06/01/2017 Spotlight

Over the last 24 hours the pressure on some hospitals in the South West

has reached peak levels, with all experiencing huge demand.

Some have declared the highest level of alert

and some operations have been postponed.

Clare Woodling joins me now with more details.

This winter, a new way of classifying pressure has been

brought in at hospitals across the country.

What we knew as black alert, the most serious status,

is now called Operational Pressures Escalation Level 4 or OPEL 4.

Tonight the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro is on this,

It says there are around 100 patients occupying beds

but who are waiting to go on to the next stage

Other hospitals which have also been under immense strain in recent

days include Yeovil, where managers have

urged people with minor problems to avoid A

Last night, Derriford Hospital in Plymouth was on the highest level

of alert but today there's been some relief as that level has been

dropped to OPEL three, formerly known as red alert,

The hospital says it's still "operationally challenged"

and additional doctors and nurses have been brought in to help.

North Devon District Hospital is under a similar level of pressure.

Dorset County Hospital says that it is 96 per cent full

but at the moment it's on a lower level of alert.

It says health and social services are working together well

Urgent action is being taken at Torbay Hospital.

Meanwhile 50 extra beds have been opened

where all planned operations have been postponed.

One of the consultants there spoke to me earlier

It has been very busy. We have been experiencing great levels of demand

with an enormous number of patients, to the doors but we have been

managing to give patients excellent care. There is no secret that the is

rising the. More patients are coming along. We have an ageing population,

particularly in this area and elderly patients need more extra

care and the wintertime so the pressure has worsened, year on year.

NHS England says tried-and-tested plans are in place.

People are being reminded that attending A is the right thing

to do in an emergency or life-threatening situation

but often people forget about Minor Injury Units for cuts,

As well as advice from GPs and pharmacies, there's

People are being reminded not to visit friends and relatives

in hospital if they feel unwell themselves, so as to avoid

spreading viruses to people who are already vulnerable.

Let's take a look at other news around the region tonight.

A coroner has recorded a verdict of accidental death after

a Plymouth man fell 14 floors trying to stop his teenage friend

The inquest heard how 24-year -old Thomas Bennett had climbed

onto the ledge at the University of Honolulu to try and save the life

Both men fell, but his friend survived the incident.

A police investigation is continuing into the discovery of the bodies

of a man and a woman at a farmhouse near Dunkeswell in Devon.

The police say the deaths are being treated as a "domestic-related

The married couple have been named locally as Nicola and Michael Beck.

A pupil from Truro School received hospital treatment after students

broke a curfew and bought drugs and alcohol on

The head teacher of the private school confirmed a number of

sixth form students bought a small amount of drugs from a local dealer.

One female student was taken to hospital but was not seriously ill.

Wildlife campaigners in Dorset are celebrating

following a U-turn on proposals to build a large solar farm

in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Dorset Wildlife Trust says they're pleased

an agreement has been reached with British Solar Renewables

A smaller solar farm is now expected to be built nearby.

More than 8,000 Plymouth Argyle supporters have

bought tickets for Sunday's big match against Liverpool.

The last time the Pilgrims made round three was three years ago,

You have to play without any fear. Discipline, competence. If all of

the players are up to peak form... Stick to the game plan, togetherness

and belief. This squad does have belief and a manager with one thing

on his mind. We are going to win, there is the possibility, it has

happened in the past. You got to go there with that belief and attitude.

Graham Kelly, a Liverpool fan is Plymouth Argyle's Star man and

unfazed by performing on the big stage. When the game starts, you're

in the zone, you're in a bubble commie don't focus on the fans, just

fully on the game. Unless we are competitive, unless we give it a

good go, then we are not really going to enjoy it.

Six grey seal pups have been released back into the wild

after spending several months being nursed back to health

by staff at the Cornish Seal Sanctuary at Gweek.

Among the six were Honey Badger, Panther,

All were rescued around Cornwall's coast after being found abandoned,

dangerously underweight and in several cases

You can only prepare them so much. I am more than confident that they

will figure it out and that they will find fish and settle right back

into the wild. Time now for the weather

forecast with David. Good evening. We've had some dry

weather over the last four or five weeks. There is some rain now, but

the month of December was particularly dry, the seventh driest

ever with records going back to 1910. 42% of what we would normally

see in terms of rainfall. There is some patchy rain overnight tonight.

Tomorrow is rather cloudy and misty, but turning quite a bit less cold as

we start to see winds coming from the West. We still have high

pressure. Any weather fronts, fairly weak, but bringing cloud, trapped

beneath that area of high pressure, for Saturday and Sunday. So little

change in the weather pattern, and limited amounts of sunshine.

Overnight, it will not be cold, temperatures up by the end of the

night at around 6-8 C, so mild compared to what we have seen

recently. Tomorrow, quite grey and misty, with extensive low cloud and

hill fog. Even though the drizzle moves away, we keep a lot of low

figures at around 10 Celsius. The figures at around 10 Celsius. The

arriving later in the day on Monday. but not by much. Some

And cold and breezy by Tuesday of next week. The good evening. That's

it from the late team. Have a good night. Goodbye.

Good evening. The weather has been turning milder and also cloudier

through the course of the day. We did see some clear spells moving in

from the North will stop this was the sunset, captured in Dundee. Some

clear spells as we headed through the course of the afternoon into the

evening. Really, through the weekend, wiki with a similar theme.

Much milder than it has been. A lot of cloud around in general, but for

most of us think. Dry. Not dry everywhere at the moment,

particularly across central and southern parts of England and Wales.

We have a lot of cloud, bringing outbreaks of light rain and drizzle.

The patchy rain will ease away slowly towards the south through

tonight and further north across the country, drier conditions. Wherever

you are, it's pretty cloudy. Mostly frost free to start the weekend, but

there could be frost across the central glens of Scotland. A chilly

start, but quite a lot of cloud, some pockets of