11/01/2017 London News

Welcome to BBC London News with me, Alice Bhandukravi.

We start tonight with more on those concerns about the state of the NHS.

BBC London has been given exclusive behind-the-scenes access at one

of the capital's busiest hospitals, on the day that the health service

warned that care is becoming unsustainable due to

Earlier, the head of the NHS here in London said hospitals

are busier than ever, and that things are set to get worse.

Our political correspondent Karl Mercer has been to the Chelsea

and Westminster Hospital to see how they're coping.

Like every other emergency department in London,

They're seeing around 450 people a day here.

The number they have to admit to hospital is up 13%

We are seeing unprecedented numbers at the moment,

And more and more people coming through the door.

The hospital - again, like most across the capital - is full.

The problem a common one, of not being able to move

I mean, every single bed in both our sites

And it's almost a case of one in, one out, as soon as we can discharge

someone, we can move someone through the system.

So what is the NHS doing to tackle the issues?

Can I check who we've got on from the surge hub, please?

Five times a day, every day, this team at NHS London gather

to take the temperature of hospitals across the capital.

Staffing, the usual few gaps of registered nurses due

to short-term sickness and no-shows from the agency.

From an infection control perspective, they have seven

We're just wondering what level of escalation they are at?

They check on things like staffing levels,

how many patients are waiting to be discharged, how long patients

are waiting to be seen and how many beds are available.

And they too have cancelled any nonclinical activities for nurses

today and brought everybody back out onto the floor.

So the focus is often on emergency departments but what we see

is the full picture, the flow through the hospital

and that's often what we are able to contribute to.

So that it is not just an Emergency Department problem.

No, OK, Emma, do you want to move on?

Today, as we filmed, the NHS boss in London joined the call,

at a time when the service is being stretched as never before.

It is the busiest we have ever seen it.

We are about 10% up on where we were in terms of hospital

activity year on year, this time last year.

111 during the Christmas period and the first few

weeks into the New Year, about 40% up.

But things are expected to get even tougher in the coming weeks,

with cold weather and flu outbreaks on the way.

What used to be a busy winter surge is not expected to end until May.

We heard there that things are going to get worse. Why is that? The NHS

is hearing from GPs, services like 111 and A that more children are

presenting with flu. Traditionally, if you see more children presenting

in flu, about two weeks later, you see a spike in the number of adults

getting it. As we heard in the report, there is also normally a

spike in the last week in January and as we know, there are reports of

cold weather on the way which will add to the problem. Many would think

that just throwing money at the problem will help and I'm sure many

NHS hospital directors would not refuse it. But the regional director

of the NHS in London actually said it would be better to put money into

social care which is all about unblocking the system, getting

people out who are not clinically ill any more but still in hospital,

out of the bed and freeing up beds. Thank you for joining us.

London's controversial Garden Bridge is on the verge of collapse

after accounts published today show a significant funding shortfall.

If it isn't built, around ?40 million pounds of public

If it isn't built, around ?40 million of public

The trust behind the project says it still expects to start

Our transport correspondent Tom Edwards reports.

This is where the Garden Bridge is meant to span the Thames.

The idea is it'll be a haven for wildlife and plants,

but there is now considerable doubt around the project.

The trustees say they are ?56 million short and the project is no

Campaigners say the bridge would destroy protected views

There remain issues about land and whether the mayor

They are admitting the costs are rising inexorably,

What maniac is going to put money into this project?

If there are delays to the project, the trustees said the initial

estimate of ?185 million could rise substantially.

The mayor is now carrying out a review of this project.

The trustees say that is hindering their attempts to raise more funds

The project will use ?60 million of public money.

The rest is meant to come from private donors.

I think it's nearly dead and it's about time we put

I think the current mayor needs to break with the previous one

and make sure he doesn't sign the guarantee for the running costs

of the bridge in order to fulfil the pledge he made of no more public

If the mayor doesn't underwrite the maintenance costs and the issues

around the land aren't sorted out, the trustees admit the project may

The mayor has already said that could cost the taxpayer ?40 million.

We have had to disclose the risks that remain for us to overcome

before we begin construction and none of them are new.

We need to secure the land and the funding.

We are confident that we will be able to do that but as far

as the accounts go, we had to disclose those risks.

The trust says constructions will start this year.

Critics say the Garden Bridge is on the brink of collapse.

Uncertainty around the project means time is running out.

A BBC London investigation has discovered that unlicensed barbers

in London could be putting customers at risk.

At the moment, anyone can set up a shop offering haiircuts

At the moment, anyone can set up a shop offering haircuts

and shaves without proper regulation.

For millions of men, visiting a barber is fairly routine.

Usually, they leave looking and feeling better.

Walking down London's high streets, you will see more barber

They are top spots for trendy haircuts and popular meeting places.

But the UK barbering industry is difficult to regulate and barbers

here don't even need a license to practise.

For some in the capital, this is causing huge problems.

They were here and here... Meet Jacob.

He got a fungal infection after his barber used dirty

In the summer of 2015, I started to get some pretty bad

bumps on my head and there would be pus coming out.

Every time I would wake up, I would look down and there would be

So I was put on antibiotics for about four weeks.

But nothing, really, it would subside but come back

I wasn't able to shave without opening up the wounds again.

Dirty clippers or razors at barber shops can put customers at risk

of bacterial and viral infections, like folliculitis, herpes

If the barber isn't trained, then in fact what can happen

is there is an entry of bacteria into the scalp, the hair

bulb becomes infected and they have an infection.

If you are trained, you would know it's very important

Take a look at these pictures we took inside an east

We showed them to one of the industry's leading figures.

The councils, I think, need to get involved with health

and safety and check - not shut down people, help people,

tell them what the legislation is and people will get

a qualification, they understand everything else.

At the London School of Barbering, hygiene is high up on the priority

list for the students, who must complete three months

of training before they can practise professionally.

In the USA and Australia, you have to gain X amount

I think that's something that is essential to the health

You wouldn't go to a mechanic that wasn't qualified, would you?

We contacted all of London's 32 councils but none could tell us how

many barber shops operated in the area and only one

So while it doesn't look like anything will be changing soon,

it's vital that customers are aware of the risks and always

That's it for now from me, but let's find out what the weathers

It is cold weather on the way. Cold indeed. I have not had a

picture like this so far this season and noticed the pavement. No more

clues. Travel disruption is distinctly possible and part of the

equation is that the day starts cold and dry. Don't be full by the dry

element because not long into the day, I thought you said it was going

to be snow, weatherman, well, rain for many of us to start off with so

a bit of patience but that'll be a thoroughly miserable day in its own

right and none too warm. That is the problem because as the cold air

tucks into the back of the rain area, yes, the Met office have a

warning out for snow, just in time for the evening commute. It is not

just a high ground feature. If it gets quite intense, it could drag

down to quite low levels and as it clears the way, too late for

commuters, it turns quite icy, just in time, we suspect, for another

belt also to work its way through for the morning commuters on Friday.

We have got a double whammy potentially leading us into a chilly

start to the weekend. Time for the national weather prospects if you

are on the move. Good evening, a lot going on with

the weather in the next few days, numerous weather warnings in for so

buried in mind if you have travel plans. Lots of isobars on the chart

overnight which means it will be windy for all. The strongest winds

in Scotland, lots of wintry showers with snow getting down to

increasingly low levels and some wintry showers in Northern Ireland

and northern England. A cold night for Northern England, particularly

in more rural spots, frosty and I see for some and some of the snow

really blowing around over higher ground in Scotland. Strong wind and

further snow to take us into tomorrow. It may well make for some

tricky travelling conditions. The forecast for tomorrow in the

southern half of the UK's quite tricky. We have got mild air bumping

into colder air. The boundary between the two, it will be an ugly

mix of rain, sleet and snow developing. Mild air comes in behind

the weather front but the rain ahead of that will be mixing with the cold

air. Details are a bit