megan paterson reports. in the uk so far. as the roll—out continues, demand on gp surgeries grows. we were doing over 30,000 booster vaccinations in september. we get about 800 people come in as walk—ins in addition to people coming as appointments. to meet the growth in uptake, new measures mean gps across england will now be allowed to defer some of the services they provide to patients, like routine health checks for the over 75s, to allow doctors to focus on covid boosterjabs. we are struggling to meet the increased demand, of day—to—day work, our own backlog and also the backlog from the hospitals, but at the same time, we do understand the importance of trying to vaccinate the population. but there is concern from some patient groups. they warn the measure will disadvantage older people and lead to early warning signs of illness being missed. this is a clear case of age discrimination. it's another example of when people reach a certain age, their health is not valued as much as the health of younger p

megan paterson, bbc news. our political correspondent helen catt is here.her measures, but also strong resistance within the conservative party? yes, there is, and that is to the current plan b proposed restrictions, not even further restrictions, not even further restrictions beyond that, the number of conservative mps are saying that they won't vote for at least part of plan b in the commons on tuesday is growing all the time. it's currently sitting around the high �*50s, low �*605 sitting around the high �*50s, low �*60s mark. if that happens, that would be the biggest rebellion since borisjohnson became prime minister and it's driven by a real opposition to the idea, the principle of vaccine passports, and also by concerns about the economic impact potentially of restrictions. frankly, though, it's also because a lot of the openness that mps have towards being convinced perhaps to vote for something they don't like or don't agree with by number ten, hasjust or don't agree with by number ten, has just evaporated because of the way downing street has hand

megan paterson, bbc news. and our health crrespondent laura fosterjoins me now. to what gps in england are being asked to do? this is actually something we have seen before, on 7th of january, this is actually something we have seen before, on 7th ofjanuary, when nhs england sent out a similar letter to gps and directors of primary care saying, you can suspend non—essential work in order to make sure we have got enough people around to deliver the covid—19 vaccination programme. because so much has changed since january but gps still have a very high workload. on top of the stuff they are already doing, they have backlogs from the first, second and third waves, winter pressures are starting and now they have got to contribute to the biggest expansion of the vaccination programme yet. some people will be worried by today's news, and to them, nhs england want to point out this is not a blanket ban, it's all about cancelling checks where gps think it is clinically appropriate to do so. most importantly, anyone who wants an appointment should still get in touch with

megan paterson, bbc news. davies, assistant professor of mathematical modelling, at the london school of hygiene and tropical medicine. he worked on the new modelling. let's talk about all of that. also i'm joined by professor adam finn a member of thejoint committee on vaccination and immunisation. a warm welcome. thank you for giving up a warm welcome. thank you for giving up your saturday afternoon to talk to us. can i start with you? there will be people watching who don't yet know much about the modelling. explain what you've been doing and what it shows thus far. we explain what you've been doing and what it shows thus far.— explain what you've been doing and what it shows thus far. we have been usin: our what it shows thus far. we have been using our models _ what it shows thus far. we have been using our models to _ what it shows thus far. we have been using our models to help _ what it shows thus far. we have been using our models to help interpret, i using our models to help interpret, understand and

megan paterson, bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather with carol kirkwood. hello again. the weather over the next few days and nights is going to be unseasonably mild. after a cold start in the north, we've got this band of rain continuing to push steadily north. behind it, it will brighten up, though there will still be areas of cloud and one or two showers, and the wind will pick up as well. temperatures ranging from seven to possibly 17 degrees somewhere in the south—east. the average at this time of year is roughly about 6—8 north to south. this evening the rain clears away from the northern isles. we've got two new bands of rain coming in from the waist and once ——from the west, and once again a lot of cloud and quite breezy. overnight lows, though, seven to 13. they'd be pretty good temperatures by day at this time of year. tomorrow we start off with all this cloud. once again we've got some rain crossing scotland. the rain in the south—west pepping up as it moves northwards. brighter skies in eastern areas and temperatures tomorrow between nine and, again, the pos

megan paterson reports

megan paterson reports. in care homes around the country, festive celebrations are well under way.e usual trimmings, for some families, fears about covid guidelines on separation from loved ones are making an unwelcome return. i run a family of seven and it is a limit of three, so i run a family of seven and a limit three, so i'm very worried about how this is going to impact on them. the department of health say people living in care homes in england will only be allowed to receive visits from three people plus one essential care worker. staff will have to take three lateral flow tests and one pcr test every week. and there will be a £300,000,000 fund to recruit and retain care workers. further clarity is expected on the guidance next week but for now it's up to care home staff to plan how they will implement the measures and to reassure the people they will affect. it will be disappointing for relatives, it will be extremely disappointing for the residents, but it's the world that we live in. we can't risk getting this virus back into our care services. the vaccination programme

megan paterson reports. at this medical centre on merseyside, the demand for boosterjabs is high.ff here have seen nearly 800 walk—ins a day over the last week. we are doing over 30,000 booster vaccinations since september but people are still coming for their first and second vaccination, which is great news, because it is never too late to start the vaccination. gps across england will now be allowed to defer some of the services they provide to patients like routine health checks for over 75s to allow doctors to focus on covid boosterjabs instead and to ease growing pressures. we are struggling to meet the increased demand of day—to—day work, our own backlog and also the backlog from the hospitals, but at the same time, we do understand the importance of trying to vaccinate the population. but there is concern from some patient groups. they warned that the measures will disadvantage older people and lead to early warning signs of illness being missed. the british medical association insists all patients will still receive the care they need. i was in surgery yesterday and i saw

it's the first of its kind in the uk, and megan paterson has been to visit. a morning paddle.y have all suffered significant brain injuries and are in the lake district rebuilding their lives together. i had a hip replacement, then i came home, i was walking after that. - then i got upstairs at home and i had a stroke whilst i was upstairs, and my wife called the ambulance. i wanted to get better quicker and i thought, i will get better quicker here. i had a serious motorcycle accident involving my bike and a fire engine. and i lost! so, yeah. bleed on the brain. i'm still here. look at what i am doing. according to data, every 90 seconds someone is admitted to hospital with a brain injury. many of those people will need some form of rehabilitation. the focus here is using the spectacular landscape to help people with brain recovery, and to help them find lost confidence. we all know that being out in that green space, in the fresh air, just really helps lift the mood and has a positive impact on your mental health. the calvert ethos is that nothing is impossible. we can get y

megan paterson is in northumberland, where some people are waking up power after storm arwen.d by the end of today but it is fair to say there is scepticism from people who have had 11 nights without power. we are in a small hamlet in northumberland and the noise behind me is the wearing of a generator that is giving us sunlight but otherwise it is total darkness. there is hope northern power grid will repair the fault in the lines but as we drove in we could see some of them on the ground still. one person affected who has spent 11 nights with that power is racheljohnson. your house behind us in the darkness, this has gone on 11 days, how are you feeling? it in the darkness, this has gone on 11 days, how are you feeling?- days, how are you feeling? it has been pretty _ days, how are you feeling? it has been pretty grim. _ days, how are you feeling? it has been pretty grim, challenging. i days, how are you feeling? it has been pretty grim, challenging. we have no— been pretty grim, challenging. we have no power, hot water, lighting, showers. _ have no power, hot water, lightin

your questions today on plan b and working from home, joining me is our health correspondent megan paterson. we wanted to understand how people are dealing with hybrid - people are dealing with hybrid working so we went out across europe and spoke to 1a,000 people to gauge what is working well and what the drawbacks are on the results are quite clear. it is 6% of us are embracing when we come to work from home. only 13% of people would like to do before covid and go back to how it was. other people hesitating the biggest drawback is erosion between what is personal time and what is what time and you can see 51% of people are using technology to delineate between work hours and home hours. so people are becoming much better at using, or switching off work notification when they start their personal time in the evening. and we have put in a couple of hacks to help people respect other peoples time a bit better. so if i am about to send a message to someone currently not working i get a prompt that person is not in office hours and an action that says schedule this message to when that person

it's the first of its kind in the uk, and megan paterson has been to visit those it helps.d i had a stroke whilst i was upstairs and my wife called the ambulance. i wanted to get better quicker and i thought, i will get better quicker here. i had a serious motorcycle accident involving — had a serious motorcycle accident involving my bike and a fire engine. and at— involving my bike and a fire engine. and at last! — involving my bike and a fire engine. and at last! so, yeah. —— that last! bleed _ and at last! so, yeah. —— that last! bleed on _ and at last! so, yeah. —— that last! bleed on the — and at last! so, yeah. —— that last! bleed on the brain. i'm still here. i bleed on the brain. i'm still here. i look— bleed on the brain. i'm still here. i look at — bleed on the brain. i'm still here. i look at what i am doing? according to data, i look at what i am doing? according to data. every _ i look at what i am doing? according to data. every 90 — i look at what i am doing? according to data, every 90 seconds _ i look at what i am doing? according to data, every 90 seconds