0:00:10 > 0:00:13Good evening, I'm Asad Ahmad.
0:00:13 > 0:00:16So we've been hearing how thousands of appointments and operations have
0:00:16 > 0:00:18been cancelled all over England.
0:00:18 > 0:00:21But in London, it's not just hospitals
0:00:21 > 0:00:23which are under strain.
0:00:23 > 0:00:26GP surgeries and the Ambulance Service
0:00:26 > 0:00:27are feeling the pressure too,
0:00:27 > 0:00:31with a doctor warning that the system is at tipping point.
0:00:31 > 0:00:34Our health correspondent Karl Mercer
0:00:34 > 0:00:39looks at the knock-on effect on the NHS in London.
0:00:39 > 0:00:42So if it's OK, I'm just going to check your blood pressure.
0:00:42 > 0:00:44January in the NHS.
0:00:44 > 0:00:47How long has this been happening for?
0:00:47 > 0:00:48In the ambulance control room.
0:00:48 > 0:00:53It was quite a challenging day across the region yesterday.
0:00:53 > 0:00:57And in the winter war room for London health bosses.
0:00:57 > 0:00:59While much of the focus is on hospitals,
0:00:59 > 0:01:03it's in GP surgeries where 90% of patients are seen.
0:01:03 > 0:01:05This surgery in Hammersmith
0:01:05 > 0:01:06is typical of those across the capital.
0:01:06 > 0:01:11Seeing plenty of patients with chest infections.
0:01:11 > 0:01:13It's still tiresome, and I cannot walk
0:01:13 > 0:01:18because I get so out of breath I have to stop.
0:01:18 > 0:01:21Unfortunately, if you read the papers and watch the news,
0:01:21 > 0:01:24you don't get a true picture of what is going on.
0:01:24 > 0:01:26I think we are at a tipping point
0:01:26 > 0:01:30and the NHS is at a crossroads.
0:01:30 > 0:01:36There's a real potential for a lot of the services we provide
0:01:36 > 0:01:37to collapse or disappear for good.
0:01:37 > 0:01:40Towards the end of the week we will be reviewing the staffing
0:01:40 > 0:01:43which is our real concern across the region...
0:01:43 > 0:01:45For London NHS bosses, this is where they
0:01:45 > 0:01:48try to tackle winter problems.
0:01:48 > 0:01:50This team call around the capital's hospitals checking how they are
0:01:50 > 0:01:53coping and if there's enough staff, if there are problems
0:01:53 > 0:01:54in emergency departments.
0:01:54 > 0:01:56Many in the capital are urging patients to stay away
0:01:56 > 0:01:59unless it's a real emergency.
0:01:59 > 0:02:01Some planned operations will be cancelled.
0:02:01 > 0:02:03If you have an emergency I can reassure the public
0:02:03 > 0:02:08that the NHS in London is coping well and you will be seen promptly.
0:02:08 > 0:02:11If you're a member of the public and you've got an elective
0:02:11 > 0:02:14operation planned or an outpatient operation planned and we have to
0:02:14 > 0:02:18cancel, I'd like to thank them for their patience and reassure them
0:02:18 > 0:02:25they will get their procedure done as soon as we are able.
0:02:25 > 0:02:29The other area I wanted to cover was ambulance handover times.
0:02:29 > 0:02:31For the first time, a senior ambulance officer
0:02:31 > 0:02:33is in the room with the team.
0:02:33 > 0:02:36It means the team back at ambulance control
0:02:36 > 0:02:38should have more ambulances available to them,
0:02:38 > 0:02:45not stuck at hospitals waiting to drop patients off.
0:02:45 > 0:02:48We ask crews to go to an emergency department that is less busy
0:02:48 > 0:02:50which gives a better experience for patients
0:02:50 > 0:02:53in terms of waiting and also more importantly
0:02:53 > 0:02:55it allows us to free up our ambulances
0:02:55 > 0:03:01so we can respond to emergency calls.
0:03:01 > 0:03:04The NHS does prepare hard for winter to manage its limited resources.
0:03:04 > 0:03:12But these are the busiest and most challenging weeks of the year.
0:03:12 > 0:03:14Karl Mercer, BBC London News.
0:03:14 > 0:03:15For the second time,
0:03:15 > 0:03:17free metal detectors are being offered to schools
0:03:17 > 0:03:19which alert them when knives are being carried.
0:03:19 > 0:03:24The first time it was made available,
0:03:24 > 0:03:25most didn't take up the offer,
0:03:25 > 0:03:28even though Mayor of London Sadiq Khan says he's keen
0:03:28 > 0:03:29for all state secondaries to have them.
0:03:29 > 0:03:34Marc Ashdown has the details.
0:03:34 > 0:03:37This is all part of the Mayor's major crackdown on knife crime,
0:03:37 > 0:03:38which he launched back in June.
0:03:38 > 0:03:41As part of that, all secondaries were invited to apply
0:03:41 > 0:03:42for one of these knife wands.
0:03:42 > 0:03:44Now, this is what they look like,
0:03:44 > 0:03:46similar to when you go through airport security.
0:03:46 > 0:03:48They can detect if someone is carrying
0:03:48 > 0:03:51a metal object such as a knife.
0:03:51 > 0:03:54They give headteachers a bit more leeway than knife arches to use them
0:03:54 > 0:03:56when they actually suspect a pupil of carrying a knife,
0:03:56 > 0:03:59rather than just scanning all pupils as they go into school.
0:03:59 > 0:04:01The Mayor's office hopes it will help convince young people
0:04:01 > 0:04:06they are in far more danger carrying a knife than not.
0:04:06 > 0:04:08The headteachers I've spoken to are very keen
0:04:08 > 0:04:09to ensure their schools are safe places.
0:04:09 > 0:04:11If schools are safe places, that's where children
0:04:11 > 0:04:13and young people can learn, and they can achieve
0:04:13 > 0:04:15their aspirations and really fulfil their talents and dreams.
0:04:15 > 0:04:18I do understand that some schools may feel it might create
0:04:18 > 0:04:22a bit of a stigma, but what I would say as a parent,
0:04:22 > 0:04:25and I'm a mother of four children, I want to know that the schools
0:04:25 > 0:04:28my children go to are safe.
0:04:28 > 0:04:30We've learned today that so far 70 schools
0:04:30 > 0:04:34in the capital have signed up for these knife wands.
0:04:34 > 0:04:36There are about 500 secondaries in Greater London,
0:04:36 > 0:04:40so only about 15% of schools so far will be using them.
0:04:40 > 0:04:44For heads, it's all about perception.
0:04:44 > 0:04:47They don't want to be seen to be too over-the-top, too heavy-handed,
0:04:47 > 0:04:48and scare parents.
0:04:48 > 0:04:49But there's a growing collective feeling
0:04:50 > 0:04:52that some kind of action is needed.
0:04:52 > 0:04:55I think it's definitely not sending out the message
0:04:55 > 0:04:56that schools are dangerous, I think it's doing
0:04:57 > 0:04:58quite the reverse, actually.
0:04:58 > 0:05:00It's reassuring parents that when they send their child off
0:05:00 > 0:05:03to school, they are safe places, but there's also additional security
0:05:03 > 0:05:05which reflects the modern times, and that's at the discretion
0:05:05 > 0:05:08of the school or college leader as to how that is deployed.
0:05:08 > 0:05:14I think parents are likely to think this is a really good step forward.
0:05:14 > 0:05:16Sadly, four young men were killed in London
0:05:16 > 0:05:18during the New Year's Eve celebrations this week.
0:05:18 > 0:05:20It means 80 people in total were stabbed to death
0:05:20 > 0:05:22in the capital in 2017.
0:05:22 > 0:05:26The Mayor's crackdown isn't without its critics,
0:05:26 > 0:05:29who say gangs hide weapons outside school grounds and
0:05:29 > 0:05:33argue more should be done to tackle the root causes of knife crime.
0:05:33 > 0:05:37But Sadiq Khan again described it as "a scourge" this week,
0:05:37 > 0:05:39and vowed to bring the full force of the law down
0:05:39 > 0:05:45on anyone caught using one for a crime.
0:05:45 > 0:05:47A champion boxer from north London who had hopes
0:05:47 > 0:05:49of fighting for Team GB faces deportation back to Nigeria,
0:05:49 > 0:05:51the country he left as a child.
0:05:51 > 0:05:54Bilal Fawaz has been allowed to fight for England,
0:05:54 > 0:05:57but in deciding what to do, the Home Office points
0:05:57 > 0:05:58to his criminal record.
0:05:58 > 0:06:02It says an immigration judge will hear the case.
0:06:02 > 0:06:08But Fawaz feels he definitely deserves to stay.
0:06:08 > 0:06:10It makes me feel hurt, you know, representing a country,
0:06:10 > 0:06:14and then when you need their help, they turn your back on you.
0:06:14 > 0:06:17It hurts.
0:06:17 > 0:06:20I came as a minor, unaccompanied minor, and I was taken to a place,
0:06:20 > 0:06:23so I never knew anything about the legalities and the procedures
0:06:23 > 0:06:24about anything like that.
0:06:24 > 0:06:27A minor is not judged about what he has done in the past
0:06:27 > 0:06:31but is judged by what he is trying to do to rectify what he has done
0:06:31 > 0:06:34in the past, and that is what I'm trying to do,
0:06:34 > 0:06:35all I want is a second chance.
0:06:35 > 0:06:38Homeless families in London claim they are being pressured
0:06:38 > 0:06:40to accept offers of housing outside of the capital.
0:06:40 > 0:06:43BBC London visited a family who had to spend Christmas
0:06:43 > 0:06:46and New Year in a hotel, because they refused to accept
0:06:46 > 0:06:48an offer to move to Essex.
0:06:48 > 0:06:54The family spoke to Chris Rogers in their cramped room.
0:06:54 > 0:06:57Since September, this tiny hotel room has been home to Naomi,
0:06:57 > 0:07:03her mother, two sisters and her baby boy.
0:07:03 > 0:07:07The family have been living in hotel rooms like for three years.
0:07:07 > 0:07:10The cameraman is on one bed, I am on the second,
0:07:10 > 0:07:11you are on the third.
0:07:11 > 0:07:14I mean, there is hardly any...room to move.
0:07:14 > 0:07:16I don't know how you live like this.
0:07:16 > 0:07:23We literally live on top of each other.
0:07:23 > 0:07:25The total family income just about covers
0:07:25 > 0:07:27the £400 a week charge for this room.
0:07:27 > 0:07:29Despite eviction and job losses in the family,
0:07:29 > 0:07:31their local council only agreed to save them from homelessness
0:07:31 > 0:07:34when baby Taylor was born.
0:07:34 > 0:07:37You know what people are going to say, they're going to say
0:07:37 > 0:07:41when you're in this situation, why expand the family?
0:07:41 > 0:07:44They said that, well, the only way we'd become a priority
0:07:44 > 0:07:46is if one of us got pregnant, if we were disabled,
0:07:47 > 0:07:49or if we've just come out of prison.
0:07:49 > 0:07:52So I can understand that but I mean, at the same time,
0:07:52 > 0:07:54I'm of the mindset that being in the situation,
0:07:55 > 0:07:57I've still got to live my life.
0:07:57 > 0:08:01This East End born and bred family were offered
0:08:01 > 0:08:02social housing in Southend,
0:08:02 > 0:08:0542 miles away from their part-time jobs and community.
0:08:05 > 0:08:10If we have the financial backing behind it, and the job,
0:08:10 > 0:08:12the two main things, then no problem,
0:08:12 > 0:08:15we could go and move to Southend.
0:08:15 > 0:08:19There would be no problem.
0:08:19 > 0:08:21Naomi has launched a legal challenge against Barking and Dagenham Council
0:08:21 > 0:08:23to rehouse them in east London.
0:08:23 > 0:08:23The council told us...
0:08:25 > 0:08:27The consequence of the family refusing to move to Southend
0:08:27 > 0:08:32means their duty to help ends.
0:08:32 > 0:08:34London councils have long been accused of social cleansing,
0:08:34 > 0:08:38forcing the homeless, the poor and those on low incomes
0:08:38 > 0:08:41out of London, allowing the wealthier, middle
0:08:41 > 0:08:43and upper-class families to move into areas
0:08:43 > 0:08:45that have long been impoverished and run down.
0:08:45 > 0:08:47Up to 2000 families in temporary accommodation are uprooted
0:08:47 > 0:08:52from their communities every year, some hundreds of miles away.
0:08:52 > 0:08:57London Councils, which represents all our local authorities,
0:08:57 > 0:09:00blame a lack of affordable housing, and told us a majority
0:09:00 > 0:09:03of the placements are on the capital's borders.
0:09:03 > 0:09:05But local authorities are legally obliged
0:09:05 > 0:09:10to rehouse homeless families in or close to their borough.
0:09:10 > 0:09:12I think that dramatic steps have to be taken
0:09:12 > 0:09:20to create a stock of affordable social housing.
0:09:20 > 0:09:25There is the argument, and some people argue this very passionately,
0:09:25 > 0:09:27that if you are reliant on the state,
0:09:27 > 0:09:30you live where you're told to live.
0:09:30 > 0:09:33Well, that's good enough in part, but there's plenty of cases
0:09:33 > 0:09:36of households who are working in London, who are going out,
0:09:36 > 0:09:40paying taxes, working as care assistants, teaching assistants.
0:09:40 > 0:09:45The glue that pulls our society together.
0:09:45 > 0:09:48The reality for more than 50,000 homeless families in London
0:09:48 > 0:09:52is live like this or face moving out of the capital.
0:09:52 > 0:09:56Chris Rogers, BBC London News.
0:09:56 > 0:10:02The weather now with Stav Danaos.
0:10:02 > 0:10:08If we look at the last 24 hours, some strong gust of wind in London.
0:10:08 > 0:10:13Yes, all because of Storm Eleanor, now slowly dying a death across the
0:10:13 > 0:10:18Baltic Sea, but we look west to the next area of low pressure arriving
0:10:18 > 0:10:22overnight, bringing more strong winds in towards Thursday afternoon.
0:10:22 > 0:10:26Overnight, a dry start, then rain comes piling in, heavy at times and
0:10:26 > 0:10:31quite persistent, no lower than 5 degrees, winds fairly light. We
0:10:31 > 0:10:42start with that rain, and then into the afternoon very windy, mild with
0:10:42 > 0:10:44sunshine and showers. A brightening update. Rain and grey skies through
0:10:44 > 0:10:46the morning, brightening up, sunshine and showers, strong gusts
0:10:46 > 0:10:53of wind, touching 60 mph later in the day. On Friday, more rain,
0:10:53 > 0:10:57fairly strong winds, and then conditions turn much colder from the
0:10:57 > 0:11:00north, and that is how it is looking into the weekend, bitterly cold