12/04/2017 Spotlight

There are concerns tonight over the drain of doctors from general

practice surgeries in the south-west after new research has revealed that

4 in 10 GPs plan to quit within five years.

The research has been done at the University

Reasons given for leaving overwork and long hours, leading to

NHS England says it is working to support GPs and is trying

Our GP is often the most familiar face in the NHS

and accounts for 90% of contact with health services.

But within a few years a report by the

University of Exeter Medical School warns

family doctors, making existing problems worse.

People are already having to wait quite substantially

for routine appointments and I think the pressure on those routine

There needs to be a fundamental change in

the approach of Government towards healt care in the UK.

the approach of Government towards health care in the UK.

The system at the minute is just underfunded.

The problem of GP retention is particularly acute in Plymouth, and

has been affecting patients at this surgery for 18 months.

I'm going away on a trip for a month and I had

to wait a few weeks still for my jabs and even then they still have

to spread it out a little bit, so it is cutting it fine.

Things are no better since a survey carried out

We have lost our senior partner because he retired

and one of our other partners decided life was tough as a GP

decided to step aside, so we put out a national advert and

local advert for vacancies and have been unseccessful.

NHS England says that it is already working to support existing GPs,

encourage people back into the profession,

We are looking at how we support primary care with a whole range of

professions, because clearly general practice is important, but also

supporting that with pharmacists, nurse practitioners, and other

professionals who can support the work force.

There are plans to train them about 5,000 GPs by 2020, but

will this be enough to compensate for the numbers leaving the

1% of GPs in England dropped out in the last three months

So it could be a case of the doctor will not see you now,

The only residential care home on the Isles of Scilly has

Last month, the council announced that Park House in

St Mary's would shut in June because of problems recruiting

Now, it says the publicity surrounding the closure has led to a

rise in the number of people applying for jobs, and it's agreed

to pay care workers a supplement on top of their wages to make

Prosecutors will be asked to decide whether Devon and Cornwall's Police

and Crime Commissioner, Alison Hernandez, should be charged

with false accounting in the 2015 general election.

At the time Ms Hernandez was the Conservative

The Police And Crime Commisioner's office today said this development

would not prevent her doing her job and that people were

With the details here's our Home Affairs Correspondent Simon Hall.

This is a significant development in the investigation into Alison

But it is also one that has been marked by the way in which her

The expenses controversy has dogged Alison Hernandez since her election

Now the issue is being referred to the Crown Prosecution

Service to decide whether to charge Ms

She would not be interviewed today, but

the chief executive of her office told me the development would not

She has had this investigation for a year

already, and she has had a very good first year,

so she has had a comprehensive police and crime plan published.

In February, she provided the Chief Constable with a budget

that will enable him to recruit 100 additional police officers, more

criminal investigation, lots of other investment, so she is doing

This is not impacting on her ability to do the role.

The allegations focus on the Conservatives' use

Expenses for activists brought in to Torbay to campaign were

declared nationally, when critics said they should have been part

As Conservative agent in Torbay, Alison

Hernandez was responsible for spreading there.

I would urge you to seriously

to enable somebody else to take on the role.

On a Sunday Politics programme, before the referral to prosecutors,

Alison Hernandez insisted the ongoing investigation had not

Interestingly, the bit that has been so positive

about it is the publicity that I have received because of that.

I can lock down Newquay High Street, and I

will be stopped by people who need my help.

In a statement, the Independent Police Complaints

Alison Hernandez has always denied any wrongdoing in

It is unclear how long it will take prosecutors to decide

whether to bring charges against Ms Hernandez.

It has already taken almost a year of police time

to reach this point, and this area of election low

All that goes to suggest that no decision will be

Nearly a quarter of the unclassified roads managed by Devon County

Council are in need of immediate maintenance, according

The authority says 23% of its smaller rural roads need

The Department for Transport told us it is giving Devon County Council

over ?47 million in 2017 and 2018 to fix, repair, and upgrade roads.

I appreciate that there are budget issues and

purses are stretched, and

all that sort of thing, but at the same time,

it is an infrastructure thing, isn't it?

With the state of the roads where we are, which is very rural,

and lots of farms, and small country lanes,

they don't seem to get any

attention at all, and I would say in the last few years, practically no

Small, rural roads around here in Devon are actually pitted

with potholes, which is bad for cyclists, motorcyclists, plus

Prince Andrew has attended a passing out ceremony at the Britannia Royal

The Duke of York took the salute as more than 150 officer cadets

completed their first phase of training.

The Duke himself was a former cadet at the college when he

joined the Royal Navy in 1979, as John Danks reports.

A youthful Prince Andrew, starting at Britannia Royal Naval College.

When he passed out in 1980, his mother,

the Queen, inspected the officer cadets.

If the young officers were excited, they managed to keep a calm

They arrived here only 30 weeks ago, fresh off the streets

from a wonderful variety of backgrounds, and they have been

through a really punishing training programme, and they have absolutely

made the grade, and pass out today as Royal Naval officers.

The occasion was marked by a fly past by a Royal Navy Hawk jet

I have to say that it is an enormous pleasure to be here

today to see that the traditions and the values that I undertook when I

was here are still being passed on to you.

Those traditions included the salute, and the ceremony came to

an end with a slow march into the Naval College.

As we go through the main door, and the door slams, we

That is our first order as naval officers,

and that commences our life in the Navy.

I have got my friends and family here.

The whole occasion has been very emotional.

John Danks, BBC Spotlight, Dartmouth.

A ?1 million project to bring a medieval deer park back to life

has just taken a big step forward, with the arrival of 17 fallow deer.

It is all part of a new attraction at

Dartington Hall in South Devon, where visitors will be able to enjoy

the historic site and have access to the surrounding parkland.

And finally, amazing pictures have emerged of a humpback whale

The whale was filmed when she appeared

She's thought to be the same whale, dubbed

Doris, that has attracted onlookers to Start Bay in Devon.

Doris made headlines, not only for her dramatic

appearances, but also for getting snagged twice in fishing nets.

Now let's have a look at the weather.

Nothing too much to worry about the weather, quite a lot of cloud around

at times. Friday could be quite damp. Tomorrow is a cloudy start,

risk of a few showers in the morning, but into the afternoon, it

will be brighter and we will get the sunshine back to. Similar whether to

today. The high pressure is beginning to retreat further out

into the Atlantic, opening the door for a couple of weather systems to

arrive on Friday, the one day when it could be rather cloudy but some

spots of rain. A lot of clear sky now, but later in the night, more

cloud coming in from the north-east. It may produce a futures,

temperatures as low as five or 6 degrees, slightly milder along the

coast. After a grey starts tomorrow, it should brighten up, some decent

spells of sunshine and a top temperature of 13 degrees. This is

Good Friday. It looks like it could be rather dump at times, breezy and

also quite mild at 14 degrees. Have a good night. That is it from us.

Join us for our breakfast bulletins tomorrow. Good night from the latest

team. Brighter on Saturday but cloud again

on Sunday. Here is Tomasz. Good evening.

The weather in the run-up to Christmas... Easter! I got ahead of

myself there! It isn't looking especially