07/02/2013 Look East - East

Hello and welcome to Look East. In the programme tonight: The NHS in

crisis. Two hospitals under the microscope for high death rates,

two more for multi-million-pound financial incompetence. As the

National Health Service faces critics on all sides, we ask what

In other news: Tens of millions of pounds for new flood defences.

Ipswich, Clacton and Great Yarmouth will benefit. And the cold

conditions continue, but will we get any more snow? The full

A First tonight, a day dominated by huge questions about - and for -

the NHS, and over the most basic of subjects. Are too many people dying

in some of our hospitals? And are millions of pounds of your money

being wasted? We'll come to the finances later, but first high

death rates at two of our hospitals. A reminder: the Government acted in

the wake of the Staffordshire scandal. It highlighted five

hospitals where the mortality rates are ringing alarm bells. First,

Colchester. In the 12 months to June 2012, Colchester treated just

over 51,000 patients. The NHS calculates that in that period

1,851 might have been expected to die. In fact it was more than 2,100,

16% more. Next, Basildon, 1,698 were expected to die. In reality,

more than 1,900, 14% more than expected. We've had reporters at

both hospitals. First, Gareth George at Colchester.

Mac Ryu the letter of apology from the trust that runs Colchester

hospital. It's a sorry for what happened to his father. 93-year-old

war veteran Robert was admitted last year. His son found him

hanging out of bed, a tube ripped out of his leg. I just couldn't

believe my eyes. I just stood there. I tried to move him myself, and the

nurse looked at me and said, he has been there for about an hour. Award

did not take care of my father as much as he was entitled to.

Meanwhile, at the hospital, work is under way on a �25 million

radiotherapy centre. But the trust faces an investigation into what

the NHS described as higher-than- expected patient deaths. We asked

the chief executive here for an interview. He declined, but the

trust has issued a media statement. It says, we will continue our

relentless focus on improving the quality of care and reducing

unexpected deaths. The NHS says a rapid response team will be walking

the wards of the hospital, including the Essex County Hospital

near Colchester can centre, where locals were surprised an

investigation is under way. Do know anyone who has been there?

Yes, I had a friend in there, and they found out -- came out quite

pleased with how they had been treated. I found them perfectly all

right. I think visitors should be allowed into, relatives all day

long, and help care for their own people if they can. Tonight, the

Royal College of Nursing suggested job cuts had contributed to death

rates, a claim dismissed by the Next to Basildon Hospital. We'll

hear from the chief executive in a moment. But first, Kevin Burch has

been gauging opinion in the town. If you look at what has happened

here in recent years, certain phrases keep cropping up to

describe the hospital. Crisis-hit, beleaguered, failing. Unjust,

perhaps, to those trying to make things better, but understandable

given what has gone on in the past. In 2009, worry surfaced over-

mortality rates. There are calls for resignations. The Care Quality

Commission called for improvements in the way young children were

cared for after a 10-year-old girl died and a baby was given an

overdose. Campaigners say they keep hearing reassurances from officials

here, but all that has happened is that sticking plasters have been

put to the problems which run deeper.

The criticism has done little to inspire confidence among patients,

although judging by this snapshot of opinion, there are many who have

nothing but praise. I have lived here for 37 years, and never had a

bit of problem with them. If there is an investigation, hopefully it

will bring to light what is wrong and it can be put right. They got

me in intensive care, no problem. There was a problem and this sort

of it. The investigation, they all believe, will see the depth of any

problems laid bare. It is a hope shared by politicians, too.

These figures are concerning. Patient safety is of paramount

importance. But having met the new management, I believe they will

continue the improvement taking place. Critics argue that the

problems taking place should have been tackled a long time ago. This

investigation is a chance to expose the scale of any failings here,

warts and all, once and for all. Kevin Birch, BBC Look East,

Basildon. Earlier this afternoon I spoke to

Clare Panniker, the chief executive of Basildon and Thurrock University

Hospitals. And I started by putting it to her that this is an issue of

life and death. In just one year more than 200 people died that

weren't expected to. Rather than getting hung up in terms of the

numbers, what is important for me and the border is to focus on how

we improve, the quality of care at that patients receive here, so that

we can be sure and they can be sure that they will come to no harm when

they are at our hospital, and they receive high quality care delivered

by a skilled professionals in a timely and effective and efficient

way. What do you think is going wrong that causes these figures?

What we need to be doing in the organisation and the hospital is

making sure that we manage the care about are acutely unwell patients

and emergency care patients coming into the hospital so that they get

reviewed by consultants early in their admission, within 12 hours.

They get daily reviewed thereafter by a consultant, and they are cared

for by the right number of highly trained nursing staff on the wards.

Are you saying that has not been happening? I am saying that the

whole of the NHS is moving to a much more consultants delivered

service, that the presence of consultants in the hospital seven

days a week and into the evenings is something which the whole NHS

has been trying to implement over the last few years. But we are

talking about your hospital. Yours is one of five that is being

pinpointed as needing an investigation. We are speeding up

our efforts to have the consultants here for extended periods of the

day and at the weekends to make sure that we have senior decision-

making, senior responsible clinicians, in the hospital. What

you know about the investigation and the form it is going to take?

know very little about it. We only learned of the investigation

yesterday. We understand that other clinical professionals will be

pulled in to help with the work. But the emphasis of the review is

to ensure that the trusts have the right support in place in order to

limit the changes that need to be made. You haven't been in position

that long. You have had to deal with a very for -- poor CTC report.

You have an uphill battle to restore faith in this hospital.

is a challenge, but already I can see signs of improvement in the

hospital. I can see evidence that the staff are really up for change

and want to make a difference, and want to improve the quality of care,

so I feel very motivated and optimistic that we can deliver the

care at Basildon Hospital that the And finally, just a word about the

rest of our hospitals. According to the league tables, death rates

across the board are normal. Apart from two hospitals, where the rates

are actually quite a bit lower than average. They are the James Paget

in Gorleston and Addenbrooke's in Cambridge. Later in the programme,

more on the NHS - this time the financial scandal at Hinchingbrooke

and Peterborough Hospitals. A Four major flood protection schemes

for the region have been given the green light. They're to get a share

of extra funding announced today by the Government and designed to

protect homes and businesses. Today's funding is for flood

defence schemes, which will bring the greatest benefit to homes and

people. Four areas stand to gain from almost �75 million of cash.

One of the area's most susceptible to flooding is here, around the

industry's and 4,000 homes of Great Yarmouth. Today it has received

almost �29 million which will go towards a fund to repair and

replace part of the flood wall. A 2007, this area suffered a huge

tidal wave. The defences held, but being low-lying and surrounded by

water, it is particularly at risk. Another area at risk is in Ipswich.

Work of a tidal barrier across the river is expected to start next

June, protecting tens of thousands of acres of development land as

well as 1,500 home us. It is important for Ipswich because it

protects the sad -- town centre. We have been fighting very hard to

protect this money. We have got it back, Government's list after some

incredibly hard work. Funding for Clacton will be spent on coastal

erosion measures which will prevent some 19,000 properties from

flooding along the Clacton coastline. Austin King's Lynn, the

flood gates at fishing fleet key will be prepared -- repaired,

protecting thousands of homes. The schemes are being supported with

partnership funding for businesses and local councils.

The disgraced former leader of Essex County Council has been

giving evidence in a legal action against Essex Police. Lord

Hanningfield told the court about being arrested at his home just

days after he was released from a prison sentence for fiddling his

parliamentary expenses. He claims he was on the verge of a nervous

breakdown and the arrest was unlawful. The police were

investigating his council expenses, but no charges were brought.

They're defending his action for damages, claiming they had

reasonable grounds for arresting Charges have been dropped against a

man who filmed himself wandering around the headquarters of Norfolk

County Council. Tom Smith, who lives in Trafalgar Street, had been

due to appear before magistrates. The episode raised questions about

A Catholic priest from Norfolk who was arrested as part of an

investigation into child sex abuse has stepped down. The Reverend Tony

McSweeney was held by the police working on Operation Fernbridge. He

was later released on police bail. Father Tony McSweeney has been a

priest for almost 28 years. Today the diocese of East Anglia

confirmed in a statement that he has voluntarily withdrawn for all

active ministry. The statement goes on: This is a neutral act that

makes no judgment of guilt or innocence. Father McSweeney was

arrested yesterday as part of an operation investigating claims of

sexual abuse in south London 30 years ago. The 66-year-old priest

was also a director at a high school in Norwich. He has now

resigned that post, and the school Father McSweeney is currently on

Southend Airport has gained another route. From May, easyJet will fly

to Edinburgh six days a week. It brings the airline's total number

of routes at Southend to 15. The airport is expanding under the

With less than a day to go to the deadline, a disused defence base in

Norfolk has only attracted one bid on an internet auction site. RAF

Neatishead is up for sale on eBay with a starting price of �2.5

million. The bid was placed on Monday. Bidding ends early tomorrow

afternoon. The identity of the sole A former stately home once billed

as one of the most popular wedding venues in East Anglia is back on

the market for around �2 million. In 2009, parts of Bylaugh Hall near

Dereham were repossessed by the banks, leaving a number of couples

denied their dream weddings. This stunning stately home in 19,000

acres, now in disrepair, partly demolished and for sale. This is

the library. It is on the South West side of the house, and has

wonderful views over the valley. We think that a buyer might want to

run it as a wedding venue, letting rooms. Someone might want to turn

it into a boutique hotel. Somebody might want to turn it back into a

stately home. The family won the estate as the result of a card game

in 1796. It was home to a bomber support group in the Second World

War. Derelict for 50 years, it was bought in 2000 by Stephen Vince.

Parts of the estate were repossessed in 2009. Wedding

couples lost their deposits. Debts run into millions of pounds.

Stephen been some blamed the credit crunch and the banks, but he did

preserve parts of the building, which are already falling into

disrepair. As you can see, the previous owners

spend a small fortune trying to restore the house, but a lot more

money is needed to finish it off. A health spa and white room was

started but never finished. A roof was never replaced. It could have a

future, and that is why I am saying that people who want to buy it

should have a very clear vision, but more importantly, have very

deep pockets. The hall, with its additional property, sounds

relatively cheap, but its council taxpayers �40,000, and the repair

bill is expected to run into Back now to the NHS and a damning

report from a group of MPs. They were looking at Hinchingbrooke, an

NHS hospital run by a private company. And, 24 miles down the

road, the new Peterborough Hospital. The MPs say there had been a

complete lack of strategic oversight. The sums didn't add up.

And as a result, the future of both hospitals is in doubt. In a moment,

what the region's health authority made of the report, and we'll hear

from the local MP. But first, this report from our political

correspondent Andrew Sinclair. It was all so different six years

ago. There was great excitement in Peterborough as, after 14 years of

waiting, work was finally beginning on a brand new hospital, a private

company paying for it it all and leasing it back to the NHS. If we

want new health care facilities in Peterborough, and I am passionate

we do, the only way to do that is PFI. There were warnings at the

time about the cost of the deal, and they were proved right. The

hospital trust has run up a deficit of �45 million, and MPs are

outraged. Back in December, the Public Accounts Committee called in

NHS managers to try to find out what had gone wrong. The chair

didn't mince her words. Nobody has been held to account. It almost

seems to me I can issue negligence here. And I have never felt that on

another NHS report. In its report published today, her committee

questions the decision to build a new hospital just 24 miles away

from the one at Hinchinbrook, in a part of the region with an over-

provision of acute health care. The trust failed to recognise the

strain that would be put on trust The management at Peterborough

hospital has since changed, so no apologies from here, just a

recognition of the trouble the hospital is now we in. The reality

is that we will be paying, as a country, for this fabulous facility

for the next 30 years. The Government is under contract. The

Secretary of State has said that this hospital will not close. So

the question is, how do we make the best use of it? MPs are also

unhappy about Hinchingbrooke. It has so far not achieved the savings

expected. This private bid, it is said, was also not properly

assessed. At the end of the day, the buck stops with the strategic

health authority. They wanted to push ahead with this experiment.

They were the ones who proved the PFI build up. They should be held

to account. The Department of Health promised the findings of

this report would be swept under the carpet. The financial viability

of both hospitals is now being questioned. The taxpayer has lost

millions of pounds. But no one seemed prepared to accept

responsibility. Andrew MacPherson is the Director

of Customer Service Strategy for the Strategic Health Authority.

Earlier this afternoon I put it to him that the authority appears to

be washing its hands of any responsibility.

It is not a question of washing our hands. We will continue to work

with the legal regulator and the trust itself to ensure it has a

sustainable future. In the report, it says: The status of Peter Bryan

Stamford as a foundation trust did not justify the strategic health

authority, your organisation, abdicating their responsibilities

in the areas we have been talking about. This is in the report.

chief executive made it quite clear that the legal entity responsible

for governing that hospital is indeed Monitor, and while that is

not an abdication on our part, it is a legal clarity. A complete lack

a strategic oversight resulted in separate decisions being taken to

build a new PFI hospital in Peterborough. Strategic. Comes

right to your door again. At the end of the day, we refute that

particular statement. It was a collective series of events with

different bodies working with the trust, that arrived at that

position. If somebody came to with a similar PFI request to build a

hospital somewhere in the region similar to the one for Peterborough,

what would you do now? I think the process would be not dissimilar in

many respects. The appropriate business case would be evaluated,

an examination of whether there was a demand, whether the market was

there, whether indeed it was sustainable, and whether, most

important, patient and the community needed that kind of

facility in whatever area it was dedicated -- designated to be.

you would look at the financial sustainability of it? Father there

was a need for it? Why didn't you do that in Peterborough? Of that

examination was an integral part of the business case. But it has been

shown that the financial arrangements were very hard to live

with. �1 million a week, they are losing. Certainly the situation

subsequently, subsequent to the decision been taken, did indeed

deteriorate. And it has ended with a hospital in deep debt. As I say,

time has moved on, and certainly the hospital is extremely

challenged, as the report has made quite clear. We are working hard

with stakeholders and the community to rectify that problem.

A Mr Macpherson, thank you. Stewart Jackson is the local MP. He is in

Peterborough now. What do you make of that? It doesn't stack up. It

was clear at the committee meeting in September that no one was

willing to be honest and say, we are culpable. William MacKay, paid

�2 million a year as chief executive of the Trust, took his

eye off the ball. It is a catalogue of errors. The word catastrophic

has been used in terms of the deal for taxpayers. And unfortunately,

tax payers and my constituents are going to have to live with these

mistakes for the foreseeable future. The Government is chipping in to

help them meet this �50 million per year that they are in trouble over.

They can't go on doing that. Will Peter Brooke Hospital have to Danns

del? -- downsize? I think there are going to have to be tough decisions

taken about services and how the PFI contract is working. But

ultimately, my priority as the local MP is that we retain an

enhanced service there. I have had an undertaking from the Secretary

of State himself that there is no question that a hospital will be

closed. Given our local health care economy, it is an issue for the

Department of Health to sort out this mess with the Private Finance

Initiative which we inherited from the previous government. You say

enhanced. Surely this is a hospital losing money already. If it does

more, it will lose more money. of the issues is the fact that

there was no strategic thinking about how different district

general hospitals could compete in a relatively small health care

economy. That doesn't mean Peterborough hasn't got centres of

excellence, brilliant staff and the affections of local people. I think

obviously the financial problems are paramount, but it is a viable

health care facility. If we can work towards sharing facilities

with other hospitals, working with commissioners like local GPs, etc,

there is a way forward, but ultimately, they will have to be

some top-level decisions to sort this mess out by the Treasury.

Mr Jackson, thank you for being The wintry feeling our weather

continues. It will be cold enough tonight for a frost and the risk of

icy patches on untreated surfaces. You can see a couple of things

going on. We still have this north- westerly wind, not quite as strong

but bringing with it the chance of some wintry showers. We have also

had this weather front pushing in from the West. It has weakened as

it has done so. It has brought little bits of patchy rain. We

might just see a little more of that across parts of Essex and into

the south of the region. Elsewhere it does look largely drive. Some of

these wintry showers could well affect parts of Norfolk.

Temperatures quite widely below freezing. A little more cloud in

the east. Certainly in the countryside it is quite possible we

could get a couple of degrees below freezing. These are the values for

towns and cities. This is the pressure pattern for

tomorrow. We have a weather front strung across us. The East might

see some bright whether to start with, but then patchy rain will

push its way through, and they could be a wintry flavour to this.

Another very cold day on the way. Tempered as tomorrow, three or four

Celsius. -- temperatures tomorrow. Into the afternoon and evening, as

the temperatures fall away, little flurries of snow, but they

shouldn't really amount to very much. Interesting weather is

looking like Sunday. A weather front putsches in from the Atlantic,

and that has the potential to produce some snow, but there is

still a lot of uncertainty over the details, so stay tuned to the

forecast. Certainly we are still establishing the details for that.

For the next couple of days, it is looking like it will stay cold and

mainly dry for Saturday. Much of Sunday does look dry, but later in

the day, the potential for some of that rain to turn to sleet and snow,

meaning quite a wintry start to next week. Still cold into the

middle of next week, and an Thank you very much. Susie

apologises for coughing. apologises for coughing.