03/12/2013 Look North (East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire)

BBC weather website. That is it all from the BBC's News at Six. We can

join the BBC Good evening and welcome to BBC Look

North. The headlines tonight. Claims that doctors with poor

English are putting lives in danger. NHS temps. The figures that show

Lincolnshire A are struggling to recruit permanent staff. This is

something which has evolved over the years. We are trying everything we

can to recruit people. "Misinterpreted" ` Tigers boss Steve

Bruce weighs in on the owner's comments that some fans "can die as

soon as they want". This family would like their street if they

could. This could be the most decorated house. There is a warning

severe gales tomorrow. There's a warning tonight that

patients lives are being put at risk because doctors don't have a proper

command of the English language. One Doctor Who works at one of our local

hospitals says the NHS is employing staff from EU countries and not

testing their English. He's told Look North that many are failing to

communicate effectively. The General Medical Council says current law

means they can't test English language skills of European doctors,

but they plan to change that. Leanne Brown reports.

Winter is one of the busiest times of the year for the NHS, and it's

been no secret that many of our hospital are struggling to recruit

the staff they need, but one Doctor Who we spoke to said employing staff

from the EU isn't helping as many of them can't speak good enough

English. He's asked us to disguise his identity.

When the trust realises there can be a bit of concern so they're taken

off a few shifts and those shifts are handed back to doctors who can

effectively communicate. That in turn is giving enormous pressure on

existing staff. There's other times when you're called in from your own

regular duty, can you please come and attend to one of your colleagues

because a patient is not happy and he's feeling quite angry because the

doctor is not able to understand what he's trying to tell him. These

things are happening on a daily basis now.

Do you think lives will be put at risk?

Definitely. If you are not communicating well, patients' lives

are at risk. One man we spoke to said the

language barrier was a major issue when his mum had a stroke at home.

After he had examined me mother, he turned around and I asked him,

"Well, what's happening? Really, she needs to be in hospital". But

patients outside Hull Royal Infirmary seemed very happy with the

level of English spoken there. We have just seen a specialist now for

my wife. She's a European lady, no problems at all. We could understand

them perfectly. They are all all right. Everyone talked all right so,

yeah. The general medical council has told

us that they can check the English skills of doctors who qualify

outside Europe. However, current UK law stops the GMC from checking the

English language skills of European doctors, which the regulator is

working with the Department of Health to change. A consultation is

currently under way and new rules should come in next year. We've seen

examples, there was a German doctor, I believe, in the past where

somebody actually died as a result of poor treatment from a Doctor Who

couldn't speak English properly. It's been completely unacceptable

and unfortunately that's been as a result of EU rules. You know, it

isn't acceptable, it has to stop and these new rules will actually

protect patients better because we will be able to see proper English

language testing for medical staff coming from elsewhere in Europe. But

the GMC have said they would not carry out checks on the thousands of

doctors already here. Things will definitely get worse from next year

when more people are coming, especially from Romania and

Bulgaria. They will be coming. The sooner this law gets implemented,

the better it is going to be for everyone. In the meantime, our local

NHS trusts have all said they are undertaking extra English tests as

part of their recruitment process. Dr Richard Vautrey is from the

British Medical Association. I asked him how much patients are at risk

because doctors don't have a command of the English language. I think it

is a concern if they can't understand them. It is important

that anyone who employs a doctor in the UK ensures that Doctor is

competent and they have the necessary skills to be able to

practice medicine safely. How do these people get through it in the

first place? The doctor in that film says lives are being put at risk.

All doctors who come from overseas have to pass stringent language

tests before they are able to practice within England. Doctors

which have qualified within the united Kingdom are able to work

anywhere in the EU. This is one the challenges which is based web

migration of medics across the European continent. The doctor is

worried the situation will get worse when Bulgarian and remaining doctors

are allowed to wear gear from next month white. Busi have a good grasp

of English scholar and I think the General medical Council work with

the government to change the medical act, as they do have great

astringency over the ability of ensuring doctors do have the

necessary command of English. How much is this a reflection of aren't

growing our own doctors here? We are simply too reliant on doctors from

overseas, whether that be from Europe or from further afield. We

really do need to invest more in training and your own doctors from

the UK and then this issue will not be a problem. How much pressure

deliberate on doctors who can English? All doctors are working

incredibly hard, whether they be in general practice or A There is

huge pressure on their time and skills. I think we do need to find

ways to ensure that everybody who is employed to work in a particular

situation is able to parallel for weight and ensure the services to

patients is not compromised. Let us know what you think about

this story. What's been your experience? Has this been an issue

when you've had dealings with the health service?

T's also been revealed that hospitals across Lincolnshire can't

recruit enough permanant doctors to their A departments. Three

quarters of consultant posts in Lincoln, Boston and Grantham are

filled by temporary staff. 60% in Grimsby and Scunthorpe do not have

permanent positions. Now, one hospital trust is trying to tempt

doctors to the area using a video on its website. More from out health

correspondent Vicky Johnson: Our accident and emergency departments

have never been so busy. And recruiting experienced

consultants has never been so hard, especially at hospitals right across

the Lincolnshire area There are ten consultants posts in emergency

medicine across the Northern Lincolnshire Trust's two main sites

at Grimsby and Scunthorpe. Some posts have to be built by locums on

a long`term basis. There are ten consultants across the Lincolnshire

trust in Grimsby and Scunthorpe. Six of them are filled by locums. The

situation is even worse at the United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust,

where just three out of 12 consultants are staff. Nine are

locums. Employer modems is expensive than a standard appointment. There

is the agency costs. They charge more. That is just recognised

nationally. What is paramount is patient safety. We will always

ensure our emergency departments are fully staffed. The basic layout is

the same, so from a safety perspective, it should not be far

from working theory and A This is the Northern Lincolnshire trust's

latest weapon in the recruitment battle. As well as promoting the

hospitals, they're trying to sell the area as a whole clip. Gorgeous

landscape and friendly people. There is a real proximity with transport

links. But both trusts are still in special measures after being

investigated for high mortality rates. It won't enhances. I see it

as a temporary blip. Hospital managers insist they're now

casting their nets far and wide to attract A consultants to hospitals

right across Lincolnshire Both Trusts insist they're making every

effort to ensure more A consultants are put on permanent

contracts. Two of Hull's MPs have met with the

Energy Secretary to discuss the Government's commitment to renewable

energy. Alan Johnson and Diana Johnson are seeking guarantees

everything is being done to ensure Siemens goes ahead with plans to

build a wind turbine manufacturing plant in the city. Our Political

Editor Tim Iredale has been following events.

The rising cost of energy is dominating the political headlines.

The Government says the typical household bill will be cut by ?50 as

part of its commitment to roll`back green levies. But the question of

how we generate electricity in future is also making news. Hull's

MPs today met the Energy Secretary to seek assurances about the

proposed Siemens manufacturing plant in the city, which many hope will

see the Humber region becoming a world`leader in servicing the

offshore wind industry. In Siemens don't come to Hull, they won't come

to the UK. I'm sure the public will get sick of hearing this. It has

been on the course of three years. It is very much on the cards still.

We need to get over this final hurdle and everything we have on Ed

Davey was reassuring. The Department of Energy and Climate Change echoed

Alan Johnson's words and said today's talks were "constructive".

Ed Davey wasn't available for interview today, but last week in

the Commons he defended the Government's record on bringing

green jobs to the Humber. I do think the whole governments, working with

colleagues, are doing our very best to ensure we get that supply`side,

supply chain investment into the UK for our green sector. We may be

working with him on that. The future of offshore wind in this country is

far from certain. Last week, the German energy firm RWE scrapped

plans to build a giant wind farm in the Bristol Channel. Some would say

the government can't commit to investing in green energy and

promise to keep bills down in the current political climate. Is the

government doing enough on its green energy policies to make sure Siemens

commits to Hull? If you want to get in touch, the

number is on the screen there. Part of the M62 has been closed for

much of the day after an accident early this morning. Five vehicles

collided between Castleford and Rothwell. There were long tailbacks

in the area after the motorway was closed in both directions. A police

investigation is underway. Police investigating a chain of

academy schools in Lincolnshire say they've passed a file to the Crown

Prosecution Service. The former Chief Executive of the The Priory

Federation, Richard Gilliland, quit after auditors found he had been

spending school funds on personal items. Plans for 30 libraries in

Lincolnshire to be run by voluntary groups have been accepted.

Lincolnshire County Council also agreed to reduce opening hours at

some bigger libraries, including Lincoln, Skegness and Gainsborough.

The authority says the changes will lead to savings of ?1.5 million. We

have to find the savings. A plus another ?80 million on top of that.

Society is changing. We all have social media now. Tablet and phones

and all the rest of it. When people access services, particularly

library services, is a lot. Still ahead tonight: Tigers Boss

Steve Bruce says it's time to forget about the club's name change and

focus on football. I will define out the family who live here choose to

light up their entire house at Christmas. Sarah Chand took

tonight's picture. Helen Butler writes to me. Myself

and other members saw this tie and thought of you. It is lawful. ``

awful. Go on, get it on. The headline for the next 24 hours.

Tomorrow is going headline for the next 24 hours.

Tomorrow to be the best day of the week. Patchy rain might be linking

in, but it will soon get out of the way. A bit of high pressure, but an

early warning in place for Thursday, which could be a bit on the

destructive side. Gales. One of two spot could get as high as 70 miles

an hour in exposure. That will need monitoring carefully during the

course of Thursday. In the short`term, it is very quiet. It has

been another day with a lot of clouds. The cloud will thicken

overnights. We have got a week outbreak of rain. It could lead to a

touch of ground frost in countryside areas but no problems elsewhere. The

sun will rise in the morning at around 7:59am. Just a little patch

of rain in the far south first thing, it quickly slipping away.

Then it is a lovely day. Lots of sunshine with lots of blue sky to

come. The breeze will be a moderate west or south`westerly. Let's look

at top temperatures. We are looking at highs of seven Celsius. It is

very windy indeed on Thursday, with locally severe gales and some rain

spreading from the North. Friday looks chilly. Much less windy and

mostly dry with some sunshine. You realise I'm going haven't `` have

the WIA on me. It's described as a landscape of

international importance as a rich breeding ground for rare birds and

wildlife. But the area known as the Humberhead Levels is also under

threat. Stretching from North Nottinghamshire to East Yorkshire,

it's made up of thousands of acres of wetlands, including a rare

lowland peat bog. The area is at risk of drying out. .

A once hidden landscape ` now being re`discovered. The Humberhead levels

are home to rare birds and plants, unique peatlands, and the remains of

medieval strip farming. All part of a huge network of wetlands. It is

the water that is helping us recreate the peat bog. In North

Lincolnshire lies the largest lowland peat bog in the country.

Farming and peat mining are drying it out. The water usage reign of the

murder into the drains. It was lost. The lottery money will help to

reverse that. More dams will be built, shurbs are being cleared and

goats are grazing here on the Crowle Moors. Damage to the bog is bad for

wildlife and is bad for us too. It stores harmful gases like carbon

dioxide. If it is allowed to dry out it releases those gases and

scientists are concerned that contributes to climate change. There

was also an economic reason for the correct in this wilderness. We stood

in the middle of a bog area which is part of several thousand acres. It

is almost like the biggest country parks in the country. The tourism

potential is absolutely incredible. It already has a lot of tourism. A

few miles south ` the patchwork of fields around Haxey ` will also

benefit. Traditonal farming techniques are still practiced here.

You're looking at a rear creation of a medieval landscape. This is how

farming was done. Every single landowner would have owned a little

strip and they would have farmed it. To get a real sense of the scale of

this area it is best seen from the air. At the top of the Humber

estuary, Blacktoft sands, is popular for bird watching. We have drained a

lot of this areas but we still have a lot of chunks of habitat. It is

important we keep these were future generations. This money will help

this and will open the landscape up to visitors. Leaflets in Polish

being handed out by a Lincolnshire Police to stop people drink`driving.

Neighbourhood policing teams will give out leaflets to make people

aware of the risks of drink`driving. So far, tibial have died and 79 had

been injured in drink related collisions in Lincolnshire.

Teaching staff from higher education colleges and universities are on

strike today as part of a nationwide dispute with the government over

pay. Universities in Hull and Lincoln say that any disruption is

being kept to a minimum and services remain open for students. Trade

unions say they're striking because staff have been offered a pay rise

of 1%. Volunteers in Lincoln say they

desperately need more people from ethnic minority groups to join the

bone marrow register. 1600 people in the UK are waiting for a bone marrow

transplant which is used to help treat blood cancer, such as

leukaemia. Today the University of Lincoln held its first recruitment

drive to encourage more students to sign up. We are trying to target 16

to 30`year`olds, especially young males, because they donate a larger

volume of bone marrow. We are also looking to sign up anyone from the

Asian population, because only 4% of them have a match, so it is a

desperate situation. Hull City manager Steve Bruce has

called for a line to be drawn under the club naming row at Hull City.

He's promised to speak to chairman Assem Allam about his proposal to

change the name to Hull Tigers, but says he doesn't want the the row to

distract from what's happening on the pitch. Our sports reporter Simon

Clark spoke to Steve Bruce today. Job well done for Steve Bruce on

Sunday, a 3`1 victory over Liverpool, a fifth win of the

season, an ideal preparation to play leaders, Arsenal. There's just the

niggling matter of the Hull City name change and Bruce's promise to

speak to chairman Assem Allam about his proposal.

In defence of the chairman, a misinterpretation could be there on

the cards. I don't think he wanted supporters to go away and die and

all this nonsense. I think he wants the situation to die. I think the

quicker it does the better for me, that we're not wasting our energies

on something, for me, is immaterial at the moment.

Hull City set out to repeat their greatest show on the road. It came

in 2008, Arsenal one, Hull City two. The skipper that famous day five

seasons ago recalls the occasion well.

I remember I was rooming with Dean Marney, the night before and we was

like, if we can keep it to a minimum we'll be happy. We worked hard. I

think they underestimated us a little bit. We had the quality and

the work rate on the day to stick together and get the result. This

year, Arsenal have made an outstanding start. With the division

's longest serving manager at their helm. We had a good warning before

we went to Cardiff. We have another good warning from Hull. Steve Bruce

is yet to have this chat. He made it clear he would rather talk about

football. City heading to Arsenal without their star defender, Curtis

Davies, who's suspended. That makes it a very tall order. If, after

victory against Liverpool, City should get something from this game,

that would send a very serious message to the rest of the Premier

League. Thank you to everyone who got in contact with us on the

comments made by Hull City owner Dr Assem Allam. Noel in Burton upon

Stather said: "I accept that Dr Allam's comments may have inflamed

the situation. However, his significant financial backing has

ensured we are in the Premier league, not league two or worse."

Angie disagress she believes ` "We are proud of our city and our

tradition and will support Hull City long after Dr Allam has found

another project, where no`one will challenge his need to wield complete

control." And finally Jo from Barrowe thinks, "Any man who is

prepared to spend ?43 million of his own money on a football team can

call it what he wants." Grimsby Town face Coalville in an FA

Trophy replay tonight. You can hear how they get on live on BBC Radio

Humberside. Coverage starts at 7pm, and kick off is at 7.45pm.

Congratulations to Boston United who are preparing for their second round

F.A.Trophy tie at Tamworth a week on Saturday. The Pilgrims made it

through to round two after a 2`1 win away at another Conference side,

Southport A family living on a Hull estate, who began lighting up their

home for Christmas over 20 years ago, say they would love to light up

the entire street! The Broadleys have covered their house with so

many festive decorations they've become a bit of a local attraction.

Caroline Bilton is there. Just how spectacular are these lights? I am

surprised you can't see them from where you are. We have quite a

dysplasia. So much so, we have a crowd gathering here tonight. These

are lights were seeing, and they had taken over two decades to put

together. Over 20 different displays on this house. Don't they look

something? It is the life long love of Stuart and his wife, Carol.

Stuart, why? I just love Christmas. You want to stretch this down the

street? If I had a chance I would. Have the neighbours said they would

allow that? Yes. My next neighbour search I could. I am gradually

moving down the street. Carol, long suffering wife. Is it a hobby for

him? Is looks lovely. It brightens up the street. Thank you very much.

I know you want to say a big hello. I want to say a big thanks to the

children at the school I work out. Thank you begetting is in the

festive spirit here this evening. They are doing their bit to get the

stage ready for Christmas. Haven't they done well? If you have a story,

get in touch with us. Let's get a recap of the national

and regional headlines: UK school children fall further behind in the

global classroom in a new league table out today.

Claims that lives are being put in danger by doctors who can't speak

good enough English. Tomorrow's weather: Dryer and brighter than it

has been. Tomorrow looks like the best day of the week. Top

temperatures of seven degrees. A response on the subject of doctors

not speaking good English. Mrs Holland said: I find it actually

difficult to understand for an English. I brought this to the

manager's attention but nobody took any notice. Some people will die

because a lack of good English. I saw this on a daily basis. Another

year. Just go to show how difficult manager failings are. It is busily a

good grasp of our language which should be a priority. That still,

employ British staff. Another one: Lynott subjected to an interview

before they get the job. Surely that would tell if they can communicate.

This is an interesting one. This is from an anonymous nurse: As a nurse

at the role Hull infirmary at how to look bad English. This is not to

date compromised patient care in my area. We always tried to be were

patients when they spoken to. `` Royal. Enjoy your evening. Take

care.