:00:12. > :00:17.After months of fighting to save services in Cumbria,
:00:18. > :00:19.campaigners have finally heard what the future of hospital
:00:20. > :00:24.At the meeting in the west of the county it was announced that
:00:25. > :00:26.some key services will be downgraded at the West Cumberland
:00:27. > :00:30.Acute surgery, children's services and stroke support will be
:00:31. > :00:33.And all in-patient beds will be lost at three
:00:34. > :00:43.But there was a surprise reprieve for the consultant-led
:00:44. > :00:48.Our health reporter Sharon Barbour joins me now from outside
:00:49. > :01:04.In many ways it was a softer blow that many had expected. Consultant
:01:05. > :01:07.led maternity will stay here for at least 12 months. During that time it
:01:08. > :01:16.will come under close scrutiny to see if it can be safely start --
:01:17. > :01:19.saved. I report on the news of this vital services to Carlisle and the
:01:20. > :01:24.loss of those Community Hospital beds.
:01:25. > :01:26.For the the ladies who've spent their lives delivering
:01:27. > :01:28.babies in West Cumbria, today's reprieve for maternity
:01:29. > :01:41.I am gutted. We want our mothers to be had safe and healthy and the same
:01:42. > :01:46.for our babies. Why are people going to move here and uproot their family
:01:47. > :01:50.and come to a job where there is no certainty? It is a stay of
:01:51. > :01:54.execution. More uncertainty that everybody.
:01:55. > :01:56.The campaigners doubt that 12 months will be enough time to address
:01:57. > :01:59.maternity staff shortages and in effect the new plan will only
:02:00. > :02:03.But clinicians working on the proposals say this
:02:04. > :02:05.alternative reflects feedback from the public and it's a definite
:02:06. > :02:16.We are going to do our damnedest to respond to the challenges we have
:02:17. > :02:22.got. We know it will test some of the things we should be doing. Let's
:02:23. > :02:26.work together to put something together for the long-term.
:02:27. > :02:28.Much of the debate over here has been about the time it takes
:02:29. > :02:30.to travel along this busy road rural road.
:02:31. > :02:33.Today it was confirmed that the most seriously ill children will be taken
:02:34. > :02:35.to Carlisle for treatment with a short stay paediatric
:02:36. > :02:39.Carlisle will be the base for a new hyper acute stroke unit
:02:40. > :02:42.too - stroke patients taken directly there with acute stroke
:02:43. > :02:43.and rehab facilities at the West Cumberland Hospital.
:02:44. > :02:47.For community hospitals the decision was made to close beds
:02:48. > :02:50.here in Maryport, in Wigton and Alston, Penrith will see
:02:51. > :02:53.a reduction in beds too - no change overnight but still
:02:54. > :03:06.Because we are so geographically isolated, it could be the death of
:03:07. > :03:09.our community if our hospital doesn't have beds.
:03:10. > :03:11.There's great love and affection for community hospitals here,
:03:12. > :03:13.decision makers say they still have a role to play,
:03:14. > :03:21.Beds aren't all ways the answer and there is more we can do to support
:03:22. > :03:23.people in their own homes and supporting them not to need a bed in
:03:24. > :03:26.the first place. So a day of big decisions, some
:03:27. > :03:28.bringing clarity others concern. The only certainty here -
:03:29. > :03:30.the determination from all involved to make health care in Cumbria safer
:03:31. > :03:47.for the future. motive has been around maternity
:03:48. > :03:50.care with some campaigners saying to travel across to Carlisle could be
:03:51. > :04:01.dangerous for mums and could put lives at risk.
:04:02. > :04:10.Young mothers talk about their worry about travelling to give birth.
:04:11. > :04:15.Labour is stressful enough let alone the prospect of losing your baby or
:04:16. > :04:23.yourself. Very frightening experience. Pregnancy itself is a
:04:24. > :04:28.worrying time and there is hard evidence to suggest increasing
:04:29. > :04:33.travel times puts lives at risk. I started to read the international
:04:34. > :04:37.research on the impact of distance from services on birth outcomes and
:04:38. > :04:42.the impact is appalling. The idea of it being safe to travel an hour and
:04:43. > :04:47.a half in Labour is a lot of our women will be asked to do is
:04:48. > :04:51.nonsense. Demonstrations have been frequent in West Cumbria and
:04:52. > :04:55.campaigners want a long-term solution. We will unite, stand
:04:56. > :05:00.together and fight against this. There is no way they are removing
:05:01. > :05:04.our services. We want to work hard to make sure it is sustainable for
:05:05. > :05:15.with the recruitment drive and we with the recruitment drive and we
:05:16. > :05:22.can sort this out. At the hospital here and some relief of the staff.
:05:23. > :05:27.Decisions have been made for the 140,000 people it serves.
:05:28. > :05:34.Uncertainty remains over maternity and so too does determination among
:05:35. > :05:36.those campaigners determined to save services here and across community
:05:37. > :05:40.hospitals in Cumbria. An 11-year-old girl has been
:05:41. > :05:41.airlifted to hospital with head injuries after being struck by a bus
:05:42. > :05:44.in Whitehaven this afternoon. Police said the collision
:05:45. > :05:46.happened on Sneckyeat Road The road is closed and police
:05:47. > :05:51.are appealing for witnesses. It was Chancellor Philip Hammond's
:05:52. > :05:54.first Budget, but also the last one The yearly estimate of likely income
:05:55. > :05:58.and spending will now Well our Business Correspondent Ian
:05:59. > :06:17.Reeve has been gauging Durham's indoor market. 50 stalls,
:06:18. > :06:22.lots of shoppers and perfect place to gauge reaction to the budget.
:06:23. > :06:27.Retired teacher, John, was underwhelmed but found a positive in
:06:28. > :06:33.the confirmation of a rise in personal tax allowances. The tax
:06:34. > :06:40.allowance does make a difference to the people under 20,000 a year.
:06:41. > :06:44.There was no surprise. Firth self-employed mark, there was
:06:45. > :06:47.dismayed that his national insurance contributions will be going up. A
:06:48. > :06:54.move to bring the self-employed in line with the rest of the working
:06:55. > :06:57.population. It doesn't encourage anybody to become self-employed. If
:06:58. > :07:01.the government are wanting to help people stop businesses and grow
:07:02. > :07:07.businesses, it doesn't provide any incentive. Per shoppers here, market
:07:08. > :07:11.management says spending is halfway between profligate and overly
:07:12. > :07:16.careful. The Chancellor acknowledged many families are feeling the
:07:17. > :07:20.squeeze. Personal tax allowance rises are welcome. Anything that
:07:21. > :07:26.will give people more pens in their pocket is a great help to the retail
:07:27. > :07:30.sector. Increases in personal allowances will be encouraging
:07:31. > :07:34.people to come out and spend more. If they don't, there was another
:07:35. > :07:35.budget coming in the autumn when the Chancellor might include something
:07:36. > :07:38.that rectifies that. Durham Police say they've received
:07:39. > :07:41.a letter threatening the county's Officers say the letter,
:07:42. > :07:44.addressed to the Chief Constable, contained a great deal of political
:07:45. > :07:48.rhetoric along with threats. They're trying to trace
:07:49. > :07:51.the person reponsible Now a South Shields hospital
:07:52. > :07:58.volunteer is finally retiring at the age of 92 after more than 70
:07:59. > :08:01.years of service. For more than 70 years,
:08:02. > :08:09.Dorothy has been a patient creature, a loyal volunteer
:08:10. > :08:12.at South Tyneside District Hospital. She started volunteering
:08:13. > :08:15.there during Now, at the age of 92,
:08:16. > :08:24.she has decided to call it time after 76 years of giving
:08:25. > :08:27.directions and advice. If people come in and just
:08:28. > :08:31.sort of look a bit lost, this is why you have
:08:32. > :08:35.to read the body language. And sometimes I find gentleman
:08:36. > :08:39.are a bit hesitant in I learned that with my
:08:40. > :08:43.husband as a driver in the The greeters and outpatients are
:08:44. > :08:52.very heavily relied upon by patients Dorothy has been a prime
:08:53. > :08:55.example of that. One that we should all hold our
:08:56. > :08:58.heads up high and thank But Dorothy's legacy as a volunteer
:08:59. > :09:02.goes way beyond South As well as being a patient
:09:03. > :09:13.greeter, she has worked for Relate, the Alzheimer's society,
:09:14. > :09:15.and has been a magistrate. She has even been
:09:16. > :09:17.a chaperone for child actors including
:09:18. > :09:20.a youthful Ant and Dec. They were not the famous people
:09:21. > :09:23.that they are today. Well, what do you expect a 12 hour
:09:24. > :09:27.day 13-year-old to be That's it from me this evening,
:09:28. > :09:34.let's see if we can look forward to any more of this spring-like
:09:35. > :09:46.weather with Paul Mooney. Today was sunny and bright and
:09:47. > :09:51.breezy sums up tomorrow. There is some rain around tonight. We have
:09:52. > :09:54.some outbreaks of rain coming in from the West. Through the early
:09:55. > :10:01.hours of the morning they would be there but they will have died away
:10:02. > :10:06.by the afternoon. There is a westerly breeze. Tomorrow morning,
:10:07. > :10:11.there is one to showers around. They will tend to die away to leave all
:10:12. > :10:15.parts dry and bright. Sunny spells and the odd patch of cloud. Like
:10:16. > :10:25.today, the temperatures will make double figures. Highs around 11
:10:26. > :10:29.Celsius. Again, that north-westerly wind would be quite strong and gusty
:10:30. > :10:34.and it will take the afternoon before that starts to ease away. We
:10:35. > :10:38.have a ridge of high pressure keeping is mostly dry tomorrow. It
:10:39. > :10:42.gets shunted out of the way by bees weather fronts that come in on
:10:43. > :10:47.Friday and it stays unsettled as we had through the weekend. More
:10:48. > :10:57.changeable of the weekend but not all bad news. Friday, more cloud and
:10:58. > :10:58.patchy rain. Some rain at times on Sunday and staying relatively mild.
:10:59. > :10:59.Here is the summary. outlook, staying mild and Nick has
:11:00. > :11:09.the bigger picture across the UK. Hello. Spring is in the air with
:11:10. > :11:13.temperatures reaching 14 or 15 in a few spots today as they will again
:11:14. > :11:20.over the next few days. Very pleasant in the sun. The daffodils
:11:21. > :11:21.were loving that in York. More