:00:00. > :00:08.Tonight: So
:00:09. > :00:12.Claims that just ONE hospital could be responsible for scores of serious
:00:13. > :00:20.The Scottish question ` how will our businesses fare if Scotland goes
:00:21. > :00:26.The annual Appleby invasion begins, as thousands arrive
:00:27. > :00:33.The only soldier to be awarded the Victoria Cross on D`Day.
:00:34. > :00:36.The incredible heroism of Stan Hollis from Middlesbrough.
:00:37. > :00:40.And, the D`Day veteran whose hopes of a reunion with old comrades
:00:41. > :00:45.on the Normandy beaches have been dashed ` by a spelling mistake.
:00:46. > :00:49.In sport, an England call`up for fast bowler
:00:50. > :00:52.Liam Plunkett seven years after he last played in a Test match.
:00:53. > :00:56.And, the rugby player who'll be playing in the Premiership next
:00:57. > :01:07.season after coming through the ranks at Middlesbrough.
:01:08. > :01:10.This week on Look North, we've been asking why so many people
:01:11. > :01:14.in the North East who dial 999 have to wait so long for an ambulance.
:01:15. > :01:18.Tonight, a claim that scores of incidents may be down to problems
:01:19. > :01:22.Tonight, a claim that scores of incidents may be down to problems
:01:23. > :01:26.The North East Ambulance Service transports patients to 11 Accident
:01:27. > :01:28.and Emergency departments in the area it covers
:01:29. > :01:31.from the Border with Scotland, down to County Durham and Teesside.
:01:32. > :01:33.We've obtained a report which suggests that out
:01:34. > :01:36.of 126 serious incidents, when patients were delayed admission to
:01:37. > :01:39.hospitals for more than two hours, 71 happened at the University
:01:40. > :01:43.So, why are patients waiting, and who really is to blame?
:01:44. > :01:57.With this exclusive story, here's our health reporter, Sharon Barbour.
:01:58. > :02:05.Responding to an emergency, but the North East Ambulance Service has its
:02:06. > :02:09.own serious problems to deal with. Understaffed, underfunded and under
:02:10. > :02:17.attack for taking hours to reach patients left lying in pain. She was
:02:18. > :02:23.lying on the floor. It is beyond a joke and you wonder now if anything
:02:24. > :02:27.will happen. How long it will take. I've never called an ambulance
:02:28. > :02:32.before and when you want it it's not there. I feel pain for all of the
:02:33. > :02:40.people who suffer and I am sorry about that. I wish I could make it
:02:41. > :02:42.better. But our investigations into problems at the North East Ambulance
:02:43. > :02:47.Service have revealed something else. As patients wait for an
:02:48. > :02:56.ambulance to arrive, we've learned that many ambulances are being held
:02:57. > :03:01.up with patience sometimes for hours at Accident and Emergency centres.
:03:02. > :03:07.Last year, in just six months, over 10,500 delays were recorded by
:03:08. > :03:12.paramedics as they handed over patients to A For the paramedics,
:03:13. > :03:18.it means they are of the road, trapped in queues and unable to
:03:19. > :03:22.respond to the stacking 909 calls. We're tied up so emergencies are
:03:23. > :03:28.stacking up waiting for us to clear at hospital. It is frustrating,
:03:29. > :03:33.especially when you're patient isn't well. We've also learned the vast
:03:34. > :03:40.majority at `` occurred at just a few hospitals are most at the
:03:41. > :03:44.University Hospital of North Durham. We put an ambulance liaison officer
:03:45. > :03:48.in at crucial times into their emergency department to help with
:03:49. > :03:53.the handover of ambulance patients into the acute hospital. We've also
:03:54. > :03:59.seen documents that show hundreds of other patients may have been kept
:04:00. > :04:03.waiting outside A said in `` centres had the paramedics not
:04:04. > :04:07.driven away to another hospital. Most of these patients were diverted
:04:08. > :04:15.away from the University Hospital of North Durham. It is listed here.
:04:16. > :04:23.Here are some of the reasons. On the 8th of April, A is close to all
:04:24. > :04:27.but life`threatening can `` cases. On the night, certain patients
:04:28. > :04:33.cannot be taken to the hospital in Durham. Later, surgery patients are
:04:34. > :04:37.diverted away. On the 13th, the hospital is again forced to divert
:04:38. > :04:44.patients away and the list goes on and on. It shows problems with
:04:45. > :04:49.paramedics taking patients to a major A centre. At best, this may
:04:50. > :04:54.cause inconvenience for the patients and paramedics and delays in the
:04:55. > :05:01.whole system. At worst, could it put lives at risk?
:05:02. > :05:10.Joining me is Professor `` Professor Chris Gray. So, do these delays lead
:05:11. > :05:16.to lives being lost? Thank you for the opportunity to talk about this.
:05:17. > :05:19.It is important to keep this in context. There are delays in the
:05:20. > :05:26.system and the system is coping hard to cope with pressures. We have seen
:05:27. > :05:30.the response of all the emergency services to the appalling incident
:05:31. > :05:37.of the school bus crash. They respond when needed. Whenever a
:05:38. > :05:41.patient needs emergency care or resuscitation our doors are open.
:05:42. > :05:45.But there are peaks and pressures and we really do struggle to
:05:46. > :05:49.deliver. There are times we let patients down and they have an
:05:50. > :05:55.appalling process of care and for that we are very sorry as we do not
:05:56. > :06:00.aspire to that as a trust. We want to provide the best possible care.
:06:01. > :06:04.Our staff are working very hard and they do care. I want to thank them
:06:05. > :06:09.for everything they do because they work beyond their contracted hours
:06:10. > :06:14.as do the ambulance staff. But the numbers who present are challenging.
:06:15. > :06:20.Our hospital at North Durham was designed to 12 years ago for 30,000
:06:21. > :06:25.attendances each year. We present DC 63,000 attendances every year.
:06:26. > :06:30.Is that why there are more delays there?
:06:31. > :06:37.I think it is partly that. So many patients come through the front door
:06:38. > :06:41.and require admission and we have pressures in the hospital. What
:06:42. > :06:45.happens is the ambulances back up at the front of the hospital. One of
:06:46. > :06:50.the big challenges we have to the ambulance service is we know there
:06:51. > :06:56.are ambulances waiting outside and yet still they come. Other hospitals
:06:57. > :07:02.have far less pressures. We need to share this workload out because our
:07:03. > :07:07.hospital at Durham is at maximum capacity.
:07:08. > :07:13.But there must be a quick fix? We have to fix it and we have clear
:07:14. > :07:17.pounds. This winter, we've invested in excess of ?5 million in
:07:18. > :07:22.additional front line staff and support services but we need to do
:07:23. > :07:25.more. What we intend to do is increase the capacity of our
:07:26. > :07:30.emergency department and increase the size of that using existing
:07:31. > :07:36.resources. We are looking at reallocating beds at the Durham site
:07:37. > :07:40.to create more capacity in what we call the back of house. We think we
:07:41. > :07:46.can take pressures off that way. We have to look at schemes to support
:07:47. > :07:49.patients so they do not have to come to hospital but support them in the
:07:50. > :07:52.community and to manage their own conditions. Support them in a more
:07:53. > :08:19.timely way when they are in our beds.
:08:20. > :08:35.Business leaders in the region say they are unclear what the
:08:36. > :08:47.uncertainty over Scotland independence could mean for them.
:08:48. > :08:55.Amazon were considering putting 900 jobs here but they chose to go to
:08:56. > :09:01.Dunfermline instead. Managers here say an independent Scotland would be
:09:02. > :09:05.a fierce competitor. As Edinburgh 's nearest neighbour, we will feel that
:09:06. > :09:12.more than most. We need to have more control over spending and more
:09:13. > :09:15.control over how are offering is perceived to these large occupiers
:09:16. > :09:21.to make sure we can remain competitive. Those concerns among
:09:22. > :09:26.businesses in our region are coming into sharper focus as Scotland
:09:27. > :09:30.prepares to vote on independence. Around 240 companies in Cumbria and
:09:31. > :09:35.the north`east gave their views to the BBC in a questionnaire sent out
:09:36. > :09:41.by the chamber of commerce to its members. 63 of them said that if an
:09:42. > :09:46.independent Scotland were to cut corporation tax, they might consider
:09:47. > :09:54.investing north of the border. But a majority of them, 176 said it would
:09:55. > :09:59.not make any difference. And that is the case for the Durham firm
:10:00. > :10:03.building this new estate in the Scottish Borders. In the last few
:10:04. > :10:08.weeks they bought a Scottish building firm. Whatever the result
:10:09. > :10:14.in September, they are confident of the future. It is a strategic
:10:15. > :10:19.decision to expand our his nurse. We employ 75 people in Scotland and
:10:20. > :10:23.maybe 100 in Cumbria. What difference should it make?
:10:24. > :10:27.Construction works across borders and we have international companies
:10:28. > :10:31.working in the UK. But the chamber of commerce in the region says the
:10:32. > :10:37.big problem is a lack of information ahead of the referendum. Businesses
:10:38. > :10:42.are holding back on making investments because they are waiting
:10:43. > :10:45.to see what the outcome will be. That is disappointing. To a certain
:10:46. > :10:51.extent, there is an inevitability but I think people on both sides of
:10:52. > :10:58.the debate could do more to provide clarity to enable businesses to move
:10:59. > :11:03.forward with clarity. There are concerns from some businesses that
:11:04. > :11:09.an independent Scotland could leave yawning gaps in our economy.
:11:10. > :11:12.A soldier who died in an accident at an army training centre
:11:13. > :11:16.Sergeant Mark Foley of The Light Dragoons was killed in a
:11:17. > :11:19.military vehicle on Warcop training area near Appleby yesterday.
:11:20. > :11:23.Sergeant Foley leaves a wife and two daughters.
:11:24. > :11:26.His Commanding Officer said he was, "A consummate professional, and his
:11:27. > :11:36.injured after two school buses crashed head`on in County Durham,
:11:37. > :11:38.will remain in hospital tonight. The children are from Tanfield
:11:39. > :11:41.School and include a 12`year`old boy who suffered severe facial injuries.
:11:42. > :11:44.They were travelling on the single`decker coach, involved in the
:11:45. > :12:01.The deputy Prime Minister says a factory is evidence of a revival in
:12:02. > :12:04.the north`east. The high`tech site makes parts for aircraft and the
:12:05. > :12:12.investment has secured hundreds of jobs in the firm. What you are
:12:13. > :12:16.seeing here is a marriage of those old, fine traditions of the
:12:17. > :12:22.north`east of manufacturing and designing things, making things and
:12:23. > :12:27.exporting them and marrying that to world beating and cutting`edge
:12:28. > :12:32.technology and skills. We've it here and at Nissan. We can build on that
:12:33. > :12:33.and be part of a rebirth of match in that `` manufacturing in the
:12:34. > :12:47.north`east. There were long tailbacks on the A66
:12:48. > :12:53.today. Police are asking drivers to be patient.
:12:54. > :12:58.It wasn't easy travelling on sections of the road around Appleby
:12:59. > :13:04.today. Where the road narrows, queues built up as traditional
:13:05. > :13:12.caravans made their way to the festival. This isn't an organised
:13:13. > :13:17.event but it is a happening. We have very little control over the numbers
:13:18. > :13:22.coming here. It is a traditional event and they come to meet their
:13:23. > :13:27.families and socialise. Our main issues are around road safety and
:13:28. > :13:32.people coming in and giving the right advice about being safe around
:13:33. > :13:37.fast horses. Old friends were meeting up after another 12 months.
:13:38. > :13:42.The horse fair here may have been writing `` Manning for hundreds of
:13:43. > :13:49.years but the police say there is no sign of it slowing up. More people
:13:50. > :13:53.seem to want to come here for the fair. It is the best fare in
:13:54. > :13:59.England. It is a brilliant fare. That is why we come. I love to see
:14:00. > :14:06.the way the horses ran down the hill. I always kept horses, Welsh
:14:07. > :14:12.cobs, and it is quite a holiday for me. But with recent rainfall there
:14:13. > :14:18.were concerns about river levels and the washing of horses. This is the
:14:19. > :14:21.deepest I have seen the river in five or six years and there is a
:14:22. > :14:26.health and safety concern about horses going in, for horses which
:14:27. > :14:29.are small mainly. We don't want the horses going in if the river get any
:14:30. > :14:44.higher. We will have to monitor it. All front line police officers in
:14:45. > :14:48.there are to be equipped with body cameras. They will be given to
:14:49. > :14:55.special constables as well and community support officers. It is
:14:56. > :15:02.argued that they ring criminals to justice more quickly. Domestic
:15:03. > :15:05.violence incidents is something that have benefited from officers being
:15:06. > :15:11.at the scene recording the impact on the victim and for those victims who
:15:12. > :15:17.don't want to go to court, we can take the suspect to court on the
:15:18. > :15:22.back of the evidence we get. He should have been in Normandy to
:15:23. > :15:25.mark the 70th anniversary of the D`Day landing but Jim Peaks has
:15:26. > :15:31.missed out because of a spelling mistake on a form. 91`year`old Jim
:15:32. > :15:37.has had to stay at home in County Durham.
:15:38. > :15:44.A Northampton boy who married a Durham girl and became a war hero.
:15:45. > :15:56.Let us see what he has to say about D`Day. D`Day was... A funny day.
:15:57. > :16:01.Don't let his reticence fool you. He lied about his age to enlist and
:16:02. > :16:07.fought through Sicily and Italy and in the Desert rats. He then came to
:16:08. > :16:13.England to prepare for the D`Day landings. When his passport renewal
:16:14. > :16:18.form went in, his son`in`law misspelt his name.
:16:19. > :16:27.When you got the invitation to go to Normandy, where you going to go?
:16:28. > :16:32.Yes, I was. I wanted to go back and see the beaches where we landed. I
:16:33. > :16:40.also wanted, if possible, to seek anybody that I knew. If I could see
:16:41. > :16:48.somebody and say, hello, mate. How are you doing? I knew I couldn't but
:16:49. > :16:58.I was hoping. That would have been lovely. I was the baby of the
:16:59. > :17:05.squadron. They were older than me so we are talking about men now four or
:17:06. > :17:10.five years older than me. Say 9697. I knew there was not a lot of
:17:11. > :17:17.possibilities, but if I had seen one it would have been worth going.
:17:18. > :17:23.What a shame. This chap was there too. In France
:17:24. > :17:27.he is a hero but in Middlesbrough he is largely forgotten. Stan Hollis
:17:28. > :17:32.was the only soldier to be awarded the Victoria Cross on D`Day. The
:17:33. > :17:36.campaign to raise enough money for a permanent memorial in Middlesbrough
:17:37. > :17:41.is still ?10,000 short but his granddaughter says a fitting tribute
:17:42. > :17:43.is long overdue. Here is the first of two special features on this
:17:44. > :18:05.extraordinary soldier. On June the 6th 1944, Allied forces
:18:06. > :18:10.assaulted the Normandy coast line. It was the biggest seaborne invasion
:18:11. > :18:15.in history. Amongst the soldier was Company Sergeant Major 's Dan
:18:16. > :18:19.Hollis. This unassuming Middlesbrough man became the only
:18:20. > :18:25.soldier to be awarded the Victoria Cross on D`Day. Today, his
:18:26. > :18:30.granddaughter is on the beach at the very spot and at the same time he
:18:31. > :18:35.fought his way ashore 70 years ago. What is going through your mind? How
:18:36. > :18:41.desolate it is and how much open ground there is to cross. It is a
:18:42. > :18:45.long way to get across when they are firing at you and the chaos going
:18:46. > :18:50.on. I'd bet they just wanted to get off the beach and out of the way,
:18:51. > :18:55.sort of thing. Stan's war began before he left his
:18:56. > :18:58.landing craft. It was a glimpse of the fighting spirit that would earn
:18:59. > :19:04.him the Victoria Cross and see him through the rest of the war. Stan
:19:05. > :19:09.noticed a pillbox on the high water mark on the beach and he grabbed a
:19:10. > :19:15.machine gun, took it to the lip of the landing craft and fired a long
:19:16. > :19:22.burst at it. But the building wasn't a pillbox. In fact, it was a small
:19:23. > :19:28.railway stop and until a few years ago it had the bullet marks on the
:19:29. > :19:33.wall from his machine gun. The men who made it off the beach faced the
:19:34. > :19:41.task of advancing inland against lethal German resistance. Stan and
:19:42. > :19:46.his men were told to head for the house with a secular Drive, shown in
:19:47. > :19:51.this Spitfire reconnaissance photographs, which is still standing
:19:52. > :19:58.today. As they approached they were pinned down by German machine`gun
:19:59. > :20:01.fire. His company advanced up and across the fields and across the
:20:02. > :20:09.road. When they reached the line of the hedgerow behind us they came
:20:10. > :20:13.under fire from the pillbox which their commander identified. He said
:20:14. > :20:23.to Stan, " there is a pillbox there". He showed a disregard for
:20:24. > :20:27.his own safety. He grabbed his Sten gun and charged across open ground,
:20:28. > :20:34.hosepipe being the pillbox ahead of him. In this rare archive recording,
:20:35. > :20:58.Stan can be heard describing his actions in his self`effacing manner.
:20:59. > :21:05.Having neutralised the first pillbox coming he then kept moving forward,
:21:06. > :21:12.again completely alone, until he came upon a second. Stan then
:21:13. > :21:17.continued to a communication trench which led to a pillbox here. By
:21:18. > :21:22.then, I think the Germans had had enough. Seeing him charging up was
:21:23. > :21:27.enough. In all there were about 30 prisoners. This action was
:21:28. > :21:30.enormously significant. Not only did he save the lives of many in his
:21:31. > :21:34.company but he also allowed the route up from the beach to be
:21:35. > :21:40.cleared. That was important for the success of D`Day. Having landed on
:21:41. > :21:44.the beach, fought his way up the hill and successfully taken on to
:21:45. > :21:48.German pillboxes, he had already done enough to earn himself a
:21:49. > :21:56.Victoria Cross. But that is only half the story.
:21:57. > :22:04.You are wondering where the second half is. We will have more on his
:22:05. > :22:09.remarkable exploits tomorrow. And there is more on the interview with
:22:10. > :22:15.Dan on the breakfast show at 6am. You can hear the documentary on his
:22:16. > :22:20.trip to Normandy with his granddaughter tomorrow morning.
:22:21. > :22:25.It is time for the sport now and it is all good news.
:22:26. > :22:29.Great news for Liam Plunkett who has been recalled to England's test side
:22:30. > :22:36.for the first time in seven years. The former Durham player from
:22:37. > :22:46.Middlesbrough thought his test play might be over. He joins Yorkshire 's
:22:47. > :22:53.two players in the 12 man squad. There is no place though for Ben
:22:54. > :22:56.Stokes or Scott Borthwick. It was a night to remember for a young rugby
:22:57. > :23:02.player from Middlesbrough who will be in the premiership next season.
:23:03. > :23:07.He came through Middlesbrough 's ranks and plays for London Welsh. He
:23:08. > :23:10.scored a try in the championship play`off last night and it was
:23:11. > :23:15.eventually given after lengthily consultation with the video refs. He
:23:16. > :23:22.helped his side win promotion to the top flight. Tom May lifted the
:23:23. > :23:25.trophy there. A number of competitors for a region
:23:26. > :23:33.have been named for the Commonwealth games today.
:23:34. > :23:49.They will represent the country. 31`year`old Dan Carter won silver at
:23:50. > :23:59.the Delhi games in 20 ten but hopes to do even better in Scotland this
:24:00. > :24:03.summer. `` 2010. I got a couple of medals in the last games so I would
:24:04. > :24:07.love to do similar or even better coming up. It is massive for us. The
:24:08. > :24:13.Commonwealth Games is really there for us and we take it extremely
:24:14. > :24:21.seriously. It is a pinnacle for us. Time for the weather now.
:24:22. > :24:28.A few weeks ago, I went in dismal weather and tried to spot the
:24:29. > :24:36.ospreys returning. Since then, the birds have mated, laid eggs and
:24:37. > :24:41.chicks have started to appear. Of the six eggs, five have hatched so
:24:42. > :24:47.fingers crossed for another successful year for them and it
:24:48. > :24:51.looks like the trout there is going down a treat.
:24:52. > :24:58.Better weather for most of us tomorrow. A dry and sunny day.
:24:59. > :25:03.Feeling warmer. One or two showers around this evening will Peter out
:25:04. > :25:07.as we head through the evening. A dry night. One or two missed patches
:25:08. > :25:23.forming. A light, southerly breeze. A fine
:25:24. > :25:27.and dry day tomorrow with patchy cloud around but it will be well
:25:28. > :25:42.broken. Most should see good sunny spells through the day.
:25:43. > :25:50.A mostly southerly breeze tomorrow. In between the weather systems and
:25:51. > :25:59.things are set to change on Saturday. This weather front coming
:26:00. > :26:05.in from the west will bring Shari Raine. The risk of some really heavy
:26:06. > :26:11.thundery downpours. By Sunday, things are quieter `` it will bring
:26:12. > :26:22.showery rain. The possibility of thundery rain on
:26:23. > :26:30.Saturday. It is something to bear in mind if you venture outdoors. They
:26:31. > :26:37.will probably be in Cumbria and in the morning on Saturday. A fresher
:26:38. > :26:44.feel to things by the time we get to Sunday. In the north`east, the risk
:26:45. > :26:50.of rain on Saturday and local thundery downpours. A few flashes of
:26:51. > :26:55.lightning but some places will probably miss this completely. Dry
:26:56. > :26:57.and brighter on Sunday and feeling warm through the weekend. One or two
:26:58. > :27:08.showers on Monday. The headlines: two days of
:27:09. > :27:12.ceremonies to mark the 70th anniversary of D`Day have begun in
:27:13. > :27:15.France with Prince Charles amongst thousands of visitors honouring
:27:16. > :27:19.those who gave their lives in the Second World War.
:27:20. > :27:24.A report suggests that just one hospital, the University Hospital of
:27:25. > :27:27.North Durham, was responsible for half of all serious delays in
:27:28. > :27:31.treating 909 patients in the north`east.
:27:32. > :27:43.We will be back at Trent 20 5pm and tomorrow we are on at seven o'clock
:27:44. > :27:45.`` we will be back at 10:25pm. We will be back at the later time of
:27:46. > :27:53.seven o'clock tomorrow because of It's a weekly selection
:27:54. > :28:02.of hand-picked stuff from Radio 2, and then it's delivered
:28:03. > :28:06.straight to you.