28/02/2017 South Today

Ready and waiting - for the news you are.

a paramedic's employed at a Dorset hospital to ease the pressure

We are taking the patient in, got them in on the target time. We are

now clear and moving onto the next one.

Also tonight, how dragonflies are influencing the face of warfare.

Could these be the drones of the future?

The free range egg farmer playing it safe despite the changes

And a top of the table clash in the Championship tonight -

as Brighton could extend their lead over Newcastle to four points.

Ambulances queuing outside hospitals are a big problem

As accident and emergency departments continue

to come under pressure, health bosses are struggling

Now one hospital on the South coast has decided to pay for private

ambulances to bring patients in and for a paramedic to look

The scheme at the Royal Bournemouth Hospital has cut average ambulance

turnaround times from 36 minutes to just 12.

Our Health Correspondent David Fenton is there for us now.

This I have been here all day to see how it is working out.

Iris is another patient on a busy day at accident and emergency.

Broadly we have seen about 10% more patients coming in accident and

emergency. Compared to last year. And last year was a record year for

attendance. It has felt very busy but it actually felt largely well

managed and well controlled and the staff have done a very good job. The

hospital beds are full, so Iris is being seen by Frank, who works in

the corridor in accident and emergency. They have just been

brought in, they have come to the accident and emergency department.

Fran is here so we can bring them here and it frees up the ambulance

trolley so we can go back out onto the road and bring in another

patient. Fran works for the ambulance service but she is here

from 12 noon until midnight. She can look after four patients at a time.

One is in the corridor with me, I am going to keep the nigh on her with

anything I think that is a problem and I can escalate it to the staff

inside. Anything she might need I can request. As long as she is OK,

the corridor is keeping an eye on her. The ambulance crew can leave

without having to wait for Iris to get a hospital bed. We are taking

the patient in, managed to hand them over within the 15 minutes target

time, which is really good. We will now come clear and head to the next

one. Staff have been looking at new ways of working, using paramedics

like Fran and private ambulances to bring patients in faster. Everybody

comes into work and it might be a hardship but they want to do the

best for the patient. Emergency medicine is a specialty we see the

patient instantly improving and he wants to create a nice and safe

environment for the patient. What you've seen today is an innovative

way of making the patient safe and we want to make sure the members of

staff come into the Department feeling motivated and feeling like

they have done a good day 's work. Back in the corridor and something

is wrong. Iris might have blood poisoning. Fran takes to

resuscitation area. First thing I have done is I have picked up

that... It has happened in just a few minutes but Iris has now been

admitted to a hospital bed and she is doing well. The interesting thing

was that although Iris was here and was in a trolley in a corridor,

within minutes of something going wrong, the paramedic was able to see

that and get her very quickly into the resuscitation area, where she

was able to be treated promptly. It has been a busy day here today.

There are about 138 patients that have come in through the course of

the day. Usual things, heart attacks, collapses at home and

strokes. This pilot scheme will finish soon but the pressure is no

doubt will continue. STUDIO: David, thank you.

It's now three years since the South's warship building

industry was dealt a huge blow - with the closure of the BAE

With a lack of new orders, a decision was made

But it's a strategy that's now under scrutiny.

Steve Humphrey examines whether naval ship building

A spectacular show celebrated the return of shipbuilding to Portsmouth

with the conclusion of HMS Clyde in 2006. The future looked bright. But

the yard closed in 2014 after sections of the new naval aircraft

carriers were completed. Bae concentrated work in Scotland,

causing a national shortage of orders for new ships. The low number

of warships and orders of course leads to problems in production

lines and the investment you put into the future. Today the

industrialist asked by ministers to come up with a new national

shipbuilding strategy told MPs planning and cost overruns have had

a big impact in the past. Sir John Parker said future ships could be

built around the country to boost competition. If we can build these

ships on time, with a grip on the specification and cost, then

undoubtedly we will accumulate significant savings over time. Could

shipbuilding return to the South? Quite a lot of the facilities still

exist. And I think how easily the BAE Systems set up the carrier

component programme, that shows you how quickly we can get it into line.

But it is a political decision. Unless the politicians say we do

want to diversify and spread some of this around the rest of the UK, it

will not happen. With existing commitments and new challenges some

experts argue at -- ordering new ships would be good for the Navy and

give the industry a welcome boost. Steve Humphrey joins us

from Portsmouth now. Steve, President Donald Trump has

announced he plans to increase defence spending in the US

by ?43 billion. So could military spending

become a priority here? President Trump wants to increase

the size of the US Army, Navy and air. On this side of the Atlantic

ministers are committed to spending 2% of GDP on defence. We might get

medication in the budget next week if they will be more money for

ships. The governor said it will publish a shipbuilding strategy in

the spring. It said it is committed to 19 frigates and destroyers. Work

on the frigates. In Scotland and in the summer, it is expected. In terms

of work around the country, they may well bid for work on the future

generation of type 31 frigates. From Portsmouth, back to you. Steve,

thank you. The UK's naval fleet dates back

more than 1,000 years - and while big ships remain crucial

to our defences, the future of warfare is likely to be

smaller and unmanned, Our Political Editor

Peter Henley has more. It flies at 45 mph and weighs less

than ?2 coin. This is the next generation of military drone. It is

being developed by animal dynamics, a spin off country from the Oxford

University zoology department. It flaps like an insect does. It has

very interesting upshot. It has natural suspension, can tolerate

high wind and it really goes to the heart of what we are about, looking

at how you can derive higher performance and efficiency by

studying natural systems. Visiting the university, Sir Michael Fallon

said the armed forces are increasingly at the cutting edge of

technology. I would like to make it easier for small high-tech companies

to come to defence to bring their ideas, their products, and see if

they can be used by the Armed Forces. That has been too slow in

the past, too bureaucratic and they have had difficulty getting funding.

Formula one motor racing is another area in which British research is

leading the world. The Ministry of Defence has announced a Dragon 's

Den style panel of experts to help provide advice. The Chief Executive

of Woking -based McLaren Ron Dennis has signed up. The voices are going

to be strong. Hopefully people will listen. This is the Minister... You

know, he has pushed me to be disruptive. Also pushing the

frontiers of military kits, Tim Peake, an Army major, will join the

panel. From the time of the Spitfire onwards, when Britain has faced a

hostile threat, we have stepped up technology to answer it. The

Ministry of defence is warning that in an age of cyber warfare, the best

technology experts have an important contribution to make. Because you

can be sure that if we are capable of developing these sorts of

weapons, other countries are working on them, as well.

The A34 isn't fit for purpose and needs to be urgently

upgraded to a motorway, according to some taking part

This morning's event was broadcast simultaneously across Radio Solent,

Who would want to be this stranded motorist, or the

patrol man coming to their rescue, just north of Newbury?

There is no room for driver error and

unfortunately that is what leads to so many accidents in that

Welcome to the special programme, looking at the future of

This morning local BBC Radio stations on the route

those shaping the debate about the A34.

Statistically a big comparatively safe road,

high-profile accidents like this one when a lorry driver was using his

phone and killed four members of the same family

It has been shown in some of the serious collisions we

have had that mixing fast and slow moving traffic is really dangerous.

We will await the result of the safety review to

see if there is a role for average speed cameras or traffic management.

Even as a broadcast got under way, there was news of

The road is now flowing freely once more.

This morning's accident is what police described as

a minor shunt with no serious injuries.

Within minutes traffic was trailing back several

miles as it so often does here on the A34.

If it is already overcrowded and traffic is going to increase.

With demand you have new systems with people buying online,

For the road users and the families of those who

have died here, that action cannot come soon enough.

Coming up, Tony is here with the sport and the weather is not getting

any better. Today we had some blustery rain. Tomorrow will be very

similar. I will have the details for you shortly.

A care worker from West Sussex, who is accused of stealing money

from a pensioner she was looking after, has told a jury

the man lent her cash because she had lost her bank card

39-year-old Theresa Stratton from Littlehampton is accused

of stealing ?130 from 74-year-old David Skerritt at his

But she said she only took ?10 with his permission

Theresa Stratton denies theft and the trial

The company responsible for maintaining accommodation

for military families has promised improvements after taking

It follows complaints from several forces' families,

including some who claimed their accommodation was poor.

was considering terminating its multi-million pound contract.

The company says the new contractors will deliver a more efficient

Millions of chickens were officially allowed to roam free again today.

They've been cooped up in farms and homes all over the country

since early December to protect them from an outbreak of bird flu.

Today the government relaxed the rules.

And some farmers have taken the decision not

to release their birds even though they're now free to do so.

Roger Finn joins us now from Woodlands near Totton.

Roger, it all sounds a bit confusing.

I will try and explain. Just over here in the darkness there is now a

boundary of great significance for anybody who keeps chickens. Here the

controls have been relaxed. Chickens are free to roam. That is the

situation in most parts of the country but here we are in a zone

designated by the government as posing a higher risk of bird flu. On

this side, chickens have still got to be kept indoors. The reason is

that here we are within five kilometres of an area that has a big

population of aquatic wildfowl and they are the problem.

Wild ducks and geese have caused a major bird flu epidemic

Scientists say the particular strains of some of these

birds spreading this winter is not harmful to humans, but it is

highly infectious and deadly to birds.

That is why all flocks have been forced inside for the last 12

weeks, including these on a farm near Romsey.

Even though these could now go free, because the farm is not

in a higher-risk zone, the farmer has decided

It might be a smaller chance but there is still a

chance my chickens might get this disease and it would wipe them out

So talking to other producers alike, they are

The welfare of the chicken comes first

One consequence is this farm and many

others now lose their free range status.

That normally attracts a premium of 40 extra pence per dozen.

Many supermarkets have said they will continue to pay free

The farmers are hoping customers will be understanding.

They are still high welfare, they still roam freely in the barn

A single case of bird flu means the whole flock has to be destroyed,

with no compensation and no insurance.

It is devastating for the farmer and his business.

We are sorry some farmers will experience a loss in

We keep it under constant review so that requirement

for housing is not extended longer than it has to be.

The hope is the chickens will be back in this field

and dozens of others like it across the South

in a couple of months, when the weather has warmed up

and the wild geese and ducks have started heading off.

Now, what did you learn at school that's proved useful in your job?

New research shows many young scientists, IT workers and engineers

believe a lot of what they studied is little use in the real world.

The Baker Dearing Educational Trust says almost half of the young people

it surveyed believe technical skills would have been much more

useful than subjects like history or geography.

The Trust promotes University Technical Colleges to help

Nikki Mitchell reports from one college in Reading.

From this device I connect with that device...

He is one of a number of former UTC students who have secured

apprenticeships with networking specialist, Cisco.

His employer sends him back regularly to help

I am trying to get them to use the technical skills

they already have but at the same time we are giving them the

technical knowledge at the same time.

In my old school I would never have days like this where we basically

All of it is practical, even in the normal

day-to-day lessons it is not just sitting by a computer.

It is practical and hands-on, as well.

How useful do students here think more

traditional subjects like history and geography might be

Don't get me wrong, it could be, but not for me personally.

This is more like tech science that is what I prefer doing.

The educational trust which promotes UTCs says half of youngsters already

employed in science, computing and engineering think traditional

subjects are largely useless for the world of work.

With industry struggling to keep up with the speed

of technological advance, what hope do schools have without

We can put that innovation into the hands of the students themselves

They will continue to be at the edge of things being done in

the industry when they join those particular organisations.

There is a great mix in schools, some schools

are fantastic, ordinary schools, secondary

schools, at bringing the

curriculum to life and making it real.

But I don't think it is widespread enough and therefore some

schools are not doing enough with employer partners, because

headteachers are accountable to the performance tables.

But I think there needs to be just a rethink

The National Union of Teachers is sceptical.

It believes if all schools were properly funded the

quality of vocational education would significantly improve anyway.

Tony is here. And I am here! I imagine you did sport when you were

at school. Indeed, quite a lot of that. I was never good at

mathematics but I do know the value of three points. We know a bit about

Chris Hughton and his past with Newcastle. He said it was his best

achievement as a manager, getting Newcastle promoted to the Premier

League. Here he is as Brighton manager and rapper Benito is in

charge of Newcastle, both gunning for the title and automatic

promotion and the Premier league is where they want to be.

It's the biggest match of the championship season so fdar

of Rafa Benitez's Newcastle if they win tonight at the Amex.

The Albion have won three of their last four

as they bid to earn a place in the Premier Legaue -

20 years after almost dropping out of the football league altogether.

Earlier I spoke to Johnny Cantor at the Amex.

He explains why these two are at the top of the tree.

It is the second consecutive sell-out at the AMEX.

It pits first against second, the best home record against the

best away record in the championship.

It also pits the best defence, the Seagulls, with 17 clean

sheets this season, against the best attack in the division, the Magpies,

who have already scored 64 goals this season.

The fans and players know something's got to give.

What we would put in front is a strong team

with a lot of good players and always it is tougher to play this

Of course, a win is not just three points.

It is the confidence as well, it is a big thing.

We know three points is always important in the league, Johnny.

But if Brighton got the win tonight it could be very

significant on several fronts, couldn't it?

Not only would the gap between Brighton

and Newcastle be at four points but they would also have a 9-point

gap between them and third placed Huddersfield.

It would also put more pressure on Newcastle this evening,

because Newcastle have to go to Reading on Tuesday and before

that they also have to travel to

third-placed Huddersfield on Saturday, as well.

As we approach the last ten games of the season you feel both

sides will want the momentum going into the final run-in

and obviously end up with those top two vital places for promotion.

And the game is live on BBC Sussex with Johnny

and Warren Aspinall tonight, kick off is 7.45.

Murry Baldock will start for the Albion.

Elsewhere tonight Portsmouth could break into the automatic

promotion places in League Two if they win at home to Morecambe

They need Carlisle to lose to go third.

There's also a trip to Bradford in league one for MK Dons

BBC local radio has full live commentary of all the matches.

Cricket news and Surrey fast bowler Tom Curran has been called

into the England one-day squad for the tour of the Caribbean,

The 21-year-old has impressed while touring Sri Lanka

with the England Lions, but is now heading to the West

Indies for the series, which begins on Friday.

The Portsmouth-based team hoping to win international sport's oldest

trophy for Britain for the first time have debuted their boat

Earlier this month you may remember we were on the island to see

Sir Ben Ainslie's Landrover BAR unveil R1, as it is known.

Now it's becoming a familiar sight off the coastline, as crucial early

From the symbolism of unveiling their race boat to the show

of strength on the water, Land Rover BAR are now

sound in the boat they hope will win Britain the Americas Cup.

It is 15 metres, or 50 feet long, and has been

designed with engineers from their title sponsors.

They are used to providing high spec off-road vehicles.

Now the same technology is helping one of the most technically

There is still rope on board, but the six-strong

crew have 130 metres of hydraulic pipes and over 1,000 metres

of cabling to connect sensors and video cameras.

I think we can see a lot of the upgrades coming together and

increasing the performance markedly, which is where we need to be.

The Americas Cup journey for the Portsmouth-based

This will probably be the most developed boat

from launch we run through the whole campaign.

We have a lot of upgrades we are currently engineering and

developing and now the focus moves towards bringing those to the boat.

Hundreds of hours of practice will follow.

Back in Portsmouth the analysis for the most marginal of

for the summer's America's Cup racing.

Congratulations to the gold medal winning British hockey team today.

Maddy Hinch from West Sussex were among those at Buckingham Palace to

receive an MBE from the Duke of Cambridge. Maddy said she was less

nervous lining up for the final against the Netherlands but as we

can see, she enjoyed a good chat. It was a very special day

for a former South Today presenter. Mr Bruce Parker, for services to

charity and to the community in Hampshire.

Bruce Parker has been awarded the MBE by Prince William

Bruce presented for BBC South for 35 years.

He's chairman of the Friends of Winchester Cathedral and involved

with the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance,

and Leukaemia Busters in Southampton, among other charities.

Congratulations, Bruce. 35 years of South Today. Very impressive. Now

the weather. Yes, not therefore that long! Well,

you never know. Lovely sunshine this morning. You went for a run in the

rain. When it was still sunny. And then it started raining. I just had

a pancake! This was early this morning in Dorset. Lewis Horsley

captured the sunrise in Bloodworth. And Paul sent this picture from

Hampshire. We had some lovely sunshine this morning. The rain

spread north and east in the region and slowly easing up to night and it

will be quite chilly in the countryside. We might see a local

frost in the countryside. In towns and cities, those 3-5 C, the

windfall in lighter in the early morning. Very light this morning. A

dry and sunny start to the day tomorrow. Very quickly the cloud

will turn the sunshine hazy and rainbow in golf the southern coastal

counties. This rain will be very patchy so there will be some dry

interludes, especially further north in much of the day. Temperatures

reaching a high of 8-9 C. Feeling cold with the increasing breeze and

rainfall tomorrow. The wins tomorrow night will become very strong. It

could touch gale forced along coastal stretches, even inland

areas. A chance of a wintry shower in the early hours of Thursday

morning and temperatures falling to freezing. The winds will ease first

thing on Thursday. Very much like today and tomorrow, some sunny

spells to start Thursday. The difference is it should mainly be

dry in the course of the day. One of the better days this week. But brisk

wind from the West, or Southwest. Mainly dry, some sunny spells and

the odd isolated shower. Before we look at the outlook we will talk

about tomorrow. It is the first day of spring in meteorology. Three days

of spring before summer rise in June. Enjoy the springlike

conditions on Thursday. But we will have some rain tomorrow. It could be

heavy and persistent at times. Sunny spells on Thursday, that is the

mainly dry day of the week with brisk wind. Friday, we are looking

at outbreaks of rain in the course of the day. Moving northwards across

the region. Over the weekend, quite unsettled at times, a cool feeling

to things, some rain at times and some sunshine jihad as well. The

rain could be happy here and there. -- could be some sunshine around as

well. We are back at half past six tomorrow. Hope you will be watching.

Good night. Good night. MUSIC: Another Day Of Sun

by the La La Land Cast