:00:00. > :00:15.A leading local doctor has warned patients' lives could be at risk
:00:16. > :00:17.because of the pressures on our accident and
:00:18. > :00:22.But North West Tonight has obtained a leaked report,
:00:23. > :00:25.showing patients have been kept waiting in ambulances for up to ten
:00:26. > :00:34.The length of time an ambulance waits can vary
:00:35. > :00:37.from hospital to hospital - and we're not just talking
:00:38. > :00:42.Today, leaked figures suggest that some hospitals are way
:00:43. > :00:47.On the 4th of January, an ambulance waited for more than ten hours
:00:48. > :00:56.the length of time was almost nine hours.
:00:57. > :01:00.On the 12th of December, the longest turnaround
:01:01. > :01:01.time at Royal Bolton was nine hours.
:01:02. > :01:04.On all three occasions, the average times were higher
:01:05. > :01:12.My major concern is what it means for patients waiting
:01:13. > :01:14.on stretchers, in corridors, not being seen quickly enough.
:01:15. > :01:16.The NHS staff are working absolute wonders,
:01:17. > :01:21.Two days ago, this image was sent to MP Stephen Twigg.
:01:22. > :01:25.A constituent told him the waiting room at Aintree
:01:26. > :01:30.was like an airport - with people on ambulance trolleys
:01:31. > :01:35.waiting to be handed over from paradedics to A
:01:36. > :01:42.So at the moment we have about 130 patients within the hospital
:01:43. > :01:45.who COULD go home if there was an appropriate place for them
:01:46. > :01:49.to go to, or an appropriate care package to go to in the community.
:01:50. > :01:53.we need people in the emergency we need people in the emergency
:01:54. > :01:55.department to move into. Leading doctors today wrote
:01:56. > :01:57.to the Prime Minister warning patients' lives
:01:58. > :01:59.are being put at risk. What I've been advocating
:02:00. > :02:06.is an increase in national insurance contribution,
:02:07. > :02:12.that it should be earmarked only for the NHS and social care,
:02:13. > :02:15.because if you designed an NHS now you'd have both of those key
:02:16. > :02:18.services as a single service. Today the government responded,
:02:19. > :02:25.during debate on the NHS and social in the Tuesday after Christmas,
:02:26. > :02:30.we saw the busiest day ever And over the few weeks around
:02:31. > :02:36.Christmas, we saw the day when more people were treated in accident
:02:37. > :02:38.and emergency within four hours The North West Ambulance Service has
:02:39. > :02:49.seen an increase in red incidents. As these are patients in a serious
:02:50. > :02:56.concern but need to go to hospital, this in turn impacts on an increase
:02:57. > :02:58.in activity at hospital emergency departments,
:02:59. > :03:00.that can unfortunately result in ambulance crews having to wait
:03:01. > :03:02.longer to hand over patients Patients will want
:03:03. > :03:09.to see improvements. The Government maintains a huge
:03:10. > :03:11.amount of action is being taken Mark Holland is President
:03:12. > :03:23.of the Society for Acute Medicine. I asked him what he thought
:03:24. > :03:25.about the Prime Minister dismissing the Red Cross's claims the NHS
:03:26. > :03:28.is facing a himanitarian crisis We're not in a situation like it is
:03:29. > :03:34.in Syria, but we are in a humane crisis
:03:35. > :03:38.because it is a crisis which is affecting human beings,
:03:39. > :03:45.and there is a person at the top of the food chain who is in denial
:03:46. > :03:52.that the crisis is occurring. And therefore I feel a lot
:03:53. > :03:56.of sympathy with the Red Cross - they have no axe to grind,
:03:57. > :04:01.they have come out and made a powerful statement,
:04:02. > :04:04.and I think we have an obligation The Government says ?10 billion
:04:05. > :04:12.going in, 1,600 more doctors, We are not seeing any benefits,
:04:13. > :04:17.and therefore one wonders A lot of people feel the accounting
:04:18. > :04:21.figures are, you know, we are the third worst
:04:22. > :04:42.doctored country in Europe, we have 2.8 doctors per 1,000
:04:43. > :04:51.of the of population. Adding in 1600 takes
:04:52. > :04:53.us to just 2.83. There's been talk today
:04:54. > :04:55.of a political consensus to bring the parties together to plot
:04:56. > :04:57.a way forward. Yes, I think we probably do need
:04:58. > :05:01.an immediate injection of cash I think it is right that party
:05:02. > :05:10.politics are done away with and people work together,
:05:11. > :05:16.but I also think it is right that the NHS needs
:05:17. > :05:18.a really strong leader. Guys like you are interviewing
:05:19. > :05:21.different people every day of the week, and I don't think
:05:22. > :05:24.anybody out there can tell us who runs the NHS
:05:25. > :05:26.because there are too many people who appear to put their hands up
:05:27. > :05:29.but nobody ever takes I've lived through one
:05:30. > :05:35.another bad winter, which was 1989 going into '90,
:05:36. > :05:43.and this is worse. Police investigating the rape
:05:44. > :05:45.of a 12-year-old girl in the Levenshulme area
:05:46. > :05:47.of Manchester have released an e-fit image of a man
:05:48. > :05:50.they want to speak to. The attack happened on the 22nd
:05:51. > :05:53.Novermber on Chapel Street, It's one of three attacks
:05:54. > :05:58.in the area over recent months - including the rape of another
:05:59. > :06:01.12-year-old. This evening, more than a hundred
:06:02. > :06:04.people have held a meeting in Levenshulme to raise
:06:05. > :06:05.concerns over safety. Police have increased patrols
:06:06. > :06:08.in the area since the attacks - but say they're not linking them
:06:09. > :06:10.at this stage. Local residents say the community
:06:11. > :06:14.needs more reassurance. I want to know I'm safe
:06:15. > :06:17.when I'm out and about, because the area has suddenly become
:06:18. > :06:21."Oh - I daren't go there. I'd better put the car
:06:22. > :06:23.away before it gets too You don't know what's
:06:24. > :06:26.around the corner. And it's never been
:06:27. > :06:29.like that around here. Lancashire Police closed part
:06:30. > :06:31.of Preston New Road for four hours earlier today,
:06:32. > :06:38.because of an anti fracking protest. Demonstrators were walking
:06:39. > :06:40.in front of lorries heading Police say it caused long tailbacks
:06:41. > :06:45.and diversions in the area. Fines worth more than a million
:06:46. > :06:48.pounds have been issued to thousands of drivers in Preston,
:06:49. > :06:49.after the introduction Motorists caught out
:06:50. > :06:55.by the new restriction are furious Lancashire County Council has made
:06:56. > :06:58.so much money in less But it says the Fishergate
:06:59. > :07:01.scheme to ease congestion Fishergate, Preston's
:07:02. > :07:10.main shopping street. Transformed in recent years,
:07:11. > :07:12.it's now a shared space scheme. Vehicles and pedestrians
:07:13. > :07:14.have equal right of way, and with it all the street signs
:07:15. > :07:16.and crucially the traffic Over Christmas 2015, and at peak
:07:17. > :07:21.times, congestion got quite bad. So in October last year,
:07:22. > :07:23.Lancashire County Council Drivers were stopped from turning
:07:24. > :07:31.right, near the railway station, and a temporary bus lane on parts
:07:32. > :07:33.of Fishergate was And it's at this point
:07:34. > :07:38.on Fishergate that, at its junction with Mount Street,
:07:39. > :07:40.where the bus lane begins. It's active between 11:00
:07:41. > :07:43.in the morning and 6:00 at night. While we've been filming throughout
:07:44. > :07:46.the day, we've seen countless numbers of drivers ignore the signs
:07:47. > :07:48.and carry on down Fishergate; We've been speaking
:07:49. > :07:52.to people who don't think The first day they put
:07:53. > :07:57.in the camera, they were here, a few people were here to advise
:07:58. > :08:00.the people that it's But the next day onwards,
:08:01. > :08:10.there was nobody here. Our daughter came up
:08:11. > :08:13.Chapel Street, and by the time Since October, Lancashire County
:08:14. > :08:19.Council's issued over 23,000 fines. Behind me, we have signs
:08:20. > :08:21.which are quite clear, telling people that if they go any
:08:22. > :08:24.further beyond the last sign, there is a camera -
:08:25. > :08:30.it is in operation. Michael Leach is a solicitor
:08:31. > :08:33.who works and lives in Preston. It's just moved whatever congestion
:08:34. > :08:37.there was on Fishergate round Avenham, where people
:08:38. > :08:39.who are going to the Fylde coast or wherever are just having
:08:40. > :08:44.to drive round Avenham - and Avenham's just completely
:08:45. > :08:46.blocked, Avenham's not designed The consultation's under way now
:08:47. > :08:53.to decide whether to continue Football, and Liverpool suffered
:08:54. > :08:58.a setback in the first leg of their Jurgen Klopp's side were beaten 1-0
:08:59. > :09:04.by Southampton on the south coast. Nathan Redmond got the goal midway
:09:05. > :09:06.through the first half. The second leg is at
:09:07. > :09:09.Anfield in a fortnight - the winners will play
:09:10. > :09:29.Manchester United or Hull City There could be snow perhaps anywhere
:09:30. > :09:34.over the next 24 hours, it could continue beyond that into Friday.
:09:35. > :09:41.The cold weather has descended across us. You really are starting
:09:42. > :09:44.to feel how raw it is. That wind continues to be quite strong
:09:45. > :09:49.overnight. This weather stays with us through the weekend. Through the
:09:50. > :09:56.afternoon, one or two macro showers popped up. There wasn't much in
:09:57. > :10:00.them, just like, patchy rain, but as this weather bumps into the cold air
:10:01. > :10:05.tonight, this is where the potential for snow starts. Just after
:10:06. > :10:10.midnight, the Met Office warning for snow comes in. Yellow is the lowest
:10:11. > :10:15.level, we are not expecting massive problems, there may be no problems,
:10:16. > :10:20.but it doesn't take too much snow to cause a huge problem. So anywhere
:10:21. > :10:25.could see perhaps a centimetre of snow. But this is our picture
:10:26. > :10:30.tonight. You can see these showers, merging from time to time over the
:10:31. > :10:35.highest levels, there could be a bit of drifting. The numbers too cold,
:10:36. > :10:38.but tomorrow night will be a different story. Through the day
:10:39. > :10:43.tomorrow it is all about those wintry showers continuing. All the
:10:44. > :10:47.high ground you could have a light covering, at lower levels a tiny
:10:48. > :10:52.dusting. There is always the potential for one two macro
:10:53. > :10:56.different -- difficult areas. There will be reasonable spells of
:10:57. > :10:57.sunshine away from the showers, temperatures three or four macro at
:10:58. > :11:06.the very best. start to the weekend. Time for the
:11:07. > :11:12.national weather prospects if you are on the move.
:11:13. > :11:16.Good evening, a lot going on with the weather in the next few days,
:11:17. > :11:19.numerous weather warnings in for so buried in mind if you have travel
:11:20. > :11:23.plans. Lots of isobars on the chart overnight which means it will be
:11:24. > :11:27.windy for all. The strongest winds in Scotland, lots of wintry showers
:11:28. > :11:30.with snow getting down to increasingly low levels and some
:11:31. > :11:33.wintry showers in Northern Ireland and northern England. A cold night
:11:34. > :11:39.for Northern England, particularly in more rural spots, frosty and I
:11:40. > :11:42.see for some and some of the snow really blowing around over higher
:11:43. > :11:43.ground in Scotland. Strong wind and further