23/09/2014 Midlands Today

Families tell of their horror at an inquest into the deaths of

three patients under the care of a heart surgeon sacked from the Queen

Also tonight, Lord Heseltind live on the urgent need to bridgd

The former government minister's in the region to launch

a scheme that'll teach youngsters the skills they'll need for work.

The Princess Royal unveils a memorial honouring the Ghtrkas

who lost their lives with the armed forces.

And join me later. And I will have the weather forecast

later. Families have told of their

shock and horror at seeing their The inquest began today

into the deaths of three patients who were treated

by surgeon Ian Wilson at thd Queen Concerns came to light

after an internal audit found that 15 of his patients had died

in just over a year. In some cases,

there were common factors. Our Health Correspondent,

Michele Paduano, reports. Their inquests held together

following concerns over del`ys to surgery and the amount

of heart surgery. 78`year`old Alan Tringham

from Hereford had two heart valves repaired and an operation

on his atrium. He had extensive bruising `

even to his eyelids. His daughter, Joanne Muldowney said

she was asked if they wanted a priest, but claims she wasn't told

that it was for the last rites. During the operation,

Mr Tringham had been placed on a heart bypass machine and his heart

frozen with drugs to protect it The gap on one occasion

between those drugs being ghven was Ian Wilson accepted that he had

filled in the timings wrong for giving the drugs,

but said that he was working on He was asked whether she should have

operated sooner. He said, if I was to look back of course I wotld, but

there was nothing at that stage to suggest that course of action and

they had another 80 patients on my waiting list.

72`year old Peter Brooks from Halesowen had been well

His family were told that hd cardiac arrested on the table and afterwards

that he had six bypasses, a valve repair and a heart valve replaced.

His daughter, Alison Jinks said he never regained consciousness

The inquest into all three deaths at the Queen Elizabeth hosphtal is

I understand there are other issues relating to the practice th`t have

been identified but are not directly relevant to these cases?

Yes. After he was sacked, hd was specifically sacks for the heart

strike that was not given, they then looked into other aspects of his

work and finds that there w`s an issue to do with intravenous GTn.

The hospital said today that if they had known about that they m`y have

restricted his operating back in 2011.

He was sacked by the hospit`l. What has happened to him since?

He went for retraining at a hospital in Wolverhampton. That went well. He

has now been employed on a six`month contract although he will h`ve to

maintain his supervision. Clearly he has come out of this OK. Cldarly the

issue is whether there is or is not a problem. Only the General Medical

Council will be able to dechde that. Good to have you with

us this evening. Coming up later in the programme

Playing the right notes, not The school that's blown out

brass for plastic trumpets. The need to get young peopld to

learn skills for work is now so urgent a new scheme's behng set

up which it's hoped will help to close the so`called skills gap and

lead to the creation of mord new The Greater Birmingham Chamber

of Commerce is working with a consortium of colleges on a new

website called The Skills Htb. It's designed to give emploxers

a one`stop shop when searchhng Our Business Correspondent,

Peter Plisner, is at a printing firm So, Peter, why is

the skills gap such a big issue It's a big issue

because this printing firm has expanded rapidly over the l`st

decade and these days it's getting more and more work, but meeting

those orders means having the right Making it's mark `

this firm's presses are running 24 Launched 12 years ago

by ten school friends who scraped together ?2,000 it's now turning

over nearly ?3million per ydar and has ambitions to double that

figure over the next three xears. In the design shop they're just

as busy ` here they have vacancies but a lack of skills means ht's not

easy filling them. It is extremely difficult where you

have to advertise extensively. Once we employ them we then have to train

them further and develop thdir skills. Machines like this do not

always run themselves and they are becoming more high`tech. People that

work you need a certain levdl of skills. That cannot always be

trained in`house. A new website holds information

of more the 10,000 different courses ` they're available at colldges

across the Greater Birmingh`m area. Norman Cave who runs

Bournville College has playdd a key A business that has a particular

training needs will click onto the website. The website will identify

the course that is more appropriate for them. And also the colldge which

is nearest. In addition to

the colleges those who use the skills hub can also get help

from various Chambers of Colmerce. Ultimately it should lead to

more growth and job creation. This is all part of moves to empower

big cities. The force behind that is Lord Heseltine. He joins as tonight.

What do you think of this? Ht is an important step towards bringing more

power to local areas, involving local people who actually create the

jobs. That is the essence of the problem. Finding enough jobs and

finding people with the skills. This is designed to get all the local

sources of training and the employers into one grouping. That is

a very sensible step. We were promised money and you recolmended

that the Government release money to cities like Birmingham to

effectively control their own destiny. You talked about ?40

billion across the country, but we have seen no where near that from

the Government. There is no sign of that. I do not agree. But when I

looked at the total sum is `vailable over five years, it is not 40

billion all at once. There was a lot of money. I pointed this out. The

Government accepted the principle. They have begun the shift to local

areas. The Chancellor announced 6 billion a couple of months `go. That

is not all I asked for, but no one else has ever got a fraction of

that. As a result of the Scottish referendum there has been more talk

about regional devolution. RB good to get it? Will Birmingham benefit?

There are Local Enterprise Partnership 's all over England

They are already getting significant sums. They will get more. The

process has been going for `bout a year. The devolution debate in

Scotland has given it a massive push. Birmingham will gain from

that. We are heading in the right

direction, but there is still much work to do.

A 29`year`old man has been jailed for life for killing a mothdr`of`two

Amandeep Kaur Hothi was found in a room at the Britannia Hotel

She'd died from multiple knife wounds.

Gurminder Singh, from Forest Gate in London, has been told he'll serve

A Warwickshire man's been jailed after he admitted making a series

of hoax calls in which he told families their children had died.

Ashley Dodd made eight calls one night in June `

some in the early hours ` claiming he was a doctor at the

Magistrates sentenced him to 16 weeks in prison.

Four people have been arrested on suspicion of murder after a

The woman, who's thought to have been in her 50s, was found

at the property in Glebe Street in Wellington yesterday aftdrnoon.

Three men, aged 50, 35 and 21 are being questioned by police,

It's been confirmed that 35 Phones 4U stores

in the Midlands are to closd, with 169 staff losing their jobs.

The firm ` which is based in Newcastle`under`Lyme

in Staffordshire ` went into administration last week.

620 head`office staff found out on Friday that they'd lose thehr jobs.

A leading cancer charity's urging young people not to be

The Teenage Cancer Trust is worried that young people not

speaking to their doctor me`ns cancer's not spotted early dnough.

A survey by the Trust suggests that under 24s are more likely to get

All the patients in this cancer unit in Birmhngham

The disease is rare amongst this age group ` most teenagers don't

But it's the one thing that everyone here has in common.

I went to the GP and he gavd me some tablets because he thought ht was

I think I went back about three times and it was about the third

time I told him to do a blood test and then he did a blood test and I

got a phone call to say, can you go to the hospital, and the doctor came

Because fewer than 1% of cancer cases happen

in young people, when a teenager comes to their GP with something

wrong ` it's not the first thing the doctor will be looking for.

You see a lump on your head and you sort of worry for one minutd and you

kind of Yahoo Answer it and it just goes, don't worry it?s fine.

You go to the GP and he's lhke, no not at your age, or,

that will be very rare, and you just sort of dismiss it

Although Eleanor and Fiona both went to their GPs they didn't feel

confident enough to challenge them when nothing serious was fotnd.

A third of the teenagers spoken to for this survey said they dhdn't

feel able to talk to their GP about their health concerns.

Teenage Cancer Trust is worried this may mean some cancers

in young people aren't being picked up early enough.

If you're feeling tired or xou've got lumps or bumps or swellhngs it

doesn't mean you've got cancer but there's a small chance that you

If you're experiencing thesd problems you need to get chdcked out

The charity wants schools to help students become more aware

of the signs of cancer to ghve them confidence to say something

The hope is for the rare few who do have the disease they will get

The Princess Royal's been in Staffordshire this afternoon to

unveil a memorial to soldiers of the Gurkha Rifles who died in sdrvice.

The monument, at the National Memorial Arboretum,

marks the contribution made to the British Army by the men frol Nepal.

Over 200,000 Gurkhas served with the British Army

Numbers have fallen sharply since then and the regiment now has

Most recently, they've seen action in the Falklands, Kosovo,

They are the most wonderfully believe and kind people I h`ve ever

met. Their loyalty is as legendary as the bravery. Their motto is,

better to die than to be a coward. This sergeant is one of the 300 or

so Gurkhas. My great`grandf`ther was in the British Indian Army. My

father served in Hong Kong. His family history tells the story of

the Gurkhas. Two centuries of allegiance. But until very recently

there has never been a memorial for the thousands killed in the line of

duty. Unveiled today, the monument is the idea of a Staffordshhre

`based former Gurkha officer. They will tell them about it. Thdy will

be thrilled to think that wd are still thinking of them. It took a

small team of Gurkhas working with a professional stonemason two years to

build. The Gurkhas feel that this has received another blessing. The

God of prosperity is also phctured riding a rodent. And this mdmorial

has become infested with mice. Inquests begin into the deaths of

three patients under the care of a heart surgeon sacked from the Queen

Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham. Your detailed weather forec`st

to come shortly from Shefalh. Also in tonight's programme, the pub

regular who's inspired a song and a new beer two years after he died,

in honour of his old flat c`p. And join me live at Shrewsbtry Town

` a team chasing a hat`trick I used to play the trumpet

in my school orchestra, not an But I was sorry to hear that brass

instruments in schools have become an endangered species ` bec`use of

the cost and the fact that some are One school in the Black Country

hopes to have the answer. I very special lesson from ` very

special teacher. She is one of the most celebrated trumpet soloists.

She is here to give these schoolchildren in music lesson. But

these instruments are different They are made from plastic. It is an

amazing new invention which means that the plastic vibrates the way in

brass metal instrument would. And it looks great as well. They come in

several colours. At ?100 thdy are more affordable, lightweight and

Jude and Jude Law untraditional brass instruments. 35 trumpdts have

been donated to the school. You get to play the trumpet. You get to

learn how to do it. The instruments were developed by this Coventry

`based company. We learned how to make instruments sounds likd a real

bass instrument. We use that same technology in our trumpet. Ht is

simple and easy to start making a sound. Back at lesson is in full

swing. When it is over the learning will not stop. We will have a

teacher in here every week for the next year. We are only able to do

that because of the partnership that we have. There will be a concert in

the town Hall in October. A wonderful opportunity to le`rn and

play with the best. An owl sanctuary in Gloucestershire

has launched an appeal to help buy the f`rm where

they are currently based. The Barn Owl Centre needs to raise

?30,000 by the end of the year to purchase the land

and buildings from the council. Majestic, graceful and very at home.

This European Eagle Owl is one of 60 birds of prey at the Barn Owl Centre

in Gloucester. Based here shnce It is a great place to fly birds. It

brings people back to wildlhfe. Based here

2008, the charity currently leases the farm and surrounding land from

Gloucester city council, but now they've been given the chance to buy

For Vincent Jones, the founder of the charity, this is more

than just a farm. It's the place where his love of owls all began.

since I found my first I will nest in the tree behind me.

26 of the birds here were t`ken from this owner after a neighbour

recorded ten attacking them. They are still being rehabilitatdd. It

has taken a long time. If they manage to raise the money to

purchase the farm it will mdan that the centre can move forward with

plans to expand. That will lean they will be able to help more of these

birds. Onto tonight's football

and Shrewsbury Town are aimhng They're at home to Championship side

Norwich City in the third round of the League Cup and Dan P`llett's

at the Greenhous Stadium right now. They've already done it

once this season, Dan. Yes they've done it twice already

in this competition. They beat Blackpool

from the Championship in round one and Premier Le`gue

Leicester City in round two. Can they make it a hat`trick

of upsets tonight against another team from

the Championship ` Norwich City Well let's have a word with someone

who has some insider's knowledge. Fingers crossed. We are comhng into

the game on the back of an tnbeaten run here. We have got nothing to

lose. Our players are up for it You joined a club

which had just been relegatdd. The mood has changed. On thd first

day the chairman was trying to cheer everyone up. He has been involved in

the club for a long time. Hd is a massive supporter. He took to heart.

But he had a smile on face. One of the things that we wanted to do is

put a smile back on his facd. Fingers crossed we can do it again

tonight. This has got to help business. Yes, attendances `re down

slightly on the back of being relegated, but hopefully supporters

will come down tonight and see the big are trying to play. Thex will

see that we are going in thd right direction and hopefully we can get

promoted. It should be an exciting night. There is live, jury on BBC

radio. Dan, Shrewsbury aren't

our only side in Cup action tonight ` Stoke City also play tonight and

must feel that they have a realistic In the last few seasons we've had

two sides from outside the Birmingham City and Swansea City

have won it in the last few years. It shows what's possible

in the League Cup. Stoke City must think that they have

a chance of getting to Wembley. Stoke are away to

Sunderland this evening. And coverage of that match hs on

BBC Radio Stoke. We'll have the goals from both

of tonight's games on He was a pub regular who's prompted

a song, a flurry of fundraising and a new beer in his memorx `

all because he was well known This was Frank Cunningham,

a retired aircraft engineer, And this is his cap, which he was

always leaving on the bar hdre at People used to throw change

in it which was donated to charity. He would always take his cap off and

dump it on the side. For a joke somebody threw some money in one

night. It became a habit. The cat came off and the money went in and

it went to Macmillan nurses. When he died, someone asked for his cap

Maureen is a folk singer and has written a song ` Fr`nk's Cap

And now the pub has started to sell a new beer of the same name.

We have an award for our innovative ways of making money. We want to

keep it going. About ?1,400 has been thrown

into Frank's cap over the l`st two years and it's been donated to

Macmillan Cancer Support. It is a fitting tribute to `

drinking man. He liked his pint He liked the camaraderie. This is a

fantastic tributes to him. He was a character. It is amazing wh`t does

Dan for the dog and pheasant. And all this

because Frank was always le`ving Here is the weather. We are now

officially into Tim. Some p`rts of the region are feeling it. # row we

are now officially into auttmn. These temperatures will fluctuate

through the week. We are seding some changes to the complexion of things

without turning cloudy two this afternoon. That is down to this

frontal system pushing throtgh the Northwest. We have also got this

other frontal system that whll come through on Friday. That may bring

cloudy conditions and rain by that stage. High`pressure will l`ter on

starts to dominate. Back to this evening. We are starting to see this

cloud filter southwards. It is bringing rain to the Northern parts

of the region. Most of this rain will be liked and patchy. There will

be the odd heavy burst here and fair. Because of a close and the

rain temperatures are only dropping to a minimum of ten Celsius. It will

not be quite as cold. This rain will continue into the morning. Ht may

intensify in a few places. Ht will start to clear later on tomorrow

into the afternoon. Look at those temperatures. Across the North it is

much cooler. Tomorrow night will be drier. Dry with sunny spells on

Thursday. Ed Miliband sets out his vision

for Britain in his last conference an inquest into the deaths of three

patients under the care of ` heart surgeon sacked from the Quedn

Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham.