18/01/2017 Look East (West)

From inadequate to good in 18 months -

how Addenbrooke's Hospital turned its fortunes around.

Brexit fears - as big employers from this region

tell MPs they can't survive without workers from the EU.

High tech in the Far East - the motorsport industry

in Northamptonshire looks to China to grow.

It's been described as a "remarkable turnaround".

18 months ago, Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge was

Today, the Care Quality Commission, after a new inspection,

Back in September 2015, the hospital was rated "inadequate" for...

Poor management, staff shortages,

Today, that rating was upgraded to "good".

But warnings also to improve childrens' services,

and cut the number of cancelled operations.

18 months ago, the diagnosis of Addenbrooke's was poor.

Patients, we were told, were being put at risk

by precariously low numbers of staff and inspectors even went as far

as saying bosses had lost their grip on the basics.

18 months on, and it has all changed.

Being placed in special measures was, say staff, a wake-up call.

A hospital once described by regulators as inadequate

Today, there is a relief and a recognition of the toll

the past year has taken on both staff and patients.

Addenbrooke's has a very special place in

They rely on it. That was never doubted.

We worked hard to talk to everybody - patients, carers,

other groups outside the hospital - to reassure them.

With staffing levels on the rise, the care provided,

Earlier criticism over finances and staffing led to the abrupt

departure of this man, Chief Executive Keith McNeill.

But a change in management brought about a change in fortunes.

We saw a remarkable turnaround in the culture and management

I think the problem was really that they had forgotten

that they were a District General Hospital,

serving the people of Cambridge.

Addenbrooke's was and remains one of the world's most

renowned hospitals, so when it fell from grace back in 2015,

Not least the 900,000 patients it sees every year.

Huge improvements have been made, but its Achilles heel remains its

chronic shortage of beds and how it responds to rising patient numbers.

There is only so much that the hospital can do.

If it can identify where blockages are and show it's trying to

get patients discharged as safely and as soon

as possible, taking action, there is nothing much

They cannot control the amount of patients coming in the

And it is patients like 82-year-old Keith that depend

It has been a month since he was admitted with an aneurysm.

I don't expect a 4-star hotel.

Everything has been more than satisfactory.

But, no, I wouldn't be here without the NHS.

Well, a new Chief Executive joined Addenbrooke's just after

I asked Roland Sinker how he'd turn things around.

The areas that I have been particularly focused on have

been listening to our patients, listening to our staff, improving

the relationships between the board and our front-line provision of

care, thinking very hard about governance, how

we run the hospital, and thinking about where the

Although all services are now rated as good,

there are still some concerns about the

environment for children in the

emergency department, ensuring children safety.

Specifically in relation to children, there are two points.

The first relates to the amount of physical capacity - bays,

beds, trolleys - that we have in the emergency department,

so we can give really timely care to children who

come into the emergency department, having had a nasty fall, having some

sort of breathing problems, maybe very acute asthma.

The second issue relates to the number of beds

Most importantly, how many beds we have

across the health and care economy, across the county.

The headline is that hospital is full,

A is full, black alert, sort of thing.

How much of that is within your capacity to change?

How much is down to councils and social care?

We're working very closely with our colleagues in general practice,

Within the hospital, making sure we are bringing all our

resources to bear to bring the best possible care for patients, sold

consultants in respiratory, that anything is needed as soon

We are particularly working with colleagues in social

care and community services outside the hospital so that when a hot

-- when a patient is ready to leave, we are able to get them back

into their own setting as fast as possible.

Throughout this whole process, the staff here have been universally

You are good now, how do you get to outstanding?

Which is really about putting doctors,

their services and enabling them to be in control.

The organisations have got that cracked.

Some of the region's biggest employers went to Westminster today

to ask for guarantees on migrant labour after Brexit.

They say many businesses including farming and home care will struggle

to survive if foreign workers aren't allowed to come here.

Whether it is harvesting crops, picking fruit are working in our

care homes, the region has always been reliant on overseas workers.

This is why many employers are worried.

Today, some of them laid out the case in Parliament.

The director of a company from Ely, which employs 2500 seasonal

We would not be able to operate without

We employ 55% of those coming from Eastern European markets.

We have struggled in terms of recruitment.

Their message to MPs is that the future

supply of migrant labour is at risk because of Brexit.

If free movement is replaced by visas or

complicated paperwork, it will put up costs

There are signs that EU workers no longer want to work here already.

Applications to work have halved this year.

There was still be people coming from the European

The Prime Minister spoke again today about the importance of migrant

She also was the guarantee the right of the EU

These are all things which need to be negotiated.

For now, there is uncertainty and the message from the region's

employers is to please end that uncertainty

While many businesses consider their future

with or without Europe - in Northamptonshire,

The motorsport industry employs 20,000 people in the county,

and is worth ?2 billion to the local economy.

So how can that be boosted by high tech links to the Far East?

Stuart Ratcliffe has been finding out.

This company manufactures for the motorsport industry.

They are one of a growing number of businesses now located in

Northamptonshire's motorsport Valley.

There's an atmosphere in the industry here that makes it

We find many customers who come to visit has also

visit other people on the park and surrounding area.

Silverstone is the obvious heart of motorsport Valley.

Across Northamptonshire, there are 1000 businesses

directly associated with the industry.

An hour from here, there are a further 3000.

It is no wonder that this whole area is now

It is this interest which has prompted this economics lecturer at

the University of Northampton to be asked by his home province in China

do act as a motorsport trade ambassador.

I have no doubt that we will bring in enormous interest from

the Chinese investors and the Government as well.

They are looking for not only to invest in the UK but as a

result of them doing that, I have no doubt that that will bring

A conference supporting motorsport Valley is already being

Britain has always been an outgoing nation that has done

international trade, we should promote

Any new Chinese partnership is a way off, but that

the world's second largest economy is taking

the world's second largest economy is taking interest

The Bedford sprinter Nigel Levine is "conscious and stable"

According to reports, Levine and team-mate were

injured yesterday in Tenerife, riding on motorbikes

when they were involved in a crash with an oncoming vehicle.

British Athletics staff are with the athletes

and liaising with hospital doctors over treatment.

That's it from me - I'll leave you with

Well, rather cloudy skies across the region this evening.

We could see just one or two spots of drizzle further north and west,

And that's where the coldest temperatures will be as we

About minus two Celsius for a low tonight.

But staying just above across northern parts of the area.

But Thursday, misty and murky conditions staying with us

Best of the sunshine further south and east.

Temperatures around average for this time of year -

But that mist already returning into Thursday evening.

A misty, murky day on Friday as well.

Your national forecast is up next, I will leave you with the outlook.

That shows dry weather into Saturday, but the return

of some sharp frost by Saturday night.

the next few days, more sunshine on the way.

Despite high-pressure sitting across the country so only slow changes in

the weather, we have had a variety of different weathers, for example

this beautiful sunset in Southampton which was shared by a Weather

Watcher, but grey and misty in Derby thanks to an awful lot of cloud

around and very little deviation by day or night from the rather grey

routine. That is because we have a weather

front, albeit very weak and very little wind to move the cloud and

the mist