15/08/2013 Look North (Yorkshire)

Good evening and welcome to Thursday's Look North. Our top story

tonight: Why some people with mental illness in Yorkshire are waiting

months for therapy. We speak to one teenager who says

she's been waiting since January for effective treatment for chronic

anxiety. I think it is disgusting, really, how long you have to wait

for treatment that can be life changing.

Also tonight, watch the footwork by the woman in pink. She and her male

partner in crime are part of a steep rise in baggage theft on Yorkshire's

rail network. And we are live in Sheffield as the

city hosts the British transplant games. We will be hearing some of

the amazing stories of those taking part.

These were the skies today. It has been a mild day for all of us. What

is in store for tomorrow? I'll be back later in the programme with all

the details. First tonight, it's thought that one

in four of us will suffer some sort of mental illness in the course of a

year, so why are so many patients here in Yorkshire having to wait

months to access the right treatment? Latest figures show that

thousands of people in the region are waiting longer than the

government's target time to access therapy. Look North's been contacted

by one 19—year—old from North Yorkshire with chronic anxiety.

She's been waiting months for the right treatment. Her GP has now

questioned whether she could go privately to avoid the wait. Here's

our health correspondent Jamie Coulson.

19—year—old Emma from Selby has suffered with Melton helped Dutch

mental health problems throughout July. Last Christmas anxiety and

depression are to panic attacks and she was unable to leave the house or

go to college. I got really tearful at times. It can just come on... And

it can sometimes take over, even if I'm feeling on top of the world, it

can sometimes get on top of me and bring me right back down. And I was

referred by her GP for therapy in January but she had to wait seven

weeks before she was offered treatment. When that began was

immediately identified as needing more intensive support. Months

later, she's still waiting for that to begin and her GP has questioned

whether she go privately. I think it is quite disgusting how long you

have to wait for treatment that can be life changing. Anna's case of

trying to find the right help in the right time is not unique. Latest

figures suggest that even once someone has been referred, there can

be a wait for treatment. In the first three months of this year,

over 259,000 people in England were referred the psychological therapy.

In Yorkshire, that figure was over 25,000. At the same time, over

13,000 had to wait longer than the target time of 28 days to target

care. If somebody is identified as needing help and is offered help,

and then there is a long wait, the critical window of time can be

missed when they can be helped before the depression becomes may be

a very disabling and crippling illness. The NHS Trust responsible

for Emma's care says it has increased referrals and waiting

times have become longer than they would wish. In a statement, they

For now, Emma's wait for the right care continues, with no real

indication of how long it could take.

The chief executive of the York branch of the mental health charity

Mind says the problem is widespread. It is. Across the whole country and

in particular in Yorkshire and Humber. The waiting times for

psychological problems is much higher. We have always accepted, I

think, the mental problem is something that has not been done

fairly. There is a stigma to it. It should be on a parity with other

illnesses, shouldn't it? It should. One of the most reassuring things

we've seen from the last government and this government and the NHS is

to put mental health and physical health on parity. Within the new NHS

Constitution, it is written in that mental and physical should be

treated with parity. It is easy to say GPs are giving out Prozac. Are

they not concerned, too, that the delay is such that they've got to

give something to give short—term relief, whether that is the right or

wrong thing to do? There is a huge pressure on GPs to give patients

something when they come to surgery. What we do know is that talking

therapies work and often they much better than drug therapies.

What is the impact on a patient's life when the delays are

unacceptable or they get the wrong kind of treatment? It can be

devastating. Not only because that person is at —— unwell, but also for

their own sulphur steam, the stigma they are facing. It is almost as if

their condition isn't recognised. If you imagine turning up with accident

and emergency with a broken leg and told you have to wait 28 days. It

wouldn't happen. And it has an impact on the economy as well. It

impacts all sections of society, around employment, welfare benefits,

physical health, relationships, everything we touch. Thank you.

Next tonight, train passengers in Yorkshire are being urged to keep

their valuables and luggage safe as police try to cut down on an

unprecedented rise in thefts. More than 400 incidents have been

reported so far this year in our region, a 24% rise on the same

period last year. Phil Bodmer has been given exclusive access to an

undercover operation by British Transport Police.

Watch the pregnant woman on the left in the pink top. While the couple to

her right are in conversation, she moves a handbag under the screen

with her foot. An accomplice walks by. He turns, picks up the bag. It's

another example of an increasing theft on trains and stations in

Yorkshire. When I saw the footage, I was shocked at how slick it was and

how completely unaware I was of what was happening at the time. It's just

that moment when you realise everything 's gone, you feel

absolutely devastated and you're really frustrated because it has led

to a huge amount of work to try to sort everything out since then. And

it's really to try to make you aware that you've got to have your

belongings with you. Today, the Transport Police were out reminding

people to keep their belongings secure. Potential thieves are also

being targeted. These two passengers in front are actually undercover

police officers. On this train, it's not long before they spot suitcases

that are vulnerable to theft. There is quite a lot of luggage ear. It's

not trust luggage left that has been stolen, even bicycles are

vulnerable. Laptops, some —— smart phones up at risk, especially in the

carriages. West Yorkshire has the highest number of thefts, 290 this

year, which is a 34% increase on 2012. In North Yorkshire, there were

59 thefts, in South Yorkshire, 65 incidents, but in Doncaster, there

was a reduction. 32 thefts compared with 37 last year. With the launch

today of operation Magnum, police are warning criminals about the

consequences of their actions. What I would say to thieves operating on

the network, it is a CCTV rich environment, we will catch you and

we will prosecute you. For victims, theft of personal items can be

traumatic. By highlighting her experience, Sarah hopes others can

afford —— can avoid a similar ordeal.

A very slick operation. Shocking!

Later on Look North, let the party begin.

those who've done better than expected in this year's A—level

results. A pioneering broadband scheme for

South Yorkshire paid for with almost £100 million of public money has

been scrapped. The digital region was supposed to provide fast

broadband to hundreds of thousands of homes, but last month it emerged

that it was in fact serving just 3,000 customers. Here's our business

correspondent Danni Hewson. It was called ground—breaking, a way

to bring superfast broadband to South Yorkshire at a time when the

area was being ignored by private sector providers. And the

infrastructure has gone in. 350 miles of fibre—optic cable. It was

supposed to provide high—speed broadband to 1.3 million people. In

July, it emerged only 3000 people had signed up. So, councils have

pulled the plug but not before it cost the public purse £83 million.

First thing we need to say is we have 80% broadband, high—speed

broadband coverage across South Yorkshire, so our original

objectives of making the South Yorkshire economy didn't get left

behind was met. But it has been beset by a number of financial

problems, problems we will have to look into to make sure it doesn't

happen again. For one local company that has been using the network to

provide their customers with broadband, today's news has been a

blow. This is major news for us as a provider. Our main focus is to

maintain the service we provide and make sure that we can, you know,

provide continuity of service to migrate customers to a new network.

It will not It could take as long as the year.

It hoped a buyer can be found to offset the cost in the meantime. ——

it is hoped. All of Bradford's Respect

councillors have temporarily resigned the party's whip, in

protest at the suspension of two of their colleagues earlier this week.

It's after George Galloway's party refused to give a reason for the

action against them. The five councillors say they'll work as an

independent group until the matter's resolved. They want Mohammad Shabbir

and Ishtiaq Ahmed's suspensions revoked and they insist the pair

need to be publicly exonerated by Respect.

There'll be celebrations and commiserations tonight as thousands

of Yorkshire's A—level students come to terms with their all—important

exam results. And for those who've done better than expected there's an

extra piece of good news this year. I remember opening that envelope! So

do I, that was a long time ago. That's because more of the region's

top universities say they'll be accepting applications for places

through the so—called clearing system. Clearing matches students

who didn't get the grades they expected with spare places. Here's

Spencer Stokes. If the grades aren't right, A—level

results day can be quite deflating. That's not the case here where today

these pupils have got their best ever set of results. Students

celebrated by attaching their name, great and university destination to

helium filled balloons. There's something symbolic about it, flying

away, this is the last day, it is quite emotional. This is what

students hope this day would look like. The all—important results

which confirms that place at university, if your results are

right. I hoped to get three A s.Did you get them? I did. I got C s. I

didn't think I would get it because I found the exams very hard. It is

just as good for me as three A s. The students got a great and the

universities they wanted but if things don't go as expected,

students go through clearing. Traditionally, it has been used to

find a replacement university for those with grades lower than they

had hoped for but this year, restrictions on recruit ——

recruiting top students have been lifted so Yorkshire 's highest

ranked institutions, Sheffield, Leeds and York, are using clearing

to find students who got better than expected grades. This is a way of

offering better places to have —— to people who have done better than

they thought they were going to and giving them a chance to upgrade to a

different type of university. That is why you'll find that the top 24

universities in the UK have gone into this process this year and

making places available in this way. Universities say that despite higher

tuition fees, applications haven't tailed off. They want the best

students, . Sixth formers seem keen to head off to university, wherever

that might be. I bet you did very well in your

A—levels. Two A s, two B s. How about

Before seven o'clock, it was the longest room of its kind on earth.

Now, artists from around the world are heading to the Salts Mill

spinning Hull to pay tribute to Yorkshire's textile heritage.

This time last year we were all enthralled by the Olympics and soon

after that the Paralympics, but tonight in Sheffield a very

different type of Games gets under way. The Transplant Games are held

every year across the UK with hundreds of competitors, every one

of whom has undergone a life—saving transplant. They compete in a range

of sports from running and swimming to five—a—side football and fishing.

This year promises to be bigger than ever and our sports reporter Tanya

Arnold is in the centre of Sheffield for the opening parade.

Well, they are just parading the athletes in for the opening

ceremony. As you can hear, they've got the England band to add some

atmosphere, but these games are growing, year—on—year, going from

strength to strength. They started back in 1978. There are record

numbers of transplant athletes and supporters who have signed up for

this year's games. Competitor entry is up 17% to more than 670, and the

official supporter registration is up 10% to 1104 for the four—day

event. As one competitor told a colleague of

up 10% to 1104 for the four—day event. As one competitor told a mine

is that you watching people who should probably be dead. That's the

kind of stories you've got here. Kate has been following one former

competitor for the last year. This is the picture of the

Transplant Games. Paul Johnson is no stranger to the Transplant Games.

He's taken part several times over the years, including in Sheffield in

1995. But he will not be going this year. I come to this hospital, I

come here three times a week for the liars —— dialysis treatment. I can't

drink very much, and I've got a very severely restricted lifestyle. And

I've got a restricted diet as well. It is quite traumatic at times, it's

not something you'd wish on your worst enemy, but, hopefully, if I

can get a transplant later this year, I can put it behind me. Three

months on, and what will be pulled's third kidney transplant is

now imminent. You've got to put your trust in the surgeons. They've done

it many times before and it is almost routine. It is an early start

at Sheffield's Northern General Hospital and it is almost time for

Paul to go down to surgery. If all goes well, today his 14 months on

dialysis could be over. Even though I've had 20 operations myself, it

never gets any easier. But once I get down there, they put me to

sleep. And when I wake up, fingers crossed, be OK and I'll look forward

to a new life. It is now two weeks since Paul had his transplant.

Things haven't been easy. The operation itself took eight hours

due to complications. And he's now on a cocktail of drugs to prevent

his body from rejecting the new organ. When I wake up, I feel well.

When I opened my eyes, I just feel well. So just to live a normal life,

that's all I've ever wanted, and to be healthy. It is a struggle to get

there. As the Transplant Games begin in Sheffield today, Paul's only wish

is that more people like him are able to receive new organs. There is

a greater need in this country for more people to be organ donors and

to come forward and join the register. We need the government to

step up to the mark and get more people signed up. It is not good

enough for them to do nothing, people are dying every week.

These games are about everybody, young and old, taking part in a

range of different events. Let's hear some —— from some children who

have had to learn young about the donor registration scheme.

Organs are very important to people like me. Donors need to be with a

donor card. If I didn't have that kidney, I wouldn't be here right

now. And that is really good because I'm allowed to do lots of things.

And stuff. I'm not allowed to do contact sports. The liver doctor

said I needed a transplant so I was put on the transplant list. And I

don't know how many days later, but months later I got it. It was

amazing. Seeing what he could do and what he couldn't do before, the

transplant team are going to the games as well. We have made friends

with them. Not just here but other places as well. I can do a lot more

outside and I just have a lot more fun. If we didn't have Bethany,

there would be a piece missing forever. I feel very lucky. If I

didn't have my transplant, I'd be dead.

Let's hear from a couple more of the competitors this weekend and from

the team manager. I've got Charlie Dyson and Nick. Tell us your story

today. My stories started this time around ten months ago, October 23, I

received a kidney from my father. After going into renal failure for

the second time last year, my first transplant lasted 18 years, but I

got another one of my father. It has been a good road. Nick, what has

your journey been? It started in 1983, born with 40 kidneys. I was on

the list for ten years, on dialysis, and now in December be

celebrating my 20th anniversary of my transplant. That is my big

journey. How important is it for you to compete in these games? It's

massive. You see these people, they've all got their own story,

like me, like Charlie, they've all had a life—saving operation and we

need more people on the register so more people can live. How big a

focus was it being here as you are going through your process? The day

after I had my transplant, my focus was on these Transplant Games, to

get back on the golf course, to get practising and to compete, it was

the best focus I could have. It is related to be here. Lynn is the team

manager for Great Britain. These guys put in a lot of time and

effort, but there is a big message behind these games, isn't there?

Without their donors, they wouldn't be competing. These games celebrate

life, and hopefully get people talking about their wishes for their

loved ones. What is your aim is to get to the end of this tournament,

as well as having a successful event? What do you hope people will

have done? I hope to have had the conversation tonight with their

families and say, let them use my organs. For you guys, how important

is it to have the city behind you, despite the rain? It is important.

It gets all the athletes out. That's what the main thing is. People might

not even be here, so they are happy to be in the rain. But do you want

to win? It is all about the winning! It is about taking part, but winning

helps. Good luck in the next couple of days. If you are in the Sheffield

area, they are competing at various different venues across the next few

days with the athletics at Don Valley on Sunday.

Last time they had the games in Sheffield, 25,000 people signed up

to the register. So, good work. Cricket, Yorkshire have had not a

very good season. West Yorkshire was once world—famous

for its expertise in the cloth industry. And to celebrate this, the

county's most famous mill, Salts Mill in Saltaire, is having its

textile past brought into the present. A huge exhibition opens

this weekend in what was the spinning room on the top floor of

the mill. It'll bring together the world's best textile artists to

showcase their work. Here's Cathy Killick.

It is not usually open to the public but on Sunday everyone will get the

chance to see the extraordinary space that was the spinning room of

Salts Mill. It's become a gallery to display the work of 23

internationally known textile artist asked to make work specifically for

this room on a theme of cloth and memory. This is the first work that

greets you. It is by Peter Jacobs. It's taken from a photograph of men

in the Bradford will exchange in 1951. It is only when you come

around the back you realise it's not printed but it is in fact a

projection of the shadows cast by this incredibly fragile acid etched

cloth. It is really beautiful, like a shroud of ghosts. The artists have

responded to the building and the space. They've responded to the

history of the people who worked here. And they've also responded

very personally, some of them have placed very personal memories within

the space as well. Seven Japanese artists are showing their work. This

piece looks like Q1 cobwebs but it is in fact thousands of grains of

rice is suspended on gossamer threads. Other workplace with

traditional Japanese motifs, interpreted in a modern way. This is

by Karen Gough and who has researched the history of the women

who worked here from the census of 1891 and she's made these common

writ of plaques, if you like, out of old bobbins and cloth. You have to

look closely, this is incredibly delicate hand stitching. So skilful

and such a thoughtful memorial to the forgotten workers here. It is

worth seeing the spinning room let alone the yard. It's a good excuse

for a visit to Salts Mill. You've got until November three to catch

it. I had no idea that room was there in

Salts Mill. Find it next time you go.

Now, we are talking A—levels. Were they A—levels in your time,

Harry? I'm only teasing! Core, slate board in my day. Now,

what did you get? I got A, B and U! I don't think I turned up for the

exam! We don't normally do black—and—white

pictures, but this one took my fancy. The canal between Skipton and

Keighley. The second picture, Scarborough knife—point. Heather, on

the North York Moors as well. Pull the weatherman —— you can tweet me

or send me an e—mail. We have had a mild and humid day. The butchers up

to 24 degrees. It is going to feel fresher tomorrow, and we will have

lost the humidity because the rain is approaching from the West at the

moment and it will be a cold front, and we will have to wait until

Saturday until we have another spell of rain. We had some pleasant

sunshine this morning. We saw more cloud develop. Through the evening,

that cloud thickens and we already have some rain, which will spread

eastwards. Later this evening and early tomorrow, early spells of

rain. It is breezy as well. Temperatures at around 16. So, the

sun will rise at 5:46am, and it will set at 8:30pm. Tomorrow, we start

the day with quite a lot of cloud around. The odd shower in the

afternoon, but we all have highs of 22.

A* for that. It is not the end of the world if you didn't get your

grades, by the way. Now, we will see at 10:25pm. Good night.