:00:00. > :00:00.Welcome to South Today. for the news where you are.
:00:00. > :00:00.Coming up: In pain and struggling to cope.
:00:00. > :00:08.Claims a lack of funding and a shortage of carers is leaving
:00:09. > :00:18.people with multiple sclerosis without the support they need.
:00:19. > :00:21.Also, how fire crews in Oxfordshire will be helping paramedics treat
:00:22. > :00:25.And soaring numbers of red kites - the birds of prey once on the verge
:00:26. > :00:39.of extinction now thriving in urban environments.
:00:40. > :00:42.A third of people with multiple sclerosis say
:00:43. > :00:44.they are not receiving enough - or any - support, according
:00:45. > :00:49.One man from North Oxfordshire says he is not getting the help he needs
:00:50. > :00:53.Brian Cook, who lives in Lower Heyford near Bicester,
:00:54. > :00:56.Stuart Tinworth has been to meet him.
:00:57. > :01:00.Brian's been living with MS since 2004.
:01:01. > :01:02.He's gone from walking, to a wheelchair, and can no
:01:03. > :01:10.He also says he no longer has guarantees for continuing care,
:01:11. > :01:18.It is hardly a way to live not knowing what is going to happen next
:01:19. > :01:28.I think I had about three hours sleep for each
:01:29. > :01:43.Brian says his care package ended at the start of this month.
:01:44. > :01:47.Care agencies are taking on more work with less and less carers.
:01:48. > :01:50.They are working on zero hour contracts and they are being paid ?1
:01:51. > :01:54.more than the living wage and they can earn that sort
:01:55. > :02:04.The MS Society says Brian isn't alone.
:02:05. > :02:05.A lacking of funding from central government
:02:06. > :02:08.for social care is to blame, claiming providers are struggling
:02:09. > :02:25.to recruit and keep hold of care workers.
:02:26. > :02:31.This is an up and down the country. Third of people in the most severe
:02:32. > :02:34.need are struggling to get even basic support like help with
:02:35. > :02:42.dressing and washing. The county council however
:02:43. > :02:45.is insistant it's trying to help. In a statement they stress:
:02:46. > :02:48.Mr Cook has not been left And sufficient funds
:02:49. > :02:52.are in place, so he can And they add - we will work with him
:02:53. > :02:56.to look at alternatives in the short-term, whilst sufficient
:02:57. > :02:58.care is identified. The council says it's also investing
:02:59. > :03:01.?1 million in a range of initiatives aimed at strengthening the social
:03:02. > :03:03.care market, with new training and measures to improve worker
:03:04. > :03:05.recruitment but concerns remain. With a huge recruitment drive around
:03:06. > :03:08.the corner for new retail projects at Westgate and Bicester village,
:03:09. > :03:11.the carer market could be Suicide is the leading cause
:03:12. > :03:20.of death among people under 35 according to The Mental Health
:03:21. > :03:21.Foundation. Now a woman who founded a suicide
:03:22. > :03:24.crisis centre in Gloucestershire wants to open a similar personalised
:03:25. > :03:26.service in Oxford. Joy Hibbins set up her charity
:03:27. > :03:29.after struggling to access support on the NHS when she came close
:03:30. > :03:31.to taking her life. Five years ago, Joy Hibbins had
:03:32. > :03:44.a traumatic experience which left her with post traumatic
:03:45. > :03:46.stress disorder and Having struggled to get
:03:47. > :03:52.the right support herself, a year later she set
:03:53. > :03:55.up her own suicide crisis centre. Today at St Edmund Hall in Oxford,
:03:56. > :03:58.she told mental health professionals about the personalised
:03:59. > :04:05.service her team provides. As well as having a suicide
:04:06. > :04:07.crisis centre where people can come and be safe,
:04:08. > :04:10.we also do home visits so we are actually going out
:04:11. > :04:13.to people who are at risk and I have got absolutely no doubt
:04:14. > :04:16.that going out to people when they are at risk is one
:04:17. > :04:19.of the reasons why all of our The Mental Health Foundation say
:04:20. > :04:31.suicide is the leading cause While four times as many
:04:32. > :04:35.men die as a result But Joy says men are seeking help -
:04:36. > :04:40.50 to 80% of her clients are men. Tom was only 22 when he thought
:04:41. > :04:43.about taking his own life. A serious car accident
:04:44. > :04:45.followed by his brother's Everything just seemed
:04:46. > :04:50.so dark and I didn't have And I found suicide crisis online
:04:51. > :04:54.just by googling help for suicidal The main thing that I got
:04:55. > :04:59.from it was the one-to-one. I went in and I saw joy
:05:00. > :05:02.and she would sit with me It was incredible to have
:05:03. > :05:18.that human connection. Joy says one-to-one support
:05:19. > :05:20.in a safe environment with specially trained councillors
:05:21. > :05:22.could have a significant reduce the numbers of suicides each year
:05:23. > :05:25.and hopes to one day see independent crisis centres like
:05:26. > :05:27.hers in every county. Homeless people in Oxford will be
:05:28. > :05:29.allowed to live, temporarily, A group of squatters have
:05:30. > :05:32.recently been evicted from a former restaurant,
:05:33. > :05:34.a disused power station The proposal to allow vacant
:05:35. > :05:38.buildings to be used was approved Firefighters are treating a fire
:05:39. > :05:42.at a derelict building The cause of the fire
:05:43. > :05:45.on Curbridge Road overnight. The roof collapsed, making
:05:46. > :05:46.conditions difficult The building is owned
:05:47. > :05:59.by the Diocese of Birmingham. Oxfordshire's fire service
:06:00. > :06:01.is helping ambulance crews get The six month trial will see fire
:06:02. > :06:05.crews aiding paramedics in situations where patients
:06:06. > :06:07.are hard to reach - for example in tall
:06:08. > :06:09.or locked buildings. Today's scenario in Didcot
:06:10. > :06:17.was a mockup, but Darren Weston has been called to numerous
:06:18. > :06:19.real life emergencies. He's saved many lives,
:06:20. > :06:21.but often the issue isn't so much treating patients
:06:22. > :06:31.as getting to them. The problem in gaining access
:06:32. > :06:33.into modern properties these days We could be faced
:06:34. > :06:36.with an unconscious patient and capable of --
:06:37. > :06:39.incapable of answering the door. Every second can literally
:06:40. > :06:41.make a difference to If you need to get to the first
:06:42. > :07:01.floor from outside, fire crews The three emergency services
:07:02. > :07:04.are now working together Police or ambulance crews can call
:07:05. > :07:12.on the fire brigade for help. It is really important
:07:13. > :07:14.and one of the main reasons We want to make sure
:07:15. > :07:18.we deliver the best service We have to make the most
:07:19. > :07:23.of the money that is By working together,
:07:24. > :07:25.we can deliver better services, simpler and smarter and cheaper
:07:26. > :07:34.for the public. The six month trial
:07:35. > :07:36.has started well. Local fire crews have been
:07:37. > :07:38.called to 15 emergencies If successful, the three-way
:07:39. > :07:41.partnership is likely Oxfordshire's longest-serving Member
:07:42. > :07:52.of Parliament has made his final Labour's Andrew Smith
:07:53. > :07:56.will stand down at the general He has represented
:07:57. > :08:04.Oxford East since 1987. I would like to say a huge thank
:08:05. > :08:07.you to all those who have helped me serve for 30 years for the wonderful
:08:08. > :08:12.constituency of Oxford East. My office staff and party
:08:13. > :08:26.organisers across the years. A bird of prey which was once
:08:27. > :08:36.on the verge of extinction Despite its size -
:08:37. > :08:40.with a wingspan of up to six feet - it seems many people are choosing
:08:41. > :08:43.to feed them, encouraging Red kites circling high and swooping
:08:44. > :08:51.low have become a common sight Scientists initially thought they'd
:08:52. > :08:54.moved into urban areas from the countryside because more
:08:55. > :08:56.roads means more roadkill But we surveyed, there's
:08:57. > :09:02.very little roadkill. Our local councils are very good
:09:03. > :09:04.at keeping the streets clean. And instead we did questionnaires,
:09:05. > :09:07.we asked local people what they do and we found out that certainly well
:09:08. > :09:11.over one in 20 local households here in Reading have fed red kites
:09:12. > :09:14.at one point or another. And so it's that feeding
:09:15. > :09:17.that's attracting them in, it's a very regular occurrence
:09:18. > :09:20.to drive through some of the suburbs of Reading and see a dozen,
:09:21. > :09:24.two dozen red kites circling over a house where people clearly
:09:25. > :09:27.have been feeding them. Red kites were virtually wiped out
:09:28. > :09:29.in the British Isles Conservationists began reintroducing
:09:30. > :09:34.breeding pairs to the wild more than 20 years ago
:09:35. > :09:39.and their population is thriving, with or without
:09:40. > :09:45.the neighbours feeding them. The weather is next
:09:46. > :09:58.with Sarah Farmer. . We are still seeing some heavy
:09:59. > :10:02.showers as a course of this evening, but tonight we will see sky is
:10:03. > :10:06.starting to clear and some pretty cold and frosty conditions through
:10:07. > :10:09.the overnight period. It looks like temperatures will once again be
:10:10. > :10:16.close to freezing and we will see is clear skies at times. Perhaps some
:10:17. > :10:21.showers moving towards dawn. Generally, are dry and chilly start
:10:22. > :10:27.to tomorrow. Some brightness with showers working their way, a little
:10:28. > :10:31.sooner than today. They could be wintry in nature. Sleet, hail and
:10:32. > :10:38.fund is possible. In the sunshine, temperatures up to ten or 11. With
:10:39. > :10:43.the brisk northerly winds, it will feel bitterly cold. Thursday, things
:10:44. > :10:47.change. Chilly start with some brightness. Affront will sink
:10:48. > :10:56.southwards, bringing cloud and mild conditions. Feeling less cold with
:10:57. > :10:59.patchy outbreaks of rain during the day on Thursday. After a chilly
:11:00. > :11:01.oldie tomorrow with some possibly wintry showers, thirsty looks to be
:11:02. > :11:02.a little bit drier and those temperatures start to climb as well
:11:03. > :11:13.as we head towards the Good evening. Another cold night
:11:14. > :11:18.lies ahead after what was a chilly day for swathes of the UK. This is
:11:19. > :11:21.the Highlands of Scotland. 25th of April and lying snow.