:00:13. > :00:21.the programme tonight: Here to save lives that some private ambulance
:00:21. > :00:24.workers brought in to cover for the East of England Amublance Service
:00:25. > :00:29.are sleeping in tents. They say it is the only way to make ends meet on
:00:29. > :00:36.their allowances. The educational skills gap being blamed for stifling
:00:36. > :00:42.economic growth in our cities. Taking the pressure off A&E.
:00:42. > :00:49.Corby's official centre gets its opening. And her daughter was killed
:00:49. > :00:59.by a driver with their eyesight. Now Jackie McCord backs new campaign
:00:59. > :01:02.
:01:02. > :01:06.were drivers eyesight is tested every two-year is.
:01:06. > :01:11.Hello and welcome. It has emerged that some ambulance crews in this
:01:11. > :01:20.region are sleeping intense to save money. The workers are employed by a
:01:20. > :01:26.private ambulance company to cover shifts. Staff say the �35 a day
:01:26. > :01:30.loans is not enough. For some the only way to make ends meet is to
:01:30. > :01:35.camp. Nestled in a shaded spot at this
:01:35. > :01:39.campsite is a tent which is home to a man who works on the medical
:01:39. > :01:45.front-line. The ambulance worker who owns this tent has left it behind
:01:45. > :01:48.for a week because he has gone back home to the Midlands. Holiday-makers
:01:48. > :01:54.around here admit they were surprised to discover paramedics
:01:54. > :02:00.sleeping in tents. We were very shocked to see it was ambulance
:02:00. > :02:04.people staying in the tents. We saw one comeback late one evening, make
:02:04. > :02:12.himself a cup of tea and go straight to bed. The East of England
:02:12. > :02:17.ambulance service ambulance trust has several contracts. A worker says
:02:18. > :02:23.it is hard for them to find cheap accommodation and for meals on a
:02:23. > :02:30.daily allowance of �35. It does not surprise me. Highfield to see how
:02:30. > :02:37.you can travel from another trust area and have an hotel room or a B&B
:02:37. > :02:42.on those rates. An Internet search shows that the cheapest hotel room
:02:42. > :02:48.that could be found was... The ambulance staff have been using this
:02:48. > :02:55.site since early July. It can be a lot of fun but it is not great day
:02:55. > :03:05.in, day out. You may want to unwind after a tough shift. The agency
:03:05. > :03:06.
:03:06. > :03:10.should look carefully at how much support it is giving its staff.
:03:10. > :03:20.East of England Amublance Service say the provide a loans is above
:03:20. > :03:28.
:03:28. > :03:33.Service staff are paid �10 50 an hour and they cost is behind the
:03:34. > :03:41.decision to camp. Is this a practice the government is
:03:41. > :03:47.aware of? I asked by health Minister Doctor Dan Poulter early -- earlier
:03:47. > :03:51.this evening. It is not a practice I am aware of and one that I find
:03:51. > :03:56.concerning. First from a staff welfare point of view. And the fact
:03:56. > :04:03.it is difficult to provide high quality patient care if you have not
:04:03. > :04:07.had a good night's sleep. I do not think a tent is a good place for our
:04:07. > :04:14.health care member of staff to spend the night. Whose fault is this? Is
:04:14. > :04:16.it the private company or East of England Amublance Service?
:04:16. > :04:21.Ultimately the contracts are given by the ambulance trust and this is
:04:21. > :04:26.something they will have to look at seriously. A couple of months ago we
:04:26. > :04:29.had the marsh report which was a damning report into management and
:04:29. > :04:33.suggested among other things they need to invest more in the front
:04:34. > :04:39.line and employ more front-line paramedics because too much money
:04:39. > :04:42.was being spent in the back office. This reinforces this message. In the
:04:42. > :04:49.meantime they need to look seriously at some of the contracts were coming
:04:49. > :04:56.-- giving out, both from the welfare of these staff and patients. Is the
:04:56. > :05:02.government pushing the ambulance trust down this route to get cheaper
:05:02. > :05:12.cover? Not at all. The NHS is getting more money through the life
:05:12. > :05:13.
:05:13. > :05:15.of this Parliament. A report highlighted there has been gross
:05:15. > :05:22.mismanagement in East of England Amublance Service. Many senior
:05:22. > :05:25.managers have moved on but a challenge is making sure the money
:05:25. > :05:31.they ambulance service receives is spent on investing in the front line
:05:31. > :05:35.and more ambulances and an more front-line paramedics. We have some
:05:35. > :05:41.fantastic paramedics in the East of England, they need to be backed up
:05:41. > :05:44.by better management. We assess East of England Amublance Service for a
:05:44. > :05:48.statement, but it did not refer to the issue of staff sleeping in
:05:48. > :05:54.tents. It is hoped a new health centre for
:05:54. > :05:58.Corby will help reduce waiting times at A&E in the area. The town does
:05:58. > :06:04.not have its own hospital which means patients need emergency care
:06:04. > :06:10.-- need emergency care have had to travel to Kettering general, a
:06:10. > :06:14.hospital regularly criticised for missing its A&E targets. The message
:06:14. > :06:18.is if you do not need an ambulance to take you to hospital, if you do
:06:18. > :06:23.not need nine a name, then you should consider the urgent care
:06:23. > :06:32.centre. Because we can deliver that level of care. The benefit of the
:06:32. > :06:34.centre is it is designed to reduce the pressure on Kettering general.
:06:34. > :06:40.1000 fewer people went to Kettering last month because they were treated
:06:40. > :06:48.here. My son has used that centre and said it is very good, very
:06:48. > :06:52.efficient and quick. I think it is marvellous because Kettering A&E as
:06:52. > :06:58.horrific. You would not cause they are unless you were dying! Has the
:06:58. > :07:04.centre being good for you? Yes, it is a lovely place. It is one of the
:07:04. > :07:13.fastest-growing towns in the country, does it need a hospital of
:07:13. > :07:17.its own? What the surgeon -- health centre provides is high-quality
:07:17. > :07:21.care, keeping people out of hospital and safe in their own homes which is
:07:21. > :07:30.where people should be and most people want to be. They need to know
:07:31. > :07:33.the gas safe -- the RCA. There is scope to grow the centre and it is
:07:33. > :07:40.hoped once funding becomes available, other services may be
:07:41. > :07:49.added. We would like to see in Corby and expansion of services. We would
:07:49. > :07:54.like to see an expansion of more day case procedures. The good keys --
:07:54. > :07:57.news is that the centre has met all its waiting time targets. It is
:07:57. > :08:07.through the coming winter when the real impact and work of the Centre
:08:07. > :08:08.
:08:08. > :08:12.will really be known. Pupils results could be holding back
:08:12. > :08:15.businesses in Peterborough and Northampton according to a study by
:08:15. > :08:21.the independent research group centre facilities. It says smaller
:08:21. > :08:25.businesses make up 99% of all firms in the UK. But they can only succeed
:08:25. > :08:31.if they can find employees with the right skills. Many see exam results
:08:31. > :08:36.as key. But in Peterborough and Northampton fewer than 50% of
:08:36. > :08:40.students achieved five or more GCSEs at grade C or above. It places them
:08:40. > :08:44.in the bottom ten towns and cities in the UK.
:08:44. > :08:49.For more than 30 years they have been servicing the motor community
:08:50. > :08:54.in Peterborough. When it comes to finding workers, it has not always
:08:54. > :08:58.been easy. We have recently tried to recruit for a technician, we were
:08:58. > :09:02.specific about the skills we wanted. We had a lot of applicants and none
:09:02. > :09:07.of them are the skills we were asking for. But it is not just
:09:07. > :09:13.Peterborough. In Northamptonshire, despite the council working to raise
:09:13. > :09:18.standards and for assisting technical colleges, it is still an
:09:18. > :09:22.issue that business leaders want to address. It is disappointing that it
:09:22. > :09:30.has not done so well. I am convinced it is on an up hill trajectory and
:09:30. > :09:34.we in the business world will want to do all we can that -- to make
:09:34. > :09:39.sure young people can achieve all that they can achieve. This job
:09:39. > :09:46.centre highlights the challenges. can only do hands-on jobs like
:09:46. > :09:50.gardening. They have got work that they want us to do, but it is
:09:50. > :09:56.whether we are capable of doing that work. It has been difficult to get a
:09:56. > :10:03.job. I have had difficulties getting a job in the past. Luckily my dad
:10:03. > :10:07.got me a job. The city insist they are doing all they can. We spoke to
:10:07. > :10:12.the council about the report and easy a record 1400 businesses were
:10:12. > :10:18.set up in the city last year. They say that UCSC grades are improving
:10:18. > :10:21.and that soon that and new skills centre will be set up in the city.
:10:21. > :10:29.For this Peterborough company, they favour finding apprentices to train
:10:29. > :10:34.them in the way of working. In Cambridge, the education picture
:10:34. > :10:40.is very different. It is in the top ten places for exam results with
:10:40. > :10:44.more than 60% of pupils getting five or more high grade GCSEs. The number
:10:44. > :10:48.of small businesses developing here is also high. The Centre for cities
:10:48. > :10:53.report found in areas with a highly skilled workforce were more
:10:53. > :10:56.entrepreneurial. Today a workshop -- road show in Cambridge was trying to
:10:57. > :11:02.an courage more people to start up their own business.
:11:02. > :11:08.This bus is rolled into town to encourage people to set up their own
:11:08. > :11:13.business. Upstairs, others are getting free expert tips on how to
:11:13. > :11:20.get moving. I am starting up a new business and web design and we have,
:11:20. > :11:23.long to get some advice on marketing and finding customers. It has been
:11:23. > :11:27.really helpful. Alison Taylor got her business off the ground last
:11:27. > :11:33.year. After a steep learning curve it is going well and she has simple
:11:33. > :11:38.advice. Write a business plan, go to the bank and talk to them about it.
:11:38. > :11:48.Talk to anyone you would think you would want an opinion on your idea.
:11:48. > :11:51.
:11:51. > :11:57.She has benefited from the Cambridgeshire market. Do the
:11:57. > :12:01.aspirational targets you make it easier here? I think it is by
:12:01. > :12:08.networking. It is the idea that there is the fragility out there. If
:12:08. > :12:13.people are around peers, and interesting things, it will work.
:12:13. > :12:18.is hoped the networking done here will prove to provide another drive
:12:18. > :12:23.for Dion and yours here. The Royal Train could leave its home
:12:23. > :12:28.in Wolverton in Milton Keynes after more than 150 years. Railcare who
:12:28. > :12:33.currently look after it, went into administration last week. Network