Of cancer is being urgently advised to contact a doctor. The official advice follows a significant fall in urgent referrals in recent weeks. Special surgical hubs are now being set up in 21 areas of england to carry out urgent cancer operations, as our Health Correspondent lauren moss reports. This operation is one of thousands being performed at new cancer hubs across the country. For patients like rod pletheroe, who has cancer of the jaw, it means urgent surgery can take place in a hospital thats free of coronavirus. I took that chance straightaway, because its a covid free area. Cancer isnt a disease that waits for you, its progressive. Rods being cared for at Queen Victoria hospital in west sussex, one of 19 regional centres in england. How are you this morning . Im fine, thank you. To keep it clear of covid, consultations are done via video call. Patients are prioritised, they isolate for a week, our patients need to have that assurance. If theyre coming in to have surgery with us and theyve already got a cancer diagnosis, theyre already at risk. So, they need to know that weve absolutely minimised the risk of coronavirus in this site. And have you had a new persistent cough lately . No, i havent. Before we were allowed on site, we were screened, had our temperatures checked and put on masks. The importance of continuing cancer ca res been highlighted in a study by the University College london, which suggests delays could contribute to 18,000 additional deaths. Cancer patients arent being treated in their favour because of the lack of capacity within the nhs. If theres a delay, there will be a significant downward effect on those patients outcomes. Diagnosis is also key. Fewer people are visiting doctors, but certain tests also arent being done. Many diagnostic pathways are not open at the minute. Some investigations are not available because theyre unsafe to do. So, gps cant get our patients to have those procedures done at the minute, for good reasons. Theres been a 70 reduction in cancer referrals since the start of the outbreak, and theres real concern that people arent seeking help. Covid free surgical hubs like this could be used as a model for other procedures, as the nhs reminds the public its very much open for business. How are you feeling now . Similar covid free systems are up and running elsewhere in the uk, and there are plans to reopen other parts of the nhs over the next six weeks. Separating patients and treatment in this way may become the blueprint for the foreseeable future. Lauren moss, bbc news. Now on bbc news deforestation has skyrocketed in colombia since the peace deal of 2016. Our world joins a team of scientists from the royal botanic gardens. In the forests of colombia, nature is under attack. Since the civil war ended in 2016, deforestation has skyrocketed. Im Frank Gardner and i am heading into what remains of the virgin tropical rainforest. I traded in my wheelchair for a packhorse and am tested to my limits. I dont think i can do this. I think this is too dangerous. I am joining a crack team of scientists from the royal botanic gardens, kew. They are on a mission to discover and save unique plant species before they vanish forever. I am going to bear witness on the frontline of rainforest conservation. This is where the journey begins not in colombia, but in the royal botanic gardens, kew, london. Kew is the world leader in developing plant science. The botanists are preparing for their mission to discover new species. And it is from here that this expedition will be launched. I have come here to see the expedition leader, doctor mauricio de bernardos. He works in a library for lab specimens. This is where we identify new plants. We believe we have more than 200,000 different species here. You are a botanist and a biologist. And a scientist and an explorer in some sense. What are you expecting to get from this mission . The most remote areas are the best preserved and this is going to be our most important expedition. Were going to try to get into the of this area. Were going to try to get into the heart of this area. We do not know what we expect to find. What is at stake with this whole trip that were doing . Why is this so important . We are in a race against time to protect this biodiversity from disappearing. We have rapid deforestation. We see how we are losing this forest very quickly and ourjob is to get an understanding about the diversity of these resources as well as their importance. In 2016, the colombian government signed a peace deal with the farc rebels. For more than half a century, civil war actually slowed the pace of deforestation. But now remote tracts of land have opened up. Farmers, loggers, and miners are scrambling for resources. Colombia is now reportedly losing 3,000 Square Kilometres of forest every year. We are travelling to an area famous for its emerald mines, western boyaca. This is a bittersweet journey for me. This could be the last time that i could see this forest. If i come back in ten years, this forest could be gone. Colombia is still an eden. Its the second most biodiverse country in the world, after brazil. I may be the bbcs security correspondent, but my passion is for nature. You know, just look around you. Theres incredible scenery. It is such a privilege to be here. I love being surrounded by the sounds and smells of nature. Nature has always been something of an antidote to myjob as a security correspondent. In 2004, i was shot and partly paralysed while on the job. I wont deny, i have a certain trepidation about the trip itself because everybody else is walking. I will need to do this on horseback or i will not make it. The team assemble at the edge of the rainforest in las quinchas. Its going to be a beautiful day. Yes, it is going to be a beautiful day. This is the first time this area will be explored by scientists. For so many years, conflict and criminality made this area inaccessible to outsiders. If you see a snake, everybody please freeze, dont move. We are going to carry radios at all times. You, actually, frank, youll have a radio. So this is going to be your radio. Im going to be quite busy trying to control the horse. Well, yes, maybe we can put this on the horse so you can have something that you can. The horse can do the radio. There is a bit of a risk here. My legs are like honeycomb, the bones. I cannot afford to fall off and break things. At the beginning of the track is a steep descent. The botanists hope to find new species deep inside the forest. But i am unable to hold on with my legs. Guys, i dont think i can do this. Im going to fall off. I think this is just too dangerous. I mean, it breaks my heart, ijust. I think you will have to carry on without me. But the local guides come up with an idea. Well done. 0k. I am so thrilled that despite my injuries, thanks to the endurance and kindness of these guys, i am able to see this amazing scenery. Primary forests are the most bio diverse terrestrial ecosystems anywhere on the planet. Forests are not only vital in mitigating climate change, the botanists hope to find plants with untold potential. They get to work collecting specimens. We dont know what it is. It could be a philodendron. Beautiful. One of the local guides believes that he has chanced on something extraordinary. This, we actually dont know exactly what it is. It could be something new. We are the first botanists collecting in this area. So basically every single collection is a new report for science in this area. The scientists will take the cuttings to the laboratory for further examination, in kew. Beyond the fact that it is scientifically interesting, what does it mean to find new species like this in a remote forest . In a country like this, unusually biodiverse, we still do not know how many species are out there. We are estimating in colombia we have about 30,000 species, but still probably 6,000 new species to be discovered. So you think that there are new species out here in these forests that could actually vanish before they are even discovered . Yes, absolutely. And we still dont know the uses of many species. Some of the species could have the properties to cure important diseases for humans. And so as biologists, as botanists, we need to understand as much as possible as quick as possible of this amazing biodiversity. This is like a supermarket, or a pharmacy, and we dont know it, we dont appreciate the forest. Our quality of life relies on the preservation of these environments. In the fight to save the forests, the colombian government has extended its protection to millions of acres of land. The Army Launched operacion artemisa in 2019 to combat illegal logging. Colonel hermida has a thousand troops deployed in the area. What effect has this had on deforestation here . But this cant really apply to the whole of colombia because deforestation is continuing throughout the country. Even here, they are still doing it. This region, colonel, seems very secure, very peaceful but of course in the past, it wasnt like that. Do you worry that if they dont find proper alternatives for people to make a living, that this region will go back to conflict . Under colombian law, illegal deforestation carries a sentence of up to 12 years in prison. But in remote places, the law is hard to enforce. Illegal loggers are still at work in these forests. The loggers say they have bills to pay. Theyve chosen their target an 80 year old rosewood tree. Chainsaw revs this fallen giant will make the loggers 300. These valleys are populated by miners and loggers. In the town of otanche, members of the community have been invited to a workshop organised by the authorities. They hope ecotourism will be the silver bullet, providing an income for the community while saving the forest. The botanists from kew have been invited to make their case. The fact that there is such a good turnout here, better than expected, shows there is a lot of interest in alternatives to cutting down the forest. But the question is, is it going to give people enough of a livelihood, and thats a big question. The colonel has turned up. Sitting next to him is edemildo, whos been a logger all his life. Now, though, he is looking for new opportunities. Lidia is one of the pioneers of ecotourism. She set up a butterfly sanctuary to try and entice tourists into the region. It is a natural destination for tourism but there is no infrastructure for it at all. Its going to take years, isnt it, and by then, the forest will be almost gone . Are you optimistic or pessimistic . Are you going to win this fight to save colombias Natural Heritage . For future generations and the environment, time is running out. The need for a solution is urgent. Im back on the horse on another field trip with the botanists. This time, on more even ground. Oh, my god. Its like. This is incredible. Of all the wild, remote places ive been to in the wild, i think this is got to be right up there near the top and as a disabled person, as somebody who cant walk, who has to use of wheelchair, its amazingly liberating that here amongst all this flora and fauna, there are these beautiful butterflies and rare plants, its this amazing biodiversity. The scientists from kew remain hopeful of finding Hidden Treasures before its too late. There are things ive never seen before. I have no idea what genus it belongs to. The thing about plants, they can be rare and special. They all look the same but its when you go back and start comparing them with others you found out how important they are. Mauricio, do you think you can persuade people to stop cutting down the forest soon enough before the forest is gone . Thats very hard to say. Thats our hope and thats our mission. Thats why we are here. I believe that we can make a change. We just have to do our best to protect the best of this biodiversity. Jennifer is a local botanist. Shes exploring new areas of her country for the first time. How optimistic or pessimistic are you that you and others like you, who care about nature, who care about biodiversity, that you can save this forest . Its great that youre optimistic but the reality is, the area of forest is getting smaller every year. Colombia today is a post conflict nation, but it faces a new battle to protect its natural resources. The biodiversity contained in these forests could prove to be its most precious commodity of all. Hello. It wasnt so much a case of april showers on wednesday, this was the scene for a time across birmingham, but give it a wee bit of time and eventually that rain cleared away and out came the sun. The reason for it all . Well, we had not one but two weather fronts to contend with. And thursday again is a real mishmash of weather, low pressure very much the dominant feature, the isobars squeezing together on its southern flank. So, it isnt going to be a particularly cold start given all the breeze and the cloud as well, but for some it may be a wet one. Were just pushing wednesdays rain if you you like, away from the north of england up into central and southern parts of scotland. Right from the word go, there are showers to be had across wales and the south west of england. These will rush their way ever further towards the east as we get on through the afternoon. We may even hear the odd rumble of thunder and those winds too, quite noticeable through the channel areas, 40 115 miles an hour or so in the highest of the gusts. For northern ireland, the best and the brightest perhaps later in the day, out towards the west. Stuck underneath the cloud, the eastern side of scotland, nine only, a high in the day of about 13 or 1a. Those showers keep going for those eastern areas during the course of the evening, gradually filtering away as the low pressure tries to move its centre of gravity out into the north sea. But its still the dominant influence across the northern half of the british isles. And come the afternoon again, i think well see some pretty heavy downpours towards the eastern side of the pennines. Perhaps the driest of the weather further towards the south and west where we could well see a high in the day of 15 or 16. That low pressure is still the dominant feature as i take you out friday and move you into the first part of the weekend. But you just get the sense that it is drifting a little bit further towards the east and out allows us to start picking up the north and north westerly wind. So the Northern Areas fully exposed to that wind, we will probably see the bulk of the showers there. Elsewhere, saturday is shaping up to be a pretty reasonable day. Quite a lot of sunshine around and the temperatures responding as a consequence. A high in the day of about 16 or 17. But it doesnt last. Now, there is some uncertainty about sunday, it could well be the rain im showing you here working its way into the south actually moves a little bit further north. We will keep you posted on that one. Take care, bye bye. A very warm welcome to bbc news. My names im mike embley. Our top stories the us economy slumps and worse is still to come. Spending nosedived in the last quarter, as the lockdown began. The number of coronavirus deaths in the uk passes 26,000. For the first time, the figure includes deaths in care homes and the wider community. Hope for a treatment one of the most Senior Health advisers in the us says theres clear cut evidence an antiviral drug can help people recover. It is a very important proof of concept because what it has proven is that a drug can block this virus. And the british Prime Minister and his partner are celebrating the birth of their baby son