17/04/2014 BBC Oxford News

News at six. It is goodbye from me and

Hello and welcome to South Today from Oxford. In tonight's programme:

The rising cost of elderly care. Why some homes say councils are not

paying enough towards the costs of looking after residents.

Also tonight, Easter embarrassment. A council refuses permission for a

Passion play because it did not know it was a religious event.

Is it access all areas? We investigate how user`friendly

tourist attractions are for people with disabilities.

And later on, we will have all the buzzers and bells as arcade game

fanatics gear up for a South Coast Slam.

Good evening. Care homes in Oxfordshire are criticising the

council for failing to cover the rising cost of elderly care. The

County Council has increased its target rate for residents who do not

need nursing care by ?6 a week, but some care homes say it is still not

enough. Helen Catt is here with more details.

These are the amounts that the council aims to pay for care home

placements for round two`thirds of the people it places. This year it

was set at ?458 a week for residential care only, nursing care

they will pay more than that. That is about ?30 a week more than is

paid in Swindon. Buckinghamshire told us it doesn't have target

rates. What is the problem?

Some care homes in Oxfordshire say that it doesn't cover the cost of

actually providing the care. I have spoken to some homes who say that

some residents' fees are being topped up by family, charities, or

being subsidised by privately paying residents. There are claims that

this could have consequences. One of the impacts on residents and

families is that they cannot necessarily get the provision of a

home close to where they live. You might find a husband and wife that

have been separated. One 85`year`old trying to visit another 85`year`old

by bus can take some hours. What has the council said?

This is a target. In reality, it usually pays more. If you look at

what it pays for all care home placements it comes out in the top

ten highest payers nationally. I think the most important thing is to

ensure that people's care needs are being met. The evidence that we have

suggests that this is the case. A survey of council`funded care home

places found that over 90% of people are satisfied with the standard of

care they are receiving and 89% of care homes in Oxfordshire are Care

Quality Commission compliant across the board. So we are receiving good

standards of care for the amount we are paying. The council asked care

homes to show them their costs last year, but only two responded. But

the Care Home Association says it has been discussing this issue with

the council for years. Thank you.

A project in the Thames Valley to help look for people with dementia

when they go missing will end next month if more funding cannot be

found. The Neighbourhood Return scheme is staffed by volunteers and

has been running for 18 months. But the money they received from the Big

Lottery Fund ran out in October last year. The charity is now facing

closure, but Age UK Oxfordshire says it is exploring other funding

options for the county. An inquest has opened into the death

of a twelve`year`old cyclist who was hit by a car in Southmoor at the

weekend. The collision happened on Charney Road, close to the A420

junction, on Saturday afternoon. Mateusz Kucinski, from Southmoor,

was taken to the John Radcliffe Hospital where he was pronounced

dead. A family from Milton Keynes are

taking legal action after their father was left with a broken neck

after they say he was thrown from a stair lift. It is feared he has only

got days to live, suffering complications after the accident in

December. Emma Baugh reports. 93`year`old Leslie Taylor, now back

home from hospital. His family wanted to care for him here. You

know who I am, I am the noisy one. I am the bane of your life. Since

September, he has been having around the clock care having been found at

home having fallen from his stairlift. Since then he has had

pneumonia and other illnesses in hospital, leaving him a shadow of

the man that he once was. He was very independent before this. He

lived by himself. We had taken him to Bournemouth a couple of weeks

before for a weekend and he had got a mobility scooter and he used to

sit on that and go different places. But to see what has happened to

him, it has taken away everything. The stairlift had been fitted in

2012 and the family had been unhappy with that. Several engineers had

called. This is a new chair. The family said they all cheer was taken

away for testing. On the day that it happened it was found hanging of at

the top of the stairs. His bones had been broken by default in the

stairs. The company that supplied the

chairlift said that safety was their first priority. They said:

The last four months have been hard on the family. It had been

horrendous. Now the hospital have tried everything they can and they

can do no more for him. So we have brought him home. The family said

they are doing everything to make him as comfortable as they can.

Oxford City Council has apologised after a religious play, which was

going to be performed on Cowley Road tomorrow ` on Good Friday, was

refused a licence. It says the officer who made the decision had

not realised it was a religious event. Tom Turrell reports.

The Methodist Church in Oxford should have been the location for a

Passion play. The performance is a religious re`enactment of the last

few days of Christ's life. It depicts everything from the Last

Supper to the resurrection. But just one week before the scenes were to

be recreated in Oxford, organisers were told that a licence was needed

or they would be breaking the law. But the application was rejected and

the show had to be cancelled. There is some anger, I have two say. There

is also disappointment and disgruntlement. I feel sorry for

those who had to learn many lines. A week later, and it is confession

time for the Council's licensing team. They have admitted that they

did not know what a Passion play was. In a statement, the licensing

team said: This time the show will not go on

all stop but in future, Oxford City Council may be hoping for a

guideline intervention `` divine intervention.

We do have wide aisles in the museum which is good for wheelchair

access. That was designed by the Victorians to accommodate Lady's

skirts. This museum scored highly in a Saudi. `` in a survey of eight

disabled access. They have ramps, disabled bays, and immobility buddy.

`` buggy. Four out of ten said that they turned up having been told it

was accessible, but it was not. Seven out of ten said that because

of the information they do not go to tourist attractions. Now he wants

all pubs and clubs to welcome him to. It is difficult to get in and

out. People need to think about how much a ramp will cost. It would be

worth it for a few more customers. terrible. Developers say cabin like

these could each bring ?24,000 to the Sussex economy every year but

locals worried the riches of the countryside are being neglected to

boost the coffers. Still,: Your bank holiday weather forecast and did you

guess the mystery object? All will be revealed. There's been the

biggest increase in the number of people in Berkshire getting scarlet

fever in seven years. Scarlet fever is a bacterial illness that causes a

distinctive pink`red rash. 150 patients have been diagnosed so far

this year ` up more than a quarter on last year's figures. Health

authorities have stressed that they will not go on outbreak alert. An

operation is underway to protect Dorset woodland from damage

including the risk of arson. Last year there were 111 fires. Operation

heathland involves high visibility patrols and public education

measures. A lot of ours are making plans for this weekend but imagine

you had to put extra thought into every query you planned to go. That

is what one charity for disabled table says is the problem for their

members. Over half of the tourist attractions assessed did not have

wheelchair access. Now to Finn's Country ` Roger Finn's weekly report

from the countryside. This week he's in Dorset with tales of lions, snow

leopards, and chalk streams. Roger's linked up with one of the world's

top wildlife cameramen ` Hugh Miles. After a long career filming all over

the planet, Hugh has settled near Wimborne, where he's fallen in love

with the River Allen and the wide variety of creatures that live in

it. The source of the river Allen, near the village of Monkton up

Wimborne. It flows for just 13 miles and one man has come to know every

inch of it. Hugh Miles has just made a film about the Allen with the

title, Liquid Gold. Pure fresh water, more valuable than gold, we

can live without gold but they would die without water. This is

Britain's only native freshwater crayfish and the River Allen is one

of its most important refuges. Hugh has a particular passion for fish,

but his career as a cameraman took off with much larger prey. In the

1970s he joined the team on David Attenborough's Life on Earth. We

went to Africa to film a lion hunt. They had tried twice already to get

the modern ones. There was often a risk

in getting this close. I have been lucky. I have had two new hips

We need to be allowed to do more to improve the habitat for wildlife,

the insects, the fish life and then the waters and birds along the

river. It is becoming increasingly important for the community and my

hope is that we will win the battle and this River will continue to

thrive for many years to come. Like macro that was so beautifully shot

and so calming. Last week Roger showed ours the mystery object from

the rural life Museum in Surrey. So, here he is with the answer and the

next puzzler. Last week's was the potato masher. He lives this week's

we will reveal the answer next week. `` here is this week's now onto the

sport. The Bournemouth boss said his side have to pick up maximum points

in their final four games. Sheffield Wednesday are currently two points

behind in six. Lewis Brabant has not trained all week because of injury.

The levels of performance have been so high and in a short period we

have improved so much, that is the only surprise, that it has come so

quickly, I never doubted we would get there. The challenge is to

maintain. Like macro in the championship reading face a tough

fixture away to Wigan. MK dons and Swindon are both away from warm. And

in league two Oxford host your city. Eastleigh are on the brink of

winning promotion to the Conference Premier League for the first time in

the club's history. After their 1`0 win on Tuesday against Dover, the

Spitfires need just one more point and are at home to Basingtoke

tomorrow. A draw would also secure Richard Hill's men the league title.

And remember the Olympic torch relay? We are doing something

similar head of the British Commonwealth Games in Glasgow this

summer. It will visit Southampton in June. It will be exciting times and

big crowds are expected. Thank you very much. Whether it's Flappy Bird,

Call of Duty or Candy Crush Saga, it seems we're spoilt for choice with

games you can play at home or on the move. But there are those who never

fell out of love with old`style video games ` and some of those 90s

arcade favourites have become collector's items. This weekend, a

special event in Worthing will bring together one of the largest retro

collections in the world. Caroline and I got to grips with one of the

pinball machines earlier and you can see how we got on in a moment.

First, Chrissy Sturt has been to meet the event organiser. The 1980s

and games go electronic. New and cool, this was the species we to pet

man against machine, boy against boy and girl against girl. What was once

cool soon became dated and forgotten but some never do out of these games

and suddenly they are vintage and valuable. This is the defender made

in 1980 it is regarded as one of the all`time greatest video games. It is

super hard and had its own dedicated control panel. The artwork itself is

also really iconic. Anyone who knows their stuff will instantly recognise

Defender. This man's home is a shrine to the arcade and all the

family are hooked. It is something I have had to get used to. For the

seven years we have been together they have been gradually coming more

and more into the house and I am just used to it now. Will has even

got his own mini arcade devoted to pinball. I'd macro the intensity on

your face is really something. It is really an intense game. When you are

in the zone you are connecting to the machine. When you play a really

good game it is great when the machine starts flashing at you. How

do you stop it completely taking over the house? We had the rule

there would not be any more than six pinball machines. I think we have

four. He has been convinced to keep another two machines in the house.

Is this a hobby or an obsession? More of an obsession. I go to bed

thinking about them. And you have an understanding wife? Yellow macro she

has to be. If you have not got the space for one of these fool size

machines or a partner sympathetic enough to let you buy one, these

days you can go online and download any of the classic games, and play

them for free. But small does not work for everyone. I have the dream

of an arcade at the bottom of the garden. Jessica would be happy as

well to three the room up for our little boy. I have a dream one day

to build a really super cool arcade. Have a there fridge and live there

forever really. We have a beautiful pinball machine here in the studio

this evening. We have lowered well away from his desk. Tell me what is

happening at the South Coast Slam? It is on for play all weekend. It is

a massive arcade where people can play their hearts out. How would

something like this machine go for? Yellow macro around ?3500, quite a

prize. This is for the children's charity. All the money raised goes

directly to them. I will have to find another newsroom novice to play

against. Welcome to the South Today battle of the novices. Caroline

versus Lewis. # Pinball Wizard. Game over. And the

winner is... Caroline. Yes! I cannot tell you how much fun that was.

South Coast Slam runs on Saturday and Sunday in wording. You can get

more about that and the charity it is supporting online. It was hugely

addictive. Yellow macro yes, for you, you won! It might be something

I could challenge you to later. Now let's move on to the weather. Two

good days and two not so good days. Your first weather picture. This was

a misty start to the day. That this photograph of a butterfly in

Hampshire. And a very obliging sworn. You can send all your weather

pictures to us via e`mail. It will be a cool and clear night. Perhaps a

touch of frost out in the countryside under clear skies. One

or two stray showers will tend to fade away. Temperatures will fall

away under the clearing skies. Temperatures in Bucks more likely to

have a pocket of frost first thing tomorrow morning. Mile along the

south coast. It will not be wall`to`wall sunshine throughout the

day. Easy sunshine in places. Temperatures reaching a high of 14

or 15 Celsius. In some areas today we reach the high of 18 degrees but

the wind tomorrow will be fairly light and under the clear skies

tomorrow night he will do it again. There will be a widespread frost. In

the towns and cities the low just seven Celsius. In the countryside

down to freezing. On Saturday high`pressure still hanging on in

there. We will see a decent day with plenty of sunshine and variable and

minds of Cloud, possibly more during the afternoon. The bank holiday

weekend at the wall, two good days and two not so good days. Friday and

Saturday dry hot rain from Sunday onwards. Monday not too bad, the

mixture of sunny spells and the odd scattered showers. Here is the

outlook for the rest of the week. Some high cloud feeding in during

the afternoon which will burn the sunshine easy. Sunday and Monday

will burn fairly wet and windy. Low pressure will move in from the new

continent on Sunday and that rain will stay with us on and off on

Monday. It is the weekend of two haves. Friday and Saturday the best.

As ever, there is a fool five day forecast available on our website.

The best day of the weekend is Saturday. Now, Lewis, what are you

doing this weekend? I am joining a group of cyclists to cycle to Villa

Park. 106 miles. A good weather forecast for that! That is all from

us for this evening. Have a lovely Easter. Goodbye. Good evening.