08/05/2014 BBC Wales Today

combat for the first time. That's all from the BBC News.

Welcome to Wales Today. Tonight's headlines: 82-year-old Malcolm Green

died after surgery at Withybushy Hospital. The health board accepts

liability for his death. Tonight, his family describe their battle for

the truth. I think it is institutional complacency. My mother

was sent a letter and an apology was offered to her by senior members of

the health board but the chief executive could not be bothered to

sign it. Also tonight: Robert Riley is jailed

for eight weeks after tweeting abusive messages about murdered

teacher Ann Maguire. A rise in the number of foreign

tourists coming to stay in Wales, but why are we lagging behind

Scotland and England? Does being in the EU help create

jobs? Two weeks before the European elections, we're looking at what

it's done for Wales. And in tonight's sport: Wales' women

look to take another step towards qualification for the World Cup.

They play Montenegro tonight. Good evening. Hospital chiefs in

Pembrokeshire have admitted liability for the death of a patient

who waited hours for a life-saving operation. 82-year-old Malcolm Green

suffered internal bleeding after surgery for bowel cancer, but

doctors initially failed to pick up on it. Abigail Neal is at Withybush

for us tonight. Yes, a coroner ruled today that Mr

Green did not receive an optimum level of care from staff here at

Withybush Hospital when he was admitted two years ago. The health

board tonight have accepted those findings of a failing in care and

say they have taken steps now to ensure the kind of delays

experienced in this case do not happen again.

82-year-old Malcolm Green was a well-known and well liked local

businessman who was awarded the MBE for services to the community a year

before his death. Mr Green had gone into hospital for a routine

operation to remove a bowel tumour on the 26th of June 2012. Early the

next morning they were indications of something was wrong. His blood

pressure had dropped significantly but it was some hours later that

medical staff realised he was bleeding internally. At 10am he was

prepped for emergency surgery but it didn't take place until three hours

later. His family have fought hard to uncover evidence of the delays he

severed. It is nearly two years ago that dad passed away and it's been a

difficult process for us to get to this stage but from my mother 's

point of view, I hope this is the end of the matter. Although the

coroner did not conclude that Malcolm Green 's treatment amounted

to neglect, you did say that Mr Green did not receive optimum care.

The health board have accepted form of liability and say they have made

changes to working patterns at the hospital to avoid this happening

again. Hospital bosses say this should mean more doctors are

available for emergency cases when needed. It is a change in working

patterns so that they are not having to deal with as many urgent calls on

an individual basis as they were having to previously. Malcolm

Green's family say they will take on a civil case damages against the

health board. Well, one of the harrowing aspects

of this case was the length of time Mr Green waited for that second

emergency operation to stem his internal bleeding and an expert

witness who concluded he probably would have survived if this had been

carried out much earlier. Earlier I spoke to one of his sons, John

Green, who told me how he had to fight right from the very beginning

to find out what had gone wrong with his father's treatment. My mother

and I went to the hospital to be told that dad had taken a turn for

the worst and was being cared for in theatre. The theatre staff then said

he would need an operation and then I spoke to the surgeon at one

o'clock. I took my mother back home and returned to the hospital and I

asked him why we had to be at the hospital for urgent surgery at half

past nine and we had to wait until one o'clock. I was devastated to be

told my father was probably going to die. I had to go and tell me mother

that dad was probably not going to survive. When we received the

postmortem report it indicated that they were no problems with the

surgery. It did not have any mention of what had happened and several

weeks and months later I kept writing to the and telling the

coroner that something was wrong and Mr Leighton allowed me the time to

come up with the necessary evidence. I found that evidence by going to

Withybush Hospital and going through theatre records and to my amazement

none of this was contained within dad 's original records. Records

that the hospital supplied to the coroner and to an expert showed that

the operation took they sat 10am. I spoke to the surgeon at one o'clock

and it's quite sad that somebody has to go to hospital and uncover that

themselves. It is quite disturbing. I think it is institutional

complacency. My mother was sent a letter by the Chief Executive and an

apology that was offered to her by senior members of the health board

but he could not be bothered to sign it.

John Green, Malcolm Green's son. A man from Port Talbot has been

jailed for eight weeks for publishing offensive messages online

about the death of Leeds school teacher Ann Maguire. Robert Riley

was sentenced at Swansea Magistrates Court where he was told his comments

had been hurtful, especially for Mrs Maguire's family and friends. Cemlyn

Davies reports. Ann Maguire's tragic death shocked

the nation and led to another boring of grief in her local community but

just two days after the schoolteacher was stabbed in her

classroom a series of offensive messages relating to her death were

published online from the computer in Port Talbot. Having already

admitted writing the messages Robert Riley arrived at Swansea Magistrates

Court today to be sentenced. The court heard he sent a tweet claiming

he would have attacked all the teachers at the school. The

magistrates were also told about highly offensive remarks the

42-year-old had posted in the past, amongst them were comments about the

Jewish and Muslim communities, about 911 and about the Korean ferry

disaster. His solicitor said his client led an insular life and is

aware his acts were unacceptable. Robert Riley was sentenced to eight

weeks in prison. His 16-year-old boy from Cardiff has been arrested over

alleged offensive social media comments following what happened at

this school ten days ago and a Leeds man has been charged with the same

offence. An inquest has heard how a

two-year-old boy with autism drowned in a neighbour's pond after

wandering away from home. Harvey Lee Williams was found face down in

water at Froncysyllte near Llangollen last December. His family

had been in the process of moving house when he disappeared.

A bus company from Gwynedd is investigating the cause of a fire

which gutted this vehicle. Around seven passengers and the driver were

onboard when it caught fire near Caernarfon yesterday afternoon. All

escaped unharmed. The headteacher and members of staff

have been suspended at a skull that in Bryn Tower. The deputy head will

manage the school for the time being. A film was posted on social

media site by pupils. There were more visits here by

foreign tourists last year than in 2012, but it seems Wales doesn't

have the same pull as other parts of the UK. Scotland saw a 10% rise in

visits and England a 6% jump, compared to only a 3.5% increase

here. Our economics correspondent, Sarah Dickins, joins me now. Sarah,

what other details have emerged? What matters for the economy is how

much they spend so let's have a look. They spent ?353 million in

Wales last year. That is ?7 million more than the year before. There

was" in the number of North America and a decline in the pub people from

Europe so let's see who came and where they went. Cardiff was the

winner with almost 300,000 visitors. They spent ?111 million in

the city. You might expect that for a capital. But let's have a look at

this one. Torfaen. It is a world Heritage Centre and has got big pit

and the ironworks. It fits the stereotypes of Wales. Only 3000

visitors from abroad. What will the industry make of these figures? They

will be disappointed. There has been an increase in England and Scotland

and they have got to be disappointed. Visit Wales spends one

half million pounds selling Wales abroad and I am surprised it is not

more than that. If we come back to the branding, getting tourists from

abroad is not about getting them as Holly -- holiday-makers, it is about

rounding Wales as a place to go. We go to the polls in a fortnight to

vote for our members of the European parliament. The main parties have

all set out how they would like to get more out of Europe. But what has

being a member of the EU done for us? Our political editor, Nick

Servini, has been finding out what impact it's had on jobs and

immigration. This being a member of the EU put

this on the economic fast track or do we even need to be a member in

order to trade successfully? This company which packages bills is one

of the biggest employers in mid Wales and has just taken on 100

workers thanks to American investment. So would that investment

have happened if the UK was not a member of the EU? I can't

categorically say it wouldn't but certainly when our North American

owners were looking for investment opportunities they were keen to find

a business that would give them that gateway into the European market.

Being a member of the EU gives us access to the biggest trading bloc

in the world and it also gives freedom to those within the member

states to travel wherever they want to to find a job. That of course can

be controversial because of the accusation that some of those jobs

could otherwise be available to local people. One of the industries

to benefit the most from this in recent years is hospitality and

tourism. Places like this as well. The Metropole Hotel in Llandrindod

Wells has a mix of local and foreign staff. The managing director says

migrant workers don't give him staff on the cheap. He says local people

don't want many of the jobs on offer. You are in the most sparsely

public at county in Wales and it is very difficult to find the workforce

with the skills we require in order for us to do the expansion we have

done. I think that is quite typical throughout the principality that

people have had to look to the overseas market for the workforce.

Overall rural Powys has not experienced a lot of immigration but

in Merthyr Tydfil it's been a different story. Recent figures show

a big rise and there is some unease. The NHS is underfunded and overrun

at the moment as it is. With extra pressure added to it, people can't

begin this, you have to get interpreters. I do object when they

come here and get housing, social security payments and things like

that. But what about the new generation of migrant workers

themselves in places like Merthyr? This man watches the news from his

Portuguese homeland. He and his wife worked at a local chocolate factory,

run a market stall and have two small children. People think we are

coming and taking their jobs but we are not coming here to take anything

from the people. We just come to work and have a life. His story is

one of thousands of consequences of being in the EU but immigration is

often the main talking point and it is likely to stay that way for some

time to come. The leader of the Welsh Green Party

says the party isn't in the game for power, but "to influence other

parties". Launching their campaign for the European elections, Pippa

Bartolotti said "it's a tragedy that there has to be a Green Party" in

order to counter parties' "interest in money and the wealthiest amongst

us". Their campaign calls for EU reform and promises action to tackle

climate change. There are two main issues. There is democracy at the EU

level and that is climate change. Here in Wales where we have got 50

communities already earmarked by the Welsh Assembly Government for

abandonment to the sea, climate change is real and it's happening.

Still to come tonight: Brewing coffee as well as beer has led to a

big rise in profits for Brains. So have we become a nation of coffee

lovers? Should you bend down to talk to a

wheelchair user? Just one of the questions a series of adverts by the

charity Scope is asking to help many people overcome what the charity

says is an awkwardness they feel when talking to people with

disabilities. Their research found more than 60% in Wales admit to

feeling uncomfortable talking to disabled people, 45% don't

personally know anyone with a disability and 8% have avoided

talking to a disabled person. We'll hear from Scope in a moment, but

first, Rosie Moriarty-Simmonds from Cardiff, who was born without legs

and arms, has been telling us about her experiences. On a day-to-day

basis for me as a disabled person with the general public, it is quite

an interesting experience because you get different reactions from

members of the public on a daily basis. I find it restricting when

children passed by and say, look, that lady has not got any arms and

then they are told off for it. I would rather than appearance turn

around and say, that's right and it was caused by so-and-so or that they

come back and say much child is curious and would like to ask you a

question. It never bothers me. The best strategy when people stared at

me is to smile. That makes them smile. It is a good strategy to

have. The thoughts of Rosie

Moriarty-Simmonds. Well, earlier I spoke to Rosemary Frazer from Scope,

the charity behind this research, and began by asking her why so many

seem to feel awkward talking to people with disabilities. They are

worried about saying the wrong thing, they are worried about being

patronising so people have tended to avoid engaging at all. That is what

our campaign is trying to address. We're trying to get the ball to get

past those awkward moments that many of us feel from time to time in

life. If people can go onto our website, that is a quiz people can

do and find out how awkward they are. There is some advice they on

what people can do in certain situations. Do you think that

awkwardness has an impact on whether people with disabilities succeed in

their jobs or in other areas of their lives? Absolutely. If there is

a disabled person in the workplace and people don't communicate with

them in the same way they do other people that is going to lead to that

person feeling very isolated. Maybe they will lose confidence and not

progress in their career. It adds to the sense of isolation that many

people can feel, especially if they are living in Aurora lady -- rural

area. We want people to communicate better together and get past those

awkward moments. It's OK to make mistake at times but unless we get

those conversations going, and get people talking together, we're never

going to get past that. Wales' largest brewer, SA Brain, has

reported a 55% increase in sales for its coffee chain - Coffee Number

One. Brains are one a number of companies in Wales tapping into a

change in tastes, which has seen us ditching the traditional cup of tea

to, in many people's eyes, become a nation of coffee drinkers. Sachin

Krishnan has more. The coffee shop culture here dates

back 100 years or so. Italian families started setting up in

mining and docks communities, but the way they have taken over our

high streets reflects an increasing demand for quality coffee. It's a

trend which helped Brains Brewery make the decision to buy the chain

Coffee Number One. Three years on, they've just reported annual sales

up 55%, with nine new stores opening. Their chief executive told

me that in a crowded market place, they need to be able to stand out

from the crowd. I think we present ourselves as more of an Artisan

quite sharp. We try to be part of the community. It is seen as a

meeting place than somewhere to go on your own and do business. We work

very hard and we have great copy. Coffee sales on UK high streets

topped the ?1 billion mark last year, more than double the sales of

tea. That's music to ears of Huw Williams, who runs his own roasting

company. They take coffee from across the world, roast it and then

pack it to order at a plant in Caerphilly. Among his customers is

the Wales Millennium Centre. In the last three years, we have seen huge

increase in the demand for locally roasted product. We're doubling our

production every year. We roasted five tonnes last year and we're

looking to double that this year. One man who definitely knows his

beans is Will Corby. A career as a mechanical engineer beckoned before

he was bitten by the coffee bug. During the week, he works in London

hunting for the best product for a leading specialty coffee company. At

weekends, he's back home in Cardiff running his own market stall. He

says cafes and roasters need to stay on their toes as consumers will

increasingly demand more from their cuppa. I think we'll get to a stage

where consumers understand what Coffey from various regions tastes

like and they can go into a shop and say, I want to have an Ethiopian

Coffey of Colombian coffee or a Brazilian Coffey and understand what

that means. Brains hope to have 50 outlets of Coffee Number One open by

the middle of next year. They are not quite swapping their focus

totally from bitters to baristas but it appears that that morning

caffeine fix or a catch-up over a cuppa will continue to play a part

in the fortunes of businesses here for some time to come.

An important night of football ahead for Wales' women. Here's Claire with

the details. Good evening. Yes, not long until

kick-off. Wales play Montenegro in their latest World Cup qualifying

match. As things stand, Wales are second in the group behind leaders

England who also play tonight. The second spot would be good enough for

a play-off place at the end of the qualifiers. Wales beat their

opponents 3-0 in the away fixture and will be hoping for a similar

result tonight. The game is being played at the home of Bangor City.

Former Wales captain, Jayne Ludlow, is part of Radio Wales' commentary

team tonight and we can speak to her now. Montenegro may be bottom of the

group, but Wales won't be taking anything for granted tonight, will

they? No, they want. Any international match is tough and

night will be no exception. Montenegrin were strong against

Wales last time out that the girls beat them and hopefully they can

build on that and get more goals this evening. Wales have changed

since they played them last time? The fact you can put the same team

out week in week out is great. The more the girls play together the

better they are going to become the team. I am hoping for great things

this evening. England are the only team that Wales have lost to. Are

you confident they can challenging than for the top spot? That's going

to be tough. England will be out and out favourites to top the group but

there is no reason why Wales can't come second and get through to the

World Cup finals through a play-off place. Having watched them play in

the campaign so far, how confident are you that they can get to Canada?

I have enjoyed watching them play the last few months. They have

developed as individuals and as a team. They are a match for any

international outfit these days so hopefully they can get a result and

carry on building through this campaign. Thank you very much.

Rugby and a probables versus possibles encounter will be held at

the end of the month as Warren Gatland looks to pick a 31 man squad

to tour South Africa this summer. The two sides will be coached

separately by Wales assistant coaches Rob Howley and Robin

McBryde. The game will take place on Friday the 30th of May at the

Liberty Stadium. Warren Gatland will reveal his squad after the match

that night. No prizes for the weather of

late..Any improvement in the forecast, Derek?

It's better now that it was earlier today and I can promise some

sunshine tomorrow. forecast, Derek?

It's We've all seen some wet weather today. Some heavy rain too with

brisk winds in the south and west. The rain clearing, leaving a much

drier end to the afternoon. Tomorrow will be blustery but brighter and

drier than today with just a few showers. This evening, dry and

brighter. Some late sunshine. One or two showers and then later in the

night a trough will bring more showers. Some of these heavy with a

risk of thunder and gusty winds. Here's the picture for 8:00am in the

morning. Breezy. Strong winds on the coast but much drier and clearer

than today. Not dry everywhere, though. One or two showers are

likely. Strong winds on the Lleyn Peninsula. So you may catch a heavy

shower tomorrow but they will move through quickly on the wind. A lot

of places will get away with a dry afternoon with some sunshine at

times. Breezy tomorrow with a brisk and gusty wind making it feel on the

cool side. Top temperatures, 12C to 15C. In Neath Port Talbot, much more

cheerful than today. I wouldn't rule out a shower but most of the day

dry. Breezy with a high of 13C in Briton Ferry. Tomorrow evening, dry

and calmer for a time but rain will spread across the country after

midnight. The wind picking-up again as well. Saturday's chart has a look

of autumn about it with low pressure over Ireland. Rain first thing on

Saturday will clear. Dry and bright for a time but showers will follow.

Some of these heavy. Strong winds on the south and west coast. Sunday,

breezy and cool with more rain and heavy showers. Some drier interludes

as well with few sunny intervals, especially on the Pembrokeshire

coast. Not the best of weather this weekend if you've got any outdoor

plans, but not a total wash-out. Monday will be less windy with

sunshine and showers. So an umbrella will come in handy this weekend.

More rain and showers on the way. Fresh to strong winds as well, but a

little sunshine in the mix as well. Fresh to

Our top stories tonight. Women soldiers could be allowed to fight

on the front line for the time by next year. A planned review has been

brought forward to send a message to the Armed Forces are fully open to

women. Malcolm Green died after bowel

cancer surgery. Today a coroner ruled he received less than optimum

care but it did not amount to neglect. The health board has

admitted liability for his death. That is it for now. We will have

more news at eight o'clock and after the ten o'clock news. Until then,

goodbye.