02/07/2014 Look North (East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire)

That's all from the BBC News at Six, so it's goodbye from me and on

Good evening and welcome to BBC Look North.

The leading consultants who are leaving hospitals in East Yorkshire

because of bullying and intimidation.

When you have nurses crying, the motivated people who walk at the

drop of a hat, it has to say something.

The MPs who say overseas aid should be used for projects closer to home.

Accusations of a heavy`handed approach as the police arrive

Police deny campaigners? claims that there were 100 officers

And the school children from Cleethorpes getting ready to

I will be back later with the forecast for tomorrow and we can.

One the country's leading heart surgeons has become the latest

senior figure to leave the Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals Trust amid

He and another doctor, who has also recently resigned have

taken the unusual step of speaking out in public to criticise

the culture of bullying, which they say is plaguing the trust.

Other consultants have privately told BBC Look North the same story.

Health managers insist they are trying to tackle the problem.

Vicky Johnson has been investigating.

Dr Farqad Alamgir is renowned as one of the country's

Last year, he was made an MBE for services to cardiology, but this

week he has resigned from his job in

People in senior management talking to you about bad behaviour will

carry bad consequences and then you start wondering what is

Is it bad behaviour if you stand up for something and say there

People were talking about this, the word bullying

In his letter of resignation, Dr Alamgir speaks of the fear

and intimidation which he claims is now widespread among clinicians.

doctors and consultants who have left the trust within the past year,

saying they simply can't work in the current atmosphere.

Consultant gynaecologist Wendy Noble, packing up

Three years ago, the hospital trust settled out of court when

One of the reasons for her resignation now is the poor

I was really concerned about the quality of training, the quality

of care we were able to deliver, and I raised my serious concerns.

Once again, it was just pooh`poohed, it was suggested I had ulterior

motives to try to destabilise the unit by my manager.

The Care Quality Commission, the health watchdog, raised these issues

in its recent report, demanding that the trust must investigate why some

staff feel they are bullied, or feel pressured to undertake additional

hours, putting the need to meet targets above patient care.

The focus was not on the patients. The focus was on figures, numbers.

If you were not part of that, you felt you had let down the

organistaion, which isn't what should happen.

You would go to a meeting, you would get two or three vocal people saying

this isn't good enough, and everyone else is burying their noses in their

paperwork, because if they ever put their head above the parapet, they

get picked on, and they've decided they want to go for a quiet life.

And that's what happened at Mid`Staffordshire.

Unions claim bullying is rife across all departments.

People come to work, they get their pay ` that's how it should work.

They should not go home feeling stressed or hurt or sick because of

the way they've been treated by their managers. There are a lot of

good managers there, but there are still some bullies, and we need to

Ian Philp, the Trust's medical director, admits the bullying

culture is a concern but insists they are

We cannot change the culture overnight but we can do some things

quickly, and we have to demonstrate to staff that when they raise

concerns, that we investigate them and we will deal with them and staff

will not be treated punitively for raising concerns.

They will be thanked for raising concerns.

They're leaving their families and taking their many years

of experience, not just away from this area,

I'm joined now by the MP for Hull North Diana Johnson.

What is your view on what is going on within the trust? I am concerned

about patient care and patient safety. It is very disappointing to

hear these doctors are leaving, with all the experience. I think the sea

QC identified there was a problem with bullying in the trust, and I

had a meeting with inspectors to try to understand that. They clearly

have a job to do to root out this bullying culture, because it is

unacceptable. I talked to the chief executive this afternoon, and he

reassured me steps are being put into place, but I think we need to

be talking to the trust more and find out they do bring the facts.

Unison has said staff are scared to speak out about bullying. If that is

the case, it will be very hard to get to the bottom of the problem.

That is shocking. I have the official speak this morning and say

he had never come across such an ingrained culture of bullying in his

career in the NHS, so it is deeply worrying. I will have a new chief

executive at the hospital soon, and his top priority has to be to sort

this out. It is really worrying for me, just as it is for the local MPs,

that our constituents may not be getting the care and standard of

care they deserve. One doctor told us this kind of culture is what

caused the problems at mid Staffordshire. Other problems in

Hull being taken seriously? I think the Care Quality Commission

identified there was a problem with bullying culture. I am not sure I

would say it is the same plasmid stuff Jeff. `` I am not sure I would

say it is the same as mid Staffordshire. Urgent action is

needed, though. Would you be worried if you are going into the hospital?

I think there is a great deal of excellent care in our NHS in Hull. I

think there is a problem about bullying and that needs to be rooted

out. I have every confidence the NHS can sort this out. Diana Johnson,

thanks very much. If you want to be in touch, here are the details.

Preparing for the Tour de France to arrive `

now there's a promise of another major cycling race for Yorkshire.

A number of Tory MPs from East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire say

they'll oppose plans to increase the amount of taxpayers' money which

The Government wants to enshrine into law the amount that is spent

But some MPs say the money would be better spent helping

At this warehouse on the outskirts of Beverley,

the East Yorkshire based charity Jacob's Well is preparing to send

The charity's chief executive ` retired GP Beryl Beynon `

believes it's right that our government should help those

I think as British people we have always been held in that kind of

esteem that we would always be there to help people in need. I think the

main thing is that it is used for the poor and the sick and the

needy, not just for political purposes.

The Government is under pressure to ensure that no less than 0.7%

of our national income is spent on overseas aid.

That currently works out at ?11 billion a year.

The Department for International Development says that money is spent

on projects such as preventing an infection that causes blindness in

East Africa, making sure boys and girls go to school in Pakistan and

But some MPs are opposed to the Government putting

a legally binding figure on the amount its spends on overseas aid.

The Cleethorpes MP Martin Vickers has launched a petition on his

website asking whether voters would rather see foreign aid diverted to

Many people lobby me, urging me to support the knot at 7%.

It's an emotive debate, but when it comes to the way taxpayers'

money is spent, some still argue that charity should begin at home.

Kathleen Spencer Chapman is from Oxfam ` I asked her if the UK being

world leaders in sending overseas aid shows us as a caring nation or

Our aid saves millions of lives around the world.

Oxfam sees in our work every day the good British aid is doing

It is keeping children in school, preventing mothers dying

in childbirth, just to give a few examples.

In 2012, British taxpayers sent ?280 million in aid to India.

They launched a ?45 million rocket to Mars.

Do you still think that giving to India is a good idea?

About a third of the world's poorest people live in India,

and Oxfam is doing a lot of work in India with the Indian government

Why are we giving to a country that can afford to spend ?750 million of

British aid still has an important impact in India.

It is really helping make sure children are in school

and encouraging the Indian government to do a lot more.

People in this country are kindhearted.

But they don't understand why, when we have so many problems

at home, we're giving this amount of money in foreign aid.

Clearly, there are also people at home who

are struggling, and Oxfam also works to tackle poverty in the UK.

We don't think poor people anywhere, either in the UK or globally,

They don't understand why, when we have problems here,

?180 from every single person in this country goes abroad.

That money really does save lives, and Britain is still the seventh

richest country in the world, so we think it is completely possible for

the British government to be making sure poor people aren't suffering

We don't know what percentage of that money goes to ordinary people

in poverty or what percentage goes to firms or corrupt individuals.

We know the vast majority of that money reaches

Clearly, no system is 100% perfect, but in the UK,

if a hospital is failing, we don't stop funding the NHS.

The vast majority of that money is reaching the poorest people.

I would like your views on this. Should the amount spent on foreign

aid be fixed in lark? Get in touch if you have a view on this. `` fixed

in law. Police in Lincoln have asked

for two teenage girls to come forward, after a man died

following an attack in the city. 69`year`old Michael Broxholme was

the victim of a robbery on Friday evening near his home on

Hermit Street. Police have asked for two teenage

girls, who they believe helped Mr Broxholme immediately

after the attack, to contact them. A mother from Hull accused

of killing her two year old son when he drowned in a bath has been

giving evidence at her trial. Kerry Abel admitted taking

a number of prescription drugs on the night her son died but told

the court she didn't fall asleep. She denies the charges

of manslaughter and at times wept Simon Spark was in court

and sent this report. Kerry able about that court this

morning to give evidence for the first time in front of the jury ``

Kerry Abel. She is accused of manslaughter after her two`year

Robinson was found drowned in the bath. She admitted being a former

heroin addict. She admitted obtaining other drugs that were not

on prescription, but from other people 's prescriptions and from

friends. She said she took one drug to help with backache. The court had

to stop at one time because her evidence was incomprehensible as she

cried during the description of finding her son. She said he was

playing in eight inches of water with her toys, she stood up, she

felt dizzy, reached for the bathroom door handle and passed out. When she

came round, she found him lying in facedown and the water was much

higher. The prosecution told how she had lied repeatedly to police about

what Yorkshire had taken and when. They said, the truth is you took a

cocktail of drugs to get an effect from them, you fell asleep and your

little boy died. Today saw the end of the evidence. Kerry Abel denies

all charges against her. The summaries will begin in the morning.

Thank you for watching. Still ahead: Schoolchildren from Cleethorpes who

are going to perform on a world`famous stage.

I don't really feel the nerves. I feel excitement. You don't really

get nervous, you just play like there is no one out there.

Great story. Tonight's photograph. Thank you for that.

Keely Donovan is here, back from her trip to Glastonbury.

I can't imagine you roughing it in a tent.

You would have liked it. I think Dolly is your kind of gal. Long

blonde hair. You could share her fake tan, and she is the same kind

of age. Have you finished?

On with the forecast. It has been very warm today, up to over 23

degrees in Hull. It will be a bit cooler tomorrow. There could be some

patchy rain for some of those. We have had more cloud spreading from

the North. It has made things quite mopey. Generally, the dry and mild

affair, with temperatures falling back to 15 or 16 degrees. The sun

will rise at 4:36 a.m.. Tomorrow, variable and at times large amounts

of cloud. A little bit of rain from the North. For the weekend, some

uncertainty but it looks like rain spreading through Friday and it

could still be with us through Saturday morning. On Sunday, fine

start to the labour few showers. `` also Dave I'd start to their day,

but a few showers. Potentially heavy rain later.

I had just been told she is 68, which is even older than me, so you

are in the doghouse. Residents living in an

East Yorkshire village are accusing Humberside Police of heavy handed

tactics as they escorted a convoy Rathlin Energy are carrying out

tests on land at West Newton Amanda White is live

near the site tonight .

They are perplexed. We have only just been able to get down here.

Officers were posted at the end of the lane, keeping the road closed

while Rathlin Energy has been doing exploratory drilling. The convoy

caused surprise, but the number of officers was met with disbelief.

It uses ultraviolet officers was met with disbelief.

It uses ultraviolet light. It is quite innovative technology. Well,

here are some of the pictures. They counted 64 vehicles moving through

new Ellerby. Rathlin Energy told is in a statement that although they

had been moving vehicles to try and minimise disruption in nearby

villages, because they had had some problems, Humberside police advised

them to move them in a large convoy because of safety. Purchasers told

is over 100 officers were involved in the operation `` protesters told

us. Humberside police said that is an exaggeration. They have not told

us how many officers were involved in the operation. They said they

were facilitating this peaceful protest.

Amanda, thank you. East Yorkshire might have missed out

on the Tour De France but the race organisers are now

promising a new annual cycling event It should attract the worlds best

cyclists and there could even be Well, over in West Yorkshire they

are preparing for this year's Tour De France and Paul Ogden is

in Otley for us tonight. So Paul can we expect to see the

likes of Chris Froome and Bradley Quite possibly, and why not? We have

a big cycling culture that we know and love in East Yorkshire. The

tours Britain has been hosted successfully in towns and East

Yorkshire, including the city of Hull. The man who can really answer

the question is the Chief Executive of the organisation which brought

the Tour de France broadly to Yorkshire, Gary Verity. Thank you

for this announcement. What can you tell is? We will work with our

friends over the next few months to agree the route, but the purpose is

to go to places where the Tour de France isn't going, so it would make

perfect sense if it went to Hull and parts of East Yorkshire, and parts

of the Yorkshire coast as well. We will work on the route with our

friends and partners over the next few months and make announcements in

the early autumn. Briefly, a three stage race? Yes, over the first

weekend in May next year and we want to put on a women's race as well.

This kind of passion, this will be coming to Yorkshire. Thank you very

much. In a word, what do you like about Yorkshire as a place to stage

this kind of event? It is gorgeous and there is passion for cycling and

love for the tour, so we're very happy. It will be massive. Thank

you. We had better get the potholes ironed out on the Humber Bridge.

Thank you very much. The Newton on Trent site will

provide more than 20 million litres of water every day. Anglian Water

says it's vital to maintain supplies as Lincoln continues to grow.

Thank you for getting in touch about cuts to legal aid.

19 youngsters from Cleethorpes travelled to the capital tomorrow

for a performance. Signhills Strings, 90 violinist from

six up to 18`year`old. They are rehearsing for performers the Royal

Albert Hall. They have worked incredibly hard to

get to where they have got to. Some have done it with me before. We are

quite spot. I started when I was about eight. My

vile and future has taught me so much. `` my violin teacher has

taught me so much. Although sometimes it can be a bit hard, you

just work through it. It is fun. The top group, the older ones, they play

all the way through it and they did the backing and everything. The

younger ones get to play quite a lot as well. We're playing sky fall, the

national anthem and rule the world. I work with them not just in large

rehearsals but individually as well. It has to be perfect.

I am really excited. I don't really feel the nerves. I feel the

excitement about it. You don't really get nervous, you

just play like there's no one out there. I know they are watching in

Cleethorpes, so safe journey to London and enjoy playing.

There headlines: The Prime Ministers called for urgent action to tackle

the growing threat to resistance and.

Talking about claims of bullying in hospitals, this is anonymous, very

sad to lose Wendy Noble, I worked with her for years, the NHS cannot

afford to lose such good surgeons and consultants, I complained many

years ago but it fell on deaf ears. I decided to leave. Another

anonymous one, I worked in Hull for over 40 years and found bullying

existed not just between the medical staff but amongst admin staff as

well. Finally, from Emily, people should be able to speak out without

fears. Thank you for those. And thank you

for watching. Goodbye.