04/01/2017 Look East (West)

Coming up on Wednesday's programme.

Our hospitals battle their busiest winter period ever.

The system is very, very congested at the moment.

So, a system that was already very full, the last thing

you need is to be closing areas to further admissions.

Why the rise of a "sleeping" disease with no symptoms

New Year - New Hopes and fears for Brexit.

Our politicians make their predictions for 2017.

The temperatures dropping overnight, bringing a sharp frost. I will have

all the weather details. First tonight, our

hospitals at crisis point - again - with some A

departments saying this festive period has been

their busiest ever. Tonight, the Lister,

Milton Keynes Hospital, Kettering General and

Peterborough are all on what is called "Black Alert" -

operating at full capacity. And Northampton General has more

acute patients this evening It has prompted fresh calls

for patients to stay away from A unless it is a genuine emergency.

Stuart Ratcliffe reports. Here in Northampton,

every day for the last ten years, this A department

has seen an increase We have shades of black now, like

most of the rest of the country. In reality, what does it mean

if a hospital is on black alert? It means we stop a lot of things

that we would normally do and focus all of our attention

on the urgent care system. We may be stopping some

routine operations. But we are really spending

every degree of effort, discretionary effort, particularly

on sorting the situation out. One particular pressure

point this year has been the number of patients

with severe respiratory problems - problems which could have

been avoided had the patients sought help from their GP

before infection set in. We had a very large

number of people who required some mechanical

support on ventilation, But that got to the point

where we had to bring in more ventilators, we had to hire them in.

We did that and it was great. People had to change

what they were doing, in terms of teams supporting

these very sick people. They did a fabulous job.

But it was a lot of hard work. At Addenbrooke's in Cambridge,

the hospital is not only it is also now trying to cope

with an outbreak of flu. There are ten ward

areas currently closed because of patients

admitted with flu. We are putting restrictions on the

number of visitors to the hospital, in order to reduce

the risk Of people bringing flu into the hospital

and transmitting that to both Over in Peterborough,

the hospital is also struggling. It has gone beyond black

alert, operating at The more patients you have,

the more difficult it becomes for us all to give the degree of care

and attention that we wish to do So, it is certainly not

a position any of us But we and our system

partners are working as hard as possible, to try

and get the number down and to try and increase

the flow through the hospital, therefore,

reducing the pressure Our ambulance services

are also under pressure. Both the East of England and South

Central seeing a surge in demand. The largest increase has been

in the East Midlands. Over the Christmas

and New Year period, the number of red calls, that is,

potentially life-threatening calls, doubled and, in the first

six hours of 2017, the Ambulance Service received

1,153 emergency calls. What ambulance trusts

and hospitals fear now is a sharp updrop in temperature,

which would mean A further rise in the burn. -- team

earned. With me now is Dr Adrian Boyle,

from the College of Emergency Medicine, and a consultant

at A at Addenbrooke's. Dr Boyle, why are winter

pressures this year so bad? This is a situation which has been

building for a long time. We simply do not have enough beds.

What is the risk of running at full capacity?

Absolutely. Infection control is a big problem. But we are also having

to postpone other activities. It all has a knock-on effect.

What is the knock-on effect of emergency departments

being full on the rest of the health care system?

From what I hear, all my colleagues in primary care are operating at

capacity, as well. The information can be confusing, because you

sometimes get told to stay away from accident and emergency, but when you

phone 101, you are often called -- instructed to go to accident and

emergency. This is not so much about accident emergency, it is more about

people who need to be admitted to hospital.

What is needed to improve the situation right now?

Planned activities are bound to be cancelled.

Is there extra money available from the central NHS coffers

for extreme circumstances? Should there be?

We actually have the least number of parents of any country in Europe. We

need two things. We need more hospital beds and we need better

social care. We keep hearing that the health services are having to

make big cuts all the time. That is a big problem. What is the morale

wake amongst staff? When we get colluding waitress, clearly, it puts

pressure on everyone. Thank you very much for joining us.

A 38-year-old man from Essex has been arrested

in connection with a hit-and-run crash in Cambridgeshire

The incident happened in Yaxley, near Peterborough, yesterday.

Police are trying to establish whether it is

linked to the discovery of a briefcase full of cash nearby.

A quiet moment on the edge of the busy road. Tributes been left at the

spot where two young men were hit by a car yesterday, after which the

driver drove off. The two people were believed to be in the late

teens or early 20s. Our condolences go out to the loved ones of the

families of the two young men who tragically lost their lives

yesterday. It is a very sad time. Normally, the sort of thing does not

happen around here. As you can see, you can see how fast and busy this

road is. Officers searching for the driver of BMW the arrested a man in

Chelmsford last night and arrested him on suspicion of actual bodily

harm. They want to see if the suspect is linked at a break-in at

the nearby address, after the suitcase full of money was found

nearby. Doctors in Peterborough

say they are seeing a growing number of patients

with "sleeping Tuberculosis". Unlike active TB,

there are no symptoms But health chiefs are keen

to ensure the bug does not A screening programme rolled out

in May has seen the highest number of samples being

processed in the UK. It is an airborne infection

that affects the lungs. Tuberculosis was a big

killer in this country Fast-forward to the 21st century,

and so-called sleeping tuberculosis As long as we pick it up

early, it shouldn't cause At this clinic in Peterborough,

patients deemed to be at risk from the latent infection

are being invited in for screening. There is a lot of different groups

coming to Peterborough, so obviously, as their doctors,

we really want to protect them and we also want to protect our

other patients, as well. So, I think, finding a disease

like latent TB early and treating it helps protect both the patients,

but also the rest of The vaccine for TB was phased out

a decade ago, but rising levels of migration from high-risk

countries has seen health bosses in Cambridgeshire introduce a pilot

screening programme. We have got about 12 practices

involved across Peterborough and the pilot has been

running since May. We have had a fantastic

response from our GP teams. They have screened over 250 people

and we have now got 30 people in treatment for the latent form

of the disease that, otherwise, would not have known

that they had it. One of 60 programmes in the country,

it has sent in the highest number Data from the region's clinical

commissioning groups show that between 2013 and 2015, there were,

on average, 26 cases of TB detected in Milton Keynes,

42 across Northamptonshire, 63 in Luton, and 85

in Cambridgeshire - the highest number in this

part of the region. It is estimated that a third

of the world's population is infected with latent

TB and one in ten goes A century ago, TB was a big

problem in this country, but improved housing and sanitation

has seen a stark drop in figures. Scientists in this Cambridge

laboratory have sequenced the TB genome, looking at drug-resistant

bugs, in order to find In the United Kingdom,

the rates of tuberculous have declined over the last few years

and, I think, last year, there were about 6,000 cases,

which was down from about But tuberculosis has never

disappeared from the UK and is unlikely to do

so in the foreseeable future. While latent TB is not contagious,

doctors are urging people who have settled in this country in the past

five years to be tested, in order to help eradicate this

once-widespread illness. A non-league footballer

from Hitchin Town has been sacked, after abusing Bournemouth midfielder

Harry Arter over the death Alfie Barker, who is 19,

posted, "Big hype, just for a disappointment,

like the nine months leading up Barker issued an apology

on Wednesday for his "disgraceful It has been revealed that a level

crossing in Bedfordshire where a driver died yesterday

was due to be replaced The man's car was hit by a train

close to Lidlington, near Marston Moretaine,

at around ten o'clock British Transport Police

are investigating. Network Rail say a consultation has

already started to find a suitable The line is due to be upgraded,

as part of plans to improve east-west rail links

between Bedford and Cambridge. -- and is due to appear in court

next month. -- the Chino Ajax accused of murder is due to appear

in court next month. You're watching Look East

with David and me. Stay with us for the debut novelist

who's just won a top award. Alex has got your

weather forecast, and we're at the zoo on the day

they made sure everyone Well, whatever your views

on politics, you have to admit 2016 was a watershed year,

both here and across the world. David Cameron out of Downing Street

in the summer after Britain And Donald Trump heading

for the White House. All this week, our correspondents

are gazing into their crystal balls to consider what the year

ahead will bring. Tonight, our political correspondent

Andrew Sinclair talks to political figures in our region about a 2017

which will almost certainly be Last year's referendum led to the

creation of a newspaper. Published in Norwich, the New Year appearance

reflects the views -- views of those who voted to stay and six months on,

many haven't given up hope. A portion of our readers are holding

out that we will get a second opportunity to back out of this

through a second referendum or a general election. Brexit will

dominate British politics for a long time to come. The only thing we know

is that nobody knows anything right now. It may be two years ago but

there is growing pressure on the government to explain how Brexit

will affect us. MPs of all parties say the uncertainty is starting to

worry local employers. EasyJet, an airline based on European travel

being easy, Vauxhall, where we can't get away with higher tariffs, that

is one small part of our region. We need answers many of these

questions. Politicians will be at the forefront of this year's Brexit

negotiations. The early work will be done here at the European Parliament

and one of our Euro MPs will pay eight key role. -- play a key role.

I want to keep as many things the same. The EU is over half of our

exports for the Easterby and and I want to make sure that doesn't fall

off a cliff. At Westminster, Ben Gummer is in charge of making sure

government departments are prepared for Brexit. Agriculture Secretary,

Andrea Leadsom, will have to make it work for farmers. Stuart Jackson is

a key aide to David Davis. Meanwhile those of our MPs that leading

figures in the leave campaign will be watching closely. Worried that

some in the government will be trying to drag their feet. We know

there are people in Parliament that have made it clear that they don't

accept the result and want to play the long game. The Longo time we

take to exit, the more chance of some event occurring which would put

it off. You sound like you were worried this may never happen. I am.

It seems appropriate that 2017 should've started with fireworks at

Westminster. A lot more will follow as Brexit begins.

Peter Bone is worried that Brexit may yet be scuppered - is he right?

Look at the row over the resignation of our ambassador in Brussels. There

is this suspicion that there are elements of the civil service, the

press, Parliament who will try to scupper Brexit or slow things down

and not make it work. The official line from Whitehall is that the

referendum must be respected. We are leaving. If you look at the Labour

Party, there are MPs like -- that feel they will vote against article

15. Norman Lamb wants a second referendum and hinting they will

slow things down in Parliament. Six months on, I am still speaking to

people who believe Brexit can be stopped. They believe it can be

stopped. I think it is a long shot but people are trying. We will be

talking a lot Brexit but will anything change? On one front, no.

The Brexit talks will have just begun and we will be for members of

the European Union. What I think will be far more different will be

uncertainty. Gavin was talking about that in my piece. Firms and

institutions, research is Egyptian plan five or ten years ahead and

students plan five or ten years ahead. What our future relationship

will be is something that will worried them and we will be talking

a lot about that. Which voter would you say symbolised Margaret

Thatcher's success in the 1980s? That will be Essex man. That is

right. That's right and Essex

man, or at least some It follows news that commercial

vehicles are being banned from parking on a new housing

estate in Colchester. The builder, Persimmon Homes, said

the rule was designed to protect The local MP said the ban

sounds like snobbery. The Luke Wood Meadows estate has

already made headlines. He was set by his 300,000 dream home until he

realised he wouldn't be able to park his works fan outside his house

because of a restrictive covenant that bars commercial vehicles. Not

far from the estate, builders were working on an extension and Matthew,

plumbing and heating engineer, said he thought the van ban was unfair.

It is ridiculous and discriminating against someone who goes to work and

works hard. Just because they use a van, it is outrageous. At the

florist, they use a van fit delivers and were not impressed. It labels

people with the type of jobs that they do. It is good enough to be an

office worker but not good enough to be a tradesman and park your vehicle

at your own property. Colchester's MP is a former property lawyer and

he wants an end to restrictive covenants that Bob commercial

vehicles. There were lots of hard working people that rely on vans,

use bands often. It is their only mode of transport and say they can

build a house but not able to live in one because they can't park there

than there is snobbery. Persimmon Homes,, they said...

At the estate, residents said they were happy with the band but not

all. People should be allowed to have whatever vehicle they wish. If

they purchased out -- purchased a house, they should have whatever

vehicle parked on the driveway. The only white van we spotted was

leaving. The writer from Cambridge who's won

a major award for his first novel. Francis Spufford

is best-known for his His latest work, Golden Hill,

is his first novel and it's won the Costa Book Award

for a debut novel. I'm delighted to say Francis

is in our Cambridge newsroom now. Good evening. Well, congratulations.

Thank you very much. Before we go into how you found out about this

award, what is the book about? It is about a suspicious in man with a

suspicious name of Smithfield intones opinion New York in winter

1746 when instead of being a gigantic world city, it is still

basically a village where everyone knows everyone. You are not used to

being a well published author. How did you make the transition? Was

there something you always had in your mind that you thought one day

you would put it to paper? Not this thing but I always thought I had an

appointment with fiction sometime in the future. Code is held me back for

years and years. It is only now in my 50s that I felt I wouldn't make a

total fool of myself if I did it. They say there is a good book in

most people. In 2007, you were nominated a Royal fellow of the

Royal Society of literature. Here you have done it and you have this

prestigious award. I suppose anybody watching, if you have an idea, do

it. Absolutely but this is where the writing teacher in me comes out. It

is extremely hard work getting from the golden glowing idea through to

the actual words on the page and it is a process of turmoil and

compromise and disappointment from time to time. It is worth

persisting. When did you find out you have the award? I have to reveal

the inner workings because they told me before Christmas and I have been

sitting on this news and biting my tongue for the last ten days.

Difficult to keep that information. Wouldn't it be great to have

revealed it before Christmas? I couldn't possibly comment. The think

you now is you have the debut novel and it has done well. If you get the

overall award, you now have the difficult second album of coming up

with another album. There is two in their jostling like two fat people

trying to get through a revolving door. It is about London over the

last 50 or 60 years starting with a bang. Congratulations again.

What do lions, giraffes, ringtailed lemurs and Madagascan

Well they were all part of the big annual

stock take today at the Africa Alive Zoo near Lowestoft.

In fact every zoo has to count all its animals

You can't miss a giraffe but at Africa Alive Zoo, they have to count

them all the same. You are going to steal it all? We have four. Not easy

to tell apart if you don't work with them every day. When you do, you can

easily see how different they lock. No surprises. Zoe locks the official

number and the giraffes are ticked off the list. We do it to make sure

our records are the same as what we have and we put it on a large

database and nine times out of ten, we have the same and it matches up.

The only times he might not as if we have a birth. They have 2000 animals

at the zoo and they are not big. These are Madagascan hissing

cockroaches. There is an angry one. What causes them to hiss? Little

holes in their body. They suck in air and blow it out. They live in

the same place as the ring tailed lemur and they like to eat them for

their dinner. These are the ring tailed lemurs. All males and keen to

get their hands on some snacks. The keepers thought there were nine and

there are nine. Most of the time, that is how it is. You do get to see

new births and it is an excuse to walk over. It is nice to see the new

arrivals because you don't always see them if you work in a different

part of the park. They will start to crunch the numbers and arrive at the

official total and they'll do it all again in the year's time.

The lemur's always steal the show. I have held a scorpion and a cockroach

but not at the same time. Good evening. It will be eight very

cold night night. This was a dramatic photograph that caught my

eye in Bedfordshire. We have had photographs of rainbow sent in by

some of you. This is where the showers have been falling. There

hasn't been a huge amount of them. This weather front brought us some

patchy rain and it set up this cold northerly wind. It has felt bitter

in that wind and that is what has brought in the showers. There is the

risk of further showers as we go through the evening but they should

fade away. The biggest risk is the frost. Whether the showers have

fallen, there could be some icy stretches. Elsewhere, dry across

those clear skies and temperatures falling to minus three Celsius. It

could get down low. Really cold start to Thursday. High establishing

itself and lots of fine weather expected tomorrow. It is a cold and

frosty start and we shouldn't have a problem fog overnight. Lots of dry

and bright Weatherford tomorrow. The risk of some showers the parts of

Norfolk and Suffolk. Across the board, lots of wintry sunshine but

turning cold into the afternoon. Temperatures for some of us, no

higher than four Celsius. As we get into the evening and overnight, we

are expecting some dense fog patches to form. That could linger through

much of the morning on Friday. This weather front is going to change

things to a milder regime for the weekend. It will bring some rain

although not expected until my four. The bulk of the day is dry. Some fog

patches lingering. A cold day expected. As we get into the

weekend, it looks as if it will be rather cloudy. Look at those

temperatures. That is all from us. Goodbye.

as he explores Naples, Venice and Florence.

It's like we're walking through a giant's armpit.

We can follow the escape route of Michelangelo.

Mildred is our first student from a non-witching family.

'I've got a good feeling about this year.'

We're looking for someone who can sing, someone who can move.

Someone who can keep an audience on the edge of their seat.

Something like this could change my life.