17/09/2014 East Midlands Today

Also shopped for this Derbyshire as this teenager hung on underneath

there mortar home. Plus I al at the Somali community in Leicestdrshire

weird new reports say the ftture is looking good. And 100 miles from the

border Scots from the East Lidlands intent to see and the small hours.

First tonight, it's faced criticism for months

And today, at a public meethng, it apologised to patients for

"unacceptable" poor perform`nce In Nottinghamshire,

Leicestershire and Rutland the private firm Arriva took over

from East Midlands Ambulancd Service transporting non emdrgency

patients to and from hospit`ls. That was two years ago.

In Leicestershire, it has been under constant fire

The firm today insisted it is improving.

Far from quitting, it's revdaled ambitions to take over the

service across the entire rdgion. Live now to Our Health Corrdspondent

Rob Sissons, who's in Loughborough. Good evening. Good evening. This is

one of the depots of Arriva. We heard of transport problems, not

solutions. That was from sole of the people who have had a bad

experience. The Arriva ambulances are a familiar sight across

Leicestershire and Rutland. They know they have to get two more

places on time and that is something they have to work on. One woman

knows about things when thex go wrong, hard late husband had to wait

more than eight hours at hospital in the summer, it was a partictlarly

busy day but she says it was a terrible experience.

It was terrible really, he was due to come home

from hospital and he sat wahting in the cheer by his bed and nothing

happened, key just waits and waits. I was quite disgusted

about the whole system. Something ought to be done

about that driver and the pdrson inside the ambulance were epually

as fed up with things as we were. Arriva told me they are not asset

strippers, they want to invdst and make the service really, re`lly

good. Our reporter has been on the front line to see what pressured

they really under. Good morning, Arriva transport.

Another busy day in the Leicester control centre.

Arriva staff take hundreds of calls a day here

and coordinate around 800 journeys. It is an incredible challenge.

We have to make sure our pl`n is planned up, they know what rotas

and what vehicles we have. They have to make sure we h`ve

the resources to get patients into the hospital in time.

They track 60 vehicles often moving across counties.

They transport more elderly and vulnerable patients

like this one who is 93 and recovering from a fall.

There is nothing more they can do for her at hospital but before she

is discharged on she will go for physio and recuperation and get care

packages set up within the house. Arriva say they are seeing lore

patients who are frail and some of the journeys are longer.

Because of patient choice they can decide which hospitals they

go to for the appointment. Kettering, Peterborough, Dunedin.

She goes back to her care home after her hospital outpatient

appointment but for these two there are plenty more journeys in store.

They have a mix of vehicles, a modern fleet. Matching the right

vehicle to the right job is obviously one of the challenges The

managing director of the service told me they are determined to

improve things and are turnhng things around. We have had some

difficulties and no`one is lore frustrated than I am. This was not

the beginning of the contract, these are cases in the summer. And things

continue to move. The needs of patients continued to changd. We

need to make sure we respond to the needs and expectations of p`tients.

When will people get the service they are appealing for? People are

already seeing the improvemdnts we have made. In August eight out of

ten arrived on time for hospital and on discharge nine out of ten arrived

on time. Is the job more delanding than you expected? The changes we

have seen to the contract whll be the lifetime we have had to react

to. We have not just sat on our hands. We have continued to invest,

we have 14% more vehicles, 20% more staff and we have to manage that

relationship with our staff and hospitals. It is the 24 hour

contract and the needs change on a daily if not hourly basis. Some

people have suggested in thd vote should lose its contract, is there

any likelihood of that? The art critics of privatisation who have

said I told you so. Arriva have been given more time by the NHS to meet

the targets. Arriva say thex would like to compete to take over the

contract that are coming up in Derby, Lincolnshire and

Northamptonshire. To do that they will have to prove themselvds here.

They could face competition from East Midlands ambulance service who

I expect will compete for those contracts. Thank you for th`t.

Still to come: Charlie's been chasing the sun.

And I have not been able to find any so I came back inside! The weather

coming up later in the programme. Next tonight, the Derbyshird family

who returned from a week`long trip to Europe with a stowaway.

As they dropped off their rented motor home off with

the hire firm, an exhausted Sudanese teenager climbed out from under the

vehicle and dusted himself down He's believed to have tied him

self to the chassis in Calahs. Carolyn Moses reports.

This man and his family are used to wheels. His daughter is a trail bike

champion with team GP but when he and his family travelled back from

and order on Monday morning they found an extra passenger clhnging to

the wheels. This young man had spent hours dicing with death clinging to

the axle of the more troubld than they hired as they crossed from

France to Kent. When I lookdd down I saw two eyes looking up at le from

between my feet. Then a bodx appeared and he stood up in front of

me. It was very unnerving and surreal. Something you do not really

expect. The family were so stunned the film the uninvited guest who was

later taken away by police. He was handed over to immigration

officials. There are similar cases linked to the French port and this

family say they will now take extra care when travelling. He must have

been on the back axles, there was no way to hang on at the front. He must

have wedged himself across the back axles. You do not expect solebody

climbing out from under a mortar home. His daughter and her team took

away a gold medal from Andorra but what the family did not expdct was

to bring something else back with them.

Two councils have suspended their contracts with

a Nottinghamshire care home after concerns over standards of care

A relative of one of 70 reshdents at Acer Court in Nuthall passed

surveillance footage to loc`l authorities and police.

Both Nottingham city and the county council say they re

now providing extra support for residents they're responsible for.

A recent Care Quality Commission report flagged up problems

at the home. Owners Avery Healthcare

haven't commented. King Richard

the Third suffered THREE potentially fatal injuries during the B`ttle of

Bosworth, according to new research led by the University of Lehcester.

The results come from scans which have been carried out to

analyse the 500`year`old relains. They reveal that Richard's skeleton

sustained 11 wounds at or near the time of his death,

nine of them to the skull. Unemployment in

our region has fallen to levels not seen since the boom days of 200 .

And one factor in that decrdase may be the discretionary grants

Job Centres are handing out to help people get back into work.

In one area alone, that amounts to ?170,000 a lonth.

One single mum says the funding she received has changed her life.

Mike O'Sullivan reports. With the jobless figures falling

in our region this single mtm of three has been given

a helping hand back into work. She trained to become a cardr,

calling at the homes of elddrly and vulnerable people.

I can actually provide for ly family rather than living of benefhts

which I feel is so much better, the children look up to me lore

Unemployment fell by 12,000 between May and July getting

an unemployment rate of 5.6$. Gemma was helped back into work

by Job Centre Plus which paid a discretionary grant

of up to ?1,000 for child c`re costs while she was training.

I am told that they pay ?170,000 per month.

For some it could be childc`re issues, for others it could be

getting an interview suit. Gemma says you have to be

prepared to work hard. They have to pick

and choose who they are doing it with because they do not want to pay

for training for people who are not going to be looking for work.

Gemma now pays 30% of her childcare costs from her own wages.

Last month on East Midlands Today we revealed that

a report had strongly criticised the running of the official

travellers' site in Leicestdr. It said relations

between managers at Meynell's Gorse and the residents had broken down.

But it also praised the operation of the Aston Firs site

in Leicestershire. Today, our reporter Simon W`rd

was given exclusive access. This travellers site in Leicester

today is blocked off with rdsidents living in other places. It has

finally been redeveloped after a critical report. This site hs being

held up as a great example of how a travellers site should the run.

Rebecca has spent most of hdr life travelling the country in a caravan.

She came off of the Lord three years ago and only came here this summer.

We have been reared in the travelling life all of our life but

then there comes a time you like a bit of comfort and that is why I

have come here. This man spdnt 0 years on the road when he w`s

younger. Sometimes I pine to get back on the road but everybody gets

on with each other. We watched that nobody comes on the camp who should

not be here and we'll look `fter everybody else. This man works for

the county and welcomes the changes. It is very easy to blame thd

management and the residents. There are a number of factors, thhngs

needing to be done. This falily are mainly based year but somethmes go

on there travels. We went away for the summer, went away for fhve or

six months but came back. There have been changes to the site ovdr the

last few years which are for the better. This has been held tp as

something they could do with other travellers sites.

It's estimated 15,000 Somalh people live in Leicester ` one of

the largest communities in the UK. A report out today considers how

they fit in, and what can be done better.

As Jo Healey discovered, it shows the Somalis

in the city have a strong sdnse of belonging and believe passionately

in educating their children. School is important to me so that

everybody can have an education and learning new stuff. Children from

Somali families make up a bhg percentage of the pupils at this

school. You need an education to get a job. It helps us develop with our

learning skills and get a bdtter lifestyle. The community will do

anything at all in an educational sense for the children. We have

meetings in the school about reading and mathematics, they are p`cked

out. That has been backed up by our report out today. The community has

said today they want to work hard and not rely on others helphng them

but do things for themselves. So, the very `` they are very

optimistic. Also optimistic as the business spirit. As the bushness

spirit. This man was alreadx running a small business. Now he runs this

cafe and a small shop. Death is one of the best cities in the UK. I feel

like it is my second home. Ht is that sense of belonging that is

highlighted by many. On the eve of the big indepdndence

referendum in Scotland, senior MPs from the East Midlands

have been north of the borddr campaigning to retain the union

Meanwhile back here, people have been telling us

which way they want the votd to go. Here's our

Political Editor John Hess. The flags are up and the referendum

debate, even in this pub in Derby, is far from over. My heart says yes

but my head says no. Members of the city's land Derby will be g`thering

here to see the results to cleared into the small hours. We argue for a

party, no doubt, whatever the outcome may be. East Midlands today

has reflected on how we see it from here. Because this Scott sotth of

the border in Ashbourne he does not get the referendum vote. So, on day

of the poll what is the view in the East Midlands now? I think they

should stick with us. I agrde with that. I think it would be bdtter for

all of us to stay together. Together would be better, together wd stand,

divided we fall. Independence, yes! Big constitutional change is on the

cards whatever the outcome, say MPs. I am concerned somebody spe`ks up

for England in the aftermath of the referendum. I want to see England,

Wales and Northern Ireland get an identical settlement to Scotland. It

is perfectly possible to have the income tax assignment powers in

England as they have in Scotland. In 1745 Bonnie Prince Charlie's army

got as far as Derby to forcd through his constitutional changes, those

views faded away. Tomorrow's referendum vote is already shaking

the walls of Westminster. Whatever the outcome it will be an

interesting few months I reckon You are probably right there.

Now the sport. First the former England

and Leicestershire wicket`kdeper Paul Nixon says he's sad to see

the state of his former club. Three promising young players have

left Leicestershire in as many weeks.

They haven't won a County Championship game all season

again and he fears without change the club won't survive.

Kirsty Edwards reports. They have experienced real highs

over the years but if Leicestershire do not win at Derbyshire ovdr the

next week he will have gone two years without a championship win.

The critics are calling for a major shake`up on and off the field. There

has to be, everybody is leaving these are new kits, the unddr 1

captain, they are wanting to go That is a big message to people out

there that things are not as rosy as they think they are. Dismantled me

today he will always cherish being captain of his home club but he just

had to go. It is the club close to my heart but some changes rdquired,

some fresh blood. With me ldaving it might not be a bad thing. It is

about looking to the future. The ambition they showed was solething

that excited me and then in the last month the sleepless nights. It was

an effort I had to make for my own good. I want to make a plea to ``

make a push to play for England in the future. I have to go to a club

with the structure in place to take me forward. I feel Derbyshire have

that. Hopefully Leicestershhre can look at it and rebuild themselves.

The question is, our appears problems here? We have been in play

in difficulties before but we will get through it. There do not

necessarily have to be wholdsale changes, let's get to the end of the

season and look at what has gone right and wrong and what should

happen at that stage. Leicestershire aren't the first club to slhde away

into the abyss, let's will be can drive it forward and put it back on

the map. Onto football.

Stuart Pearce's Nottingham Forest are at home tonight to Fulh`m.

Ahead of the game owner and chairman Fawaz Al Hasawh has

been speaking to Colin. How have you felt about the start of

this season? It feels like ` fresh start. This season we startdd very

good from day one. We played maybe six games and won four of them. This

is a good start for us for the season. So far, so good. We have a

long way to go. One of the things about Stuart Pearce is that you can

tell he is ferociously honest. Is it too much honesty? Is it hard

sometimes? Now, here's alwaxs straight. Some people do not do this

even if they are honest but he is a straightforward guy. What does the

new Chief Executive make to how the club is run? He has a good

connection with everybody and everybody likes him which whll be

helpful, I can relax more and stay more at home. Is there monex

available? Will Stuart Pearce have the backing if he needs it to bring

in more players over time? H will support him and be with him.

Everything he is going to ask about I will they OK, no problem. We would

like to take this club Wear it should be, to the right place. I am

sure Stuart Pearce understands that and will take us to the Prelier

League. Elsewhere in the Championshhp Derby

County play at Blackburn tonight with Head Coach Steve McClaren keen

their preparations aren't lost after the drama of the East Midlands

derby game last weekend. That is the danger, we have got to

be focus quickly. That was ` tough game physically and mentallx. We

have to recover both the body and the mind and hopefully we whll do

that and have the same kind of attitude we had on Sunday.

And finally from me angry and emotional words from thd

Notts County manager Shaun Derry. He says football has gone bonkers

after another good manager hs left clinging onto his job.

Notts County where playing Leyton Orient.

The manager is Russell Sladd, the former Notts County boss, a man

with the good footballing rdcord. He's the best manager statistically

that Orient have had for 40 years but last night he said

goodbye to the fans after the game because he was told he had to win

this match or he would be s`cked. It left Shaun Derry fuming.

I think it is an absolute ottrage. An outrage to the game.

Someone like that, not having it, Someone like that, the game's gone.

The game finished 1`1. This penalty was scored in

the first half before an eqtaliser in the second, also from thd board.

It was enough to keep Slade in a job for now.

What he has done for Leyton Orient and all his other teams,

you do not treat someone like that. I am so hurt.

I have known him for years and years, it is a disgrace.

At Mansfield Paul Cox was under pressure a few weeks ago.

Despite taking the Stags up in 2013 and losing a number

of key players of late. Last night they beat Morcambe 1`0.

It is only September but already managers are fighting

for their jobs. They always get a hard time, the

managers. Just like weather presenters!

Lots of cloud around as we go through tonight. There is football

and it looks like being clotdy. Take a light jacket because it whll stay

quite warm. The cloud will spill into the rest of the East Mhdlands

as we go into the early hours of Thursday morning. Missed or fog

patches developing. Very mild. Into Thursday it will be a very, very

cloudy day. Quite stoppered Cloud, a little bit of sunny spells. There

will be a misty and marquee start. With the help of sunshine 23 Celcius

is possible. Just a little breezy going into Thursday afternoon.

Friday will stay settled, dry and that time is bright. The warm here

will start to slip southwards as we go through the weekend repl`ced by a

cold year Mass. `` Hermas. Ht will be not too cold however. Thd

temperatures will drop into the weekend. But largely dry and settled

with brightness at times.