:00:00. > :00:12.New figures have revealed the extent of the pressures on the region's
:00:13. > :00:15.hospitals in the first two weeks of the new year.
:00:16. > :00:19.Six of our NHS Trusts spent at least one day last week on level 3
:00:20. > :00:21.and level 4 alerts, meaning they were
:00:22. > :00:26.The son of a pensioner who waited overnight in a corridor says
:00:27. > :00:31.Another emergency, another patient heading
:00:32. > :00:37.In this pressurised winter, the tightest of pinch points.
:00:38. > :00:40.That's the problem, you can't get away from that fact.
:00:41. > :00:42.Graeme's dad, Derek, went to A there on Monday.
:00:43. > :00:50.He spent 15 hours in a corridor, it was 48 hours before he got
:00:51. > :00:55.It wasn't that they were abandoned, in any sense of the word.
:00:56. > :00:58.There were staff there, paramedics and nurses,
:00:59. > :01:04.and everyone was being looked after, but it was clearly a system
:01:05. > :01:09.that was overloaded and was getting close to not being able to cope.
:01:10. > :01:11.In a statement, the hospital said pressures here are continuing
:01:12. > :01:16.but they have robust plans for dealing with them.
:01:17. > :01:21.It also confirmed that in the two weeks up to January the 4th,
:01:22. > :01:27.109 patients waited 12 hours or more for treatment in A
:01:28. > :01:29.Figures out today show in the first week of the year
:01:30. > :01:33.one hospital, the Royal Stoke, spent a day at level four,
:01:34. > :01:35.formerly black alert, where comprehensive patient care
:01:36. > :01:40.It spent the next three days on level three,
:01:41. > :01:42.what used to be red alert, denoting major pressures, along
:01:43. > :01:51.Shrewsbury and Telford spent two days at level three.
:01:52. > :01:52.Russells Hall in Dudley and Coventry's University
:01:53. > :01:57.An expert on the NHS says there's no quick fix...
:01:58. > :02:00.There is a need for more beds but the sort of beds that
:02:01. > :02:02.are probably needed, or the sort of support
:02:03. > :02:07.that is often needed, is probably out there in social care
:02:08. > :02:10.or in community hospitals and other community services,
:02:11. > :02:12.so that people can move on to those services after they've
:02:13. > :02:16.had their initial assessment and treatment in hospital.
:02:17. > :02:19.None of our A shut their doors to patients but the demands they're
:02:20. > :02:21.facing were never greater, the fault lines
:02:22. > :02:29.Meanwhile, an NHS review has decided maternity services will not
:02:30. > :02:31.return to Stafford County Hospital on safety as well
:02:32. > :02:36.Consultant-led obstetrics were moved from the site
:02:37. > :02:40.to the Royal Stoke Hospital last January.
:02:41. > :02:43.In other news, the Labour MP for Stoke-on-Trent Central has
:02:44. > :02:51.Tristram Hunt, who's a historian, is leaving politics to take over
:02:52. > :02:53.as director of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
:02:54. > :02:59.There's already speculation about who his party will choose
:03:00. > :03:04.Our reporter Rob Mayor is in Stoke for us now.
:03:05. > :03:14.I think to some of his constituents but not really people following
:03:15. > :03:25.Westminster politics. He was an open critic of Labour
:03:26. > :03:28.leader Jeremy Corbyn and decided not Before being an MP he had
:03:29. > :03:40.a successful career as a historian, writing books and
:03:41. > :03:44.presenting TV programmes. But he says that isn't why
:03:45. > :03:47.he is leaving parliament, it's just that becoming
:03:48. > :03:49.the director of the V Museum Earlier I asked voters
:03:50. > :03:53.here in Stoke what they thought. He has a presence in the city,
:03:54. > :03:56.I think it's fair to say. He's not local but I think he's
:03:57. > :04:00.tried his best to represent Stoke. The Labour Party have got
:04:01. > :04:03.no chance of getting in with Jeremy Corbyn in charge
:04:04. > :04:06.anyway, so he might He's going to a better job
:04:07. > :04:10.than the one he's got, probably! The thoughts of some people in Stoke
:04:11. > :04:41.today. One possible replacement will be
:04:42. > :04:42.Mohammed Purvis, the leader of the Labour group on Stoke-on-Trent City
:04:43. > :04:56.Council. Around a hundred jobs
:04:57. > :05:03.will be created in Telford, after a car-parts manufacturer
:05:04. > :05:06.announced plans for a new factory. Austrian firm Polytec is moving
:05:07. > :05:09.to the T54 Technology Park. Its UK base is currently
:05:10. > :05:11.at Bromyard in Herefordshire. The company says that site won't be
:05:12. > :05:13.affected by the new development. A special summit's been arranged
:05:14. > :05:16.to discuss how to tackle the growing problem of illegal Traveller camps
:05:17. > :05:18.across the West Midlands. The Police and Crime Commissioner
:05:19. > :05:21.says they're costing the taxpayer and private landlords hundreds
:05:22. > :05:23.of thousands of pounds. Steve Dale has now paid
:05:24. > :05:25.for new security measures, including concrete blocks
:05:26. > :05:27.at the entrance to his industrial site in Tipton, after illegal
:05:28. > :05:30.Travellers set up there last week. An estimated 300 illegal camps
:05:31. > :05:32.are moved on each year. We need to work more closely,
:05:33. > :05:35.the police with local councils, and also to see if the law needs
:05:36. > :05:38.to be changed, to balance those rights between the Travellers' right
:05:39. > :05:41.to travel and people their right to use their park
:05:42. > :05:43.the way they want to. Ludlow Museum's waiting to see
:05:44. > :05:46.if anyone will come forward to claim a substantial amount of gold found
:05:47. > :05:49.hidden in a piano in Shropshire. It was found in the
:05:50. > :05:50.110-year-old instrument If nobody can prove it belongs
:05:51. > :05:54.to them, it could be declared More than a hundred schools
:05:55. > :05:57.were closed across Stoke and Staffordshire today
:05:58. > :05:59.after heavier than expected snow fell overnight, giving hundreds
:06:00. > :06:01.of children like these Driving conditions were
:06:02. > :06:06.difficult in some areas. And a baby was born in the back
:06:07. > :06:10.of a police car on its way to the Royal Stoke Hospital,
:06:11. > :06:12.after her parents' car And of course you can stay in touch
:06:13. > :06:17.with the latest weather and travel problems in your area
:06:18. > :06:19.via your BBC local radio station. I'll leave you with
:06:20. > :06:23.the weather from Rebecca. Well, there's been plenty
:06:24. > :06:31.of talk of snow today. We did get some across
:06:32. > :06:35.the North Midlands in particular, and to quite low levels further
:06:36. > :06:38.south across the region, but not everywhere, and we had
:06:39. > :06:41.plenty of blue skies as well. As we head through the weekend we're
:06:42. > :06:45.going to start with an ice warning. It is covering much
:06:46. > :06:47.of the region as we head To low levels we could have some
:06:48. > :06:55.quite tricky driving conditions. We still have some wintry flurries
:06:56. > :06:57.possible across the North Midlands, blowing down through the Cheshire
:06:58. > :06:59.gap, so they could By the early hours of tomorrow
:07:00. > :07:03.turning more to sleet, but it's still a cold night,
:07:04. > :07:05.temperatures dipping down We start the day tomorrow with those
:07:06. > :07:09.northerly winds continuing. We still have a few showers
:07:10. > :07:11.working their way southwards. Those winds are going to make
:07:12. > :07:13.things feel quite chilly. We'll see those showers
:07:14. > :07:16.clearing away to the south. There might be a wintry mix
:07:17. > :07:19.in there, but then we'll be left Still a few showers rippling along
:07:20. > :07:22.the west coast as well. There's more information on that
:07:23. > :07:25.in the national forecast. I'll leave you with the outlook
:07:26. > :07:32.for the next few days. 5-6 is the best we will have. It
:07:33. > :07:38.stays cold into the beginning of next week as well
:07:39. > :07:45.stop Good evening, a cold, icy night, but some others have other
:07:46. > :07:50.concerns. This was the scene earlier today, huge waves crashing on to the
:07:51. > :07:54.shoreline at Whitley Bay. We still have the peak of the high tide to
:07:55. > :08:00.come in other parts. This is the flood line number. It's if you have
:08:01. > :08:07.any concerns. The worst of the wind slowly comes -- subsiding. Wintry
:08:08. > :08:10.showers across the North of Scotland and some filtering well inland
:08:11. > :08:15.across the Midlands, giving a light dusting in some places. An icy
:08:16. > :08:18.night, temperatures widely close to or below freezing, particularly
:08:19. > :08:26.where you have snow cover. Tomorrow starts cold. A large chunk of the UK
:08:27. > :08:27.will have a fine, crisp,