfully. It's a very large hospital how do you
:09:53. > :09:56.make it feel human and friendly It was important to make sure the staff
:09:57. > :10:08.response to patients was frhendly and caring. You have teams of
:10:09. > :10:17.welcomer is here too. They `re so nice. Let's talk about the loney.
:10:18. > :10:21.Very expensive project will stop ?100,000 a day we have to p`y for
:10:22. > :10:29.it. Have you been a little bit too lavish? Don't forget we are building
:10:30. > :10:35.a hospital for people of today and for future generations. We to be a
:10:36. > :10:45.wonderful hospital in 30 ye`rs time. We drove a very good bargain here in
:10:46. > :10:51.Bristol. It 7% of our turnover, we think that as of one double. It s
:10:52. > :10:55.all very well having a great building but do you have enough
:10:56. > :11:04.money from the NHS to staff it properly? Yes were very cle`r about
:11:05. > :11:09.the staffing. The staffing levels must be safe. We don't have a
:11:10. > :11:17.problem with recruitment. Working in this facility is a great attraction
:11:18. > :11:25.to new doctors and new nursds. How does the new meet on an
:11:26. > :11:31.international scale? I know an architect that goes to other places
:11:32. > :11:35.and he said we are feeding their, right at the top with other
:11:36. > :11:41.hospitals in Europe and in some of the United States. Is there enough
:11:42. > :11:46.room for people? There is always a bed shortage. We have a lot of
:11:47. > :11:56.flexibility with headspace. We are doing emergency care. It will
:11:57. > :11:59.be flexible to a new model of care will stop we do have a rehabilitate
:12:00. > :12:47.since section. The Duchess of Cornwall has been
:12:48. > :12:50.meeting flood victims at thhs More than 150,000 people ard
:12:51. > :12:54.expected to attend the show over the next four days, the largest
:12:55. > :13:02.on England's agricultural c`lendar. The Somerset levels relief fund is
:13:03. > :13:11.run by the Royal Bath and Wdst society. This man had just ` few
:13:12. > :13:17.hours to evacuate made his 050 Cassel when the floods hit hn
:13:18. > :13:22.January. I'm really interested in how things are going on down here.
:13:23. > :13:29.We've receded and large are` of ground.
:13:30. > :13:39.This is the first time that the chess has been here since 2009. She
:13:40. > :13:43.came here with her husband. He is the president of the Royal Bath and
:13:44. > :13:48.West society. One of the first things she will do today is judged
:13:49. > :13:54.some of the finest specimens. But this year there is anyone focus
:13:55. > :14:01.Helping those hit by flooding and making sure drenching gets done I
:14:02. > :14:11.know that those who are working on the dredging are determined to be in
:14:12. > :14:15.a position when autumn time they can say if we have the same kind of
:14:16. > :14:22.rain, yes there will be minor flooding, but they will be `ble to
:14:23. > :14:28.get the water off the levels. The jet chess spent several hours here
:14:29. > :14:37.today. The community is now pulling together after months of crhsis
:14:38. > :14:41.A former soldier from Bristol, who battered his wife to de`th with
:14:42. > :14:44.a dumbell, has been sentencdd to a minimum of 17 years in prhson
:14:45. > :14:47.Nirmal Gill killed his wife Rosemary at their home
:14:48. > :14:51.Bristol Crown Court was told he'd killed her after finding out
:14:52. > :14:58.He's been jailed for life and won't be considered for parole until 031.
:14:59. > :15:00.An investigation's underway at Musgrove Park Hospital
:15:01. > :15:03.in Taunton after a number of patients who'd had cataract surgery
:15:04. > :15:07.The hospital told us they'd appointed
:15:08. > :15:10.a private company to perforl the operations but the contract was
:15:11. > :15:17.The hospital says that all of the 62 patients who were operated
:15:18. > :15:30.on have been spoken to and that care plans are now in place.
:15:31. > :15:37.Work has become a major landmark bridge. The scheme will forl the
:15:38. > :15:42.entrance to the city's new `rena. The music venue will be built at the
:15:43. > :15:46.end of 2016. It's the first leg of rugby's
:15:47. > :15:49.Championship play`off final tonight, with Bristol hoping to move
:15:50. > :15:52.a step closer to the Premiership. They finished top of the table
:15:53. > :15:55.but have to beat London Welsh to This evening's game is
:15:56. > :16:12.being played in Oxford. This is about delivery of
:16:13. > :16:17.performance from the players and three the minutes, the guys are
:16:18. > :16:24.really relaxed, looking forward to the game, but they know it hs a
:16:25. > :16:26.tough, physical side who ard skilful and have real pace. It will be
:16:27. > :16:42.tough. of the most complicated parts
:16:43. > :17:01.of the move was the transfer A on the day it opened in 196 ,
:17:02. > :17:09.nearly 50 years ago, but even back then,
:17:10. > :17:14.it was only meant to be temporary. Five decades
:17:15. > :17:16.on there may be a different pattern The space is there a limited. We are
:17:17. > :17:35.separated by just a curtain. Next door, Derell has been rushed
:17:36. > :17:38.in with a collapsed lung but her While Patrick with
:17:39. > :17:45.his suspected broken arm has to go It's a lovely day today. But we do
:17:46. > :17:58.this in the snow. So after years of planning,
:17:59. > :18:00.the countdown to It's now 1am and this is thd very
:18:01. > :18:08.last ambulance to ever arrive here. Inside is 17 year old Adam who
:18:09. > :18:25.has just come off his motorobike. The ambulances are saying goodbye
:18:26. > :18:29.now. And as the wards empty,
:18:30. > :18:32.the focus now turns to packhng With the waiting room now fhnally
:18:33. > :18:41.shut up, the staff gather This team has worked togethdr
:18:42. > :18:49.for years. Meanwhile, just a few miles away
:18:50. > :19:03.in another corner of Bristol, Well,
:19:04. > :19:11.the big unpack is well underway It's 4am
:19:12. > :19:14.and they've got just an hour to go And within hours,
:19:15. > :19:32.this place is totally transformed. Ambulances coming every hour, our
:19:33. > :19:47.best helicopter landed. We have seen 180 patients and the market is still
:19:48. > :19:51.young! This is where we see our most sick and injured patients. @nd here,
:19:52. > :20:00.we have the CT scan. Making caring easier,
:20:01. > :20:06.Southmead is designed for the job. We are straight over to x`r`y. So
:20:07. > :20:15.much easier for our patients. Little doubt, then,
:20:16. > :20:42.that health care here has now been There are three patients who are
:20:43. > :20:47.here for a very long stay. These monkeys are part of a wide `rt
:20:48. > :20:51.collection. The benefits of having art that is entertaining, comforting
:20:52. > :20:58.and humorous is thought to `id the healing process. They are playful,
:20:59. > :21:06.funny, sweet but there is something trusting, stoical and if yot are
:21:07. > :21:12.doing repeated visits, something you become fond of, something you come
:21:13. > :21:16.back to. If you do have a dhstressed child, there is always an animal
:21:17. > :21:20.that might be in a worse sh`pe than you.
:21:21. > :21:23.The cost of this hospital works out at about ?100,000 a DAY
:21:24. > :21:26.but the outgoings are offset by the closure of Frenchay, a hospital
:21:27. > :21:30.which had a worldwide reput`tion despite some truly awful buhldings.
:21:31. > :21:34.Here's our health correspondent Matthew Hill.
:21:35. > :21:36.Danielle McGriskin is one of hundreds
:21:37. > :21:39.of patients who over the ye`rs have flown to Frenchay for treatlent that
:21:40. > :21:45.The 17 year old from Belfast was diagnosed with a brain tumotr in the
:21:46. > :21:55.It caused a painful build`up of fluid called hydrocephalhs.
:21:56. > :22:07.My symptoms were dizziness, headaches, vision problems, flashing
:22:08. > :22:15.lights, blurred vision and pain around my eyes and tiredness.
:22:16. > :22:18.It's because Frenchay has btilt up an international reputation in brain
:22:19. > :22:21.surgery that Danielle's surgeon asked it for second opinion.
:22:22. > :22:31.Treating in a different way using a special endoscopic techniqud.
:22:32. > :22:32.This technique was pioneered in Frenchay.
:22:33. > :22:36.It also allowed her surgeon to take a sample of her tumour so D`nielle
:22:37. > :22:39.could then be given the right course of radiothdrapy
:22:40. > :22:49.My eyes aren't as saw. I can see clearly.
:22:50. > :22:52.Frenchay's story of care began in 1921 when it was opened with just
:22:53. > :22:55.35 patients as a sanatorium for children with tuberculosis.
:22:56. > :22:57.Then single`storey buildings were built during World War Two
:22:58. > :23:00.for casualties from the conflict and that formed the
:23:01. > :23:02.basis of it becoming a spechalist neurological, trauma, burns centre.
:23:03. > :23:05.It was also the first hospital to introduce a
:23:06. > :23:15.registry of patients with the deadly skin cancer melanoma in the 196 s.
:23:16. > :23:25.Collecting data relevant to those patients enabled us to understand it
:23:26. > :23:28.better. It is the Cancer network which publishes data on prevalence.
:23:29. > :23:31.And in recent years, the burns unit has developed this dressing
:23:32. > :23:34.for children that reacts to UV light when there is an infection.
:23:35. > :23:37.Perhaps the most dramatic mddical development at the hospital is
:23:38. > :23:40.This patient's symptoms improved after surgeon Steve Gill managed to
:23:41. > :23:46.infuse a growth factor into his brain.
:23:47. > :23:50.A new trial is now taking place and could well be prove to be
:23:51. > :23:56.the breakthrough that patients have been waiting for.
:23:57. > :24:03.This research has happened despite these outdated buildings. The big
:24:04. > :24:07.challenge is whether this whll continue at the new super hospital
:24:08. > :24:13.at Southmead were operating theatres are being used late into thd
:24:14. > :24:18.evening. We will have to work hard to get round that keep the same
:24:19. > :24:22.flexibility going, which max mean working eight `` out of hours in the
:24:23. > :24:26.future which is what we are used to doing.
:24:27. > :24:29.So if this can do culture c`n be transferred to Southmead,
:24:30. > :24:32.there's every chance that p`tients will continue to benefit from the
:24:33. > :24:48.I have popped out into the garden. This is the view most patients will
:24:49. > :24:53.get from their single rooms. It would be likely on a summer's day
:24:54. > :24:54.but it is damp and cold tonhght so let's get the forecast and crossover
:24:55. > :25:08.to Gemma. I see that you have got your brolly
:25:09. > :25:14.there and I have certainly got mine. It is very dank and drizzly. But
:25:15. > :25:21.overcast cloud is with us for a few days now. If we take a look at the
:25:22. > :25:25.radar, we can see it is showers that have dominated the whole of today.
:25:26. > :25:32.They pushed through and then another raft of showers came in thehr wake
:25:33. > :25:42.and that's courtesy of the fringes of that system. Also without, plenty
:25:43. > :25:49.of low, grey cloud. The far western parts of Cornwall swore brightness
:25:50. > :25:55.only. Temperature wise, not particularly chilly. At timds, close
:25:56. > :26:02.and clammy and for tomorrow, broadly the same. Cloudy grey but ttrning
:26:03. > :26:07.dry and brighter by Friday. A few bright spells by tomorrow afternoon.
:26:08. > :26:11.For the rest of this evening and overnight, this cloud and drizzly
:26:12. > :26:18.wet weather continues. We don't see any letup. Drizzle and mist and
:26:19. > :26:25.Merck in the air. Not a particularly chilly night, though. A rel`tively
:26:26. > :26:31.mild start tomorrow morning but once again, those showers to domhnate
:26:32. > :26:37.along with plenty of cloud. But by the afternoon, we should sed some
:26:38. > :26:41.breaks, blue skies and sunshine That warm air will combine with some
:26:42. > :26:47.of those showers and give them energy, intensity. In the stnshine,
:26:48. > :26:53.the temperatures creep up a little bit more. 17 or 18 Celsius. Tomorrow
:26:54. > :26:59.evening, still without low pressure over us, it is cloudy, grey and wet
:27:00. > :27:04.but not particularly chilly and heading into Friday, that no
:27:05. > :27:07.pressure eventually begins to push its way southwards, taking over dank
:27:08. > :27:11.and dreary conditions with ht and behind it, try and brighter
:27:12. > :27:19.conditions. Sunshine by Friday afternoon and plenty of sunshine to
:27:20. > :27:29.enjoy by Saturday. I have come into the atrium, which
:27:30. > :27:31.stretches way above me. People start `` are starting to settling down for
:27:32. > :27:50.their first evening here. The very nature of
:27:51. > :28:06.the American personality was defined. Ray Mears explores
:28:07. > :28:10.the land behind the Hollywood legend