:00:00. > :00:00.connection with a murdering Belfast back in the 1970s. That is all from
:00:00. > :00:15.the BBC News Welcome to Wales Today. Veronica
:00:16. > :00:32.Teal was verbally abused at her Powys care home. Her family caught
:00:33. > :00:43.staff on camera. I cried. I cried for my mum. I couldn't believe it.
:00:44. > :00:51.Tonight, calls for an investigation. We'll have a special report.
:00:52. > :00:57.Learning from the best - the under-performing schools selected
:00:58. > :01:01.for a new improvement programme. A warning from health officials over
:01:02. > :01:09.a dramatic rise in cases of syphilis across north Wales.
:01:10. > :01:14.It's the city where Dylan Thomas first performed Under Milk Wood.
:01:15. > :01:19.Tonight we follow in his footsteps in New York.
:01:20. > :01:22.And sunshine, rain and heavy showers today. A garden flooded on Anglesey.
:01:23. > :01:32.I'll have the bank holiday weekend forecast.
:01:33. > :01:36.Good evening. There are calls for a nursing home
:01:37. > :01:39.in Powys to be investigated after an elderly resident was verbally abused
:01:40. > :01:43.and neglected. The poor treatment of Veronica Teal came to light after
:01:44. > :01:46.her family put a camera in her room. They've told this programme that
:01:47. > :01:49.they're horrified at their mother's treatment at the home owned by the
:01:50. > :01:58.Pentecostal Hope Church. India Pollock has this exclusive report,
:01:59. > :02:03.which you may find upsetting. This is 72-year-old Veronica Teal,
:02:04. > :02:09.pick sure taken last week in a new nursing home. Compare it to a few
:02:10. > :02:18.months ago, lying in her bed sobbing. She was living in Newtown,
:02:19. > :02:31.her family installed a Camara in her room because they were worried. What
:02:32. > :02:42.they found, shocked them. It is horrible. I tried to block it. I
:02:43. > :02:48.tried, I did not watch as much. It broke my heart. It is my mum. She
:02:49. > :02:55.has never been treated like that which adds to my naivete. Veronica
:02:56. > :02:59.Teal had a stroke 20 years ago, she cannot use her legs and can only use
:03:00. > :03:04.one arm. She also has difficulty with her speech. In November last
:03:05. > :03:10.year, her family decided she needed full-time care. Her daughter chose
:03:11. > :03:12.this nursing home because it was church run, independent and
:03:13. > :03:18.purpose-built. While she can understand everything, she cannot
:03:19. > :03:25.respond the way she would like. Her care plan says she will only use one
:03:26. > :03:31.word. The plan says everyone working with her needs to give her time and
:03:32. > :03:37.assistance to respond. Her son gave me the footage and I have watched
:03:38. > :03:40.168 hours are bit. What I have seen is distressing and far from the
:03:41. > :03:59.dignified care you would expect for your loved ones.
:04:00. > :04:07.Veronica Teal's care plan also says she needs assistance with personal
:04:08. > :04:11.care and a hoist must be used to transfer her from her chair to her
:04:12. > :04:16.bed. Sometimes they do use a hoist, but regularly they don't. The home
:04:17. > :04:27.says staff were misguided but are now aware they have two used seen
:04:28. > :04:30.some good care in this footage. But in the week of footage I have seen,
:04:31. > :04:36.staff have only helped her brush her teeth once. The home says that is
:04:37. > :04:41.because she can ask for help. They never ask her if she would like to
:04:42. > :04:46.go to the toilet and I have seen her left sitting in her own excrement.
:04:47. > :04:51.Again, the home says that is because she can ask for assistance. On one
:04:52. > :04:53.occasion she was left for 26 hours without her catheter bag being
:04:54. > :05:03.emptied. Her care plan also says she needs
:05:04. > :05:36.encouragement to eat. I spoke to the manager of the home
:05:37. > :05:39.and Reverend Alan Hewitt, the chair of Trustees and pastor of the
:05:40. > :05:46.church. They declined my request for an interview but gave me a
:05:47. > :05:50.statement: The trustees regret an isolated incident of verbal abuse
:05:51. > :05:52.was brought to their attention. The member of staff involved has been
:05:53. > :05:59.disciplined and is undergoing further training. The trustees are
:06:00. > :06:03.confident the residents continue to receive excellent care.
:06:04. > :06:07.The Royal College of Nursing in Wales says this member of staff's
:06:08. > :06:16.behaviour is not acceptable. To add chilli tell somebody that they have
:06:17. > :06:20.no time for patients, or patients like them or residence like them, is
:06:21. > :06:26.unacceptable in my book and I would hope the management of that nursing
:06:27. > :06:31.home are fully investigating. I will be contacting the care Council in
:06:32. > :06:37.Wales to ask them to look into the matter. Social services says it has
:06:38. > :06:41.been investigating and will share the outcome of the investigation
:06:42. > :06:48.tomorrow. I saw Veronica Teal last week, she is much happier and has
:06:49. > :06:53.settled into her new home. We can speak now to Dr Aled Jones
:06:54. > :06:55.who's an expert in care for the elderly.
:06:56. > :07:01.It was only last night the panorama programme investigated similar
:07:02. > :07:08.incidents in England. How does this compare? Harm has occurred here,
:07:09. > :07:13.whether it is psychological, physical or mental. We know there is
:07:14. > :07:18.a link between psychological harm of this nature and physical harm. The
:07:19. > :07:23.care home does say it is an isolated incident, but is it also bowled to
:07:24. > :07:32.identify why this kind of abuse happens? It happens in spite of our
:07:33. > :07:37.policies and procedures being in place and codes of conduct. We have
:07:38. > :07:42.to look inside across nursing homes and care homes across the sector.
:07:43. > :07:50.Nursing culture and team culture, things happen in the workplace that
:07:51. > :07:54.make people tolerate behaviour they would not do normally. So workplace
:07:55. > :08:00.culture in this sector needs further monitoring. You say there are
:08:01. > :08:05.policies and procedures in place, is there enough? Yes, what we don't
:08:06. > :08:09.need is any more policies and procedures, we need better
:08:10. > :08:15.implementation of them and better monitoring. As a society, a sense we
:08:16. > :08:25.value older people and their care than we do at present. The findings
:08:26. > :08:31.of the investigation are expected. Social services will meet Veronica
:08:32. > :08:41.Teal and her family tomorrow so we will bring you more updates at
:08:42. > :08:45.6:30pm. It's his number one priority and a real game-changer.
:08:46. > :08:47.That's how a new flagship policy has been described by the education
:08:48. > :08:50.minister Huw Lewis. Schools Challenge Cymru will cost ?20
:08:51. > :08:55.million a year and aims to raise standards in under performing
:08:56. > :08:58.schools. Similar schemes have been running successfully in London and
:08:59. > :08:59.Manchester for nearly a decade. Here's our Education Correspondent,
:09:00. > :09:06.Arwyn Jones. Too many schools in Wales don't
:09:07. > :09:10.measure up. Many in our poorer areas are set to get a boost. At Willows
:09:11. > :09:19.in Cardiff Bay have seen an improvement in their results over
:09:20. > :09:22.the past two years and does part as Schools Challenge Cymru, they will
:09:23. > :09:27.get help. They will draw up a plan looking at the school's weaknesses
:09:28. > :09:34.and needs. All the support they need will be paid for out of the ?20
:09:35. > :09:39.million fund. I would expect for the challenge adviser to be aware that
:09:40. > :09:42.as a headteacher, we know the school and we know where the gaps are with
:09:43. > :09:46.our pupils. We know what to do to make those gaps appropriate and
:09:47. > :09:51.ensure we are held to account for putting those gaps right. The school
:09:52. > :09:58.motto does say it all because part of the challenge is to ensure there
:09:59. > :10:02.is that belief can achieve. They will be setting some ambitious
:10:03. > :10:07.targets for all 40 schools. In terms of GCSEs they will be expecting
:10:08. > :10:12.significant improvements within the first year. In February I visited
:10:13. > :10:16.schools in London who have been part of a similar scheme launched ten
:10:17. > :10:23.years ago. It was a huge success and enable schools to build on what they
:10:24. > :10:26.had. They did drink in consultants and experts who worked alongside my
:10:27. > :10:31.teachers to get them to focus on the things that were critical, develop
:10:32. > :10:36.the teaching soap the learning of the children improved. The scheme in
:10:37. > :10:39.London was funded for nine years which is less than what has been
:10:40. > :10:45.promised by the education minister here. This rogue ram will be here
:10:46. > :10:52.for the next two years. -- this programme. We will have to evaluate
:10:53. > :10:56.it, and I would like us to move on to a second phase of Schools
:10:57. > :10:59.Challenge Cymru. But that two-year commitment to the programme is
:11:00. > :11:04.there, it is concrete and it is very real. But those involved with the
:11:05. > :11:09.Schools Challenge Cymru, say it is not about money but making sure
:11:10. > :11:13.schools work together. After criticisms of the Welsh government
:11:14. > :11:24.for lacking strategy, the hope now is that this policy will stay the
:11:25. > :11:28.course. I sent there is a policy for this. Teachers and head teachers
:11:29. > :11:35.want to know there is a policy to get behind. The Welsh government has
:11:36. > :11:39.been criticised for its handling of education. The idea here is, by
:11:40. > :11:47.raising the standards of our most challenging schools, they will raise
:11:48. > :11:51.the standards for everyone. Three people have been stabbed at a
:11:52. > :11:55.house in Caerphilly. It's thought three men forced their way in to the
:11:56. > :11:59.home in Lansbury Park last night and attacked a woman and two men, who
:12:00. > :12:03.are all in their twenties. They were treated in hospital for stab wounds.
:12:04. > :12:05.One of the men is in a serious but stable condition.
:12:06. > :12:08.There's been a significant increase in cases of the sexually transmitted
:12:09. > :12:11.disease syphilis in north Wales. In the last year 39 cases were reported
:12:12. > :12:15.to Public Health Wales. Normally there are around seven. The rise was
:12:16. > :12:18.first seen on Anglesey but has now spread across the region.
:12:19. > :12:23.I don't think we are seeing all of the cases because some of these
:12:24. > :12:30.patients do not have symptoms. Some of them may not come forward for
:12:31. > :12:33.testing. Yes, we are probably seeing the minority and probably there are
:12:34. > :12:42.more cases. It is important they come forward for testing. They can
:12:43. > :12:45.then get it treated easily. Pembrokeshire Council is to write to
:12:46. > :12:48.its own Chief Executive asking him to pay back unlawful pension
:12:49. > :12:51.contributions. Bryn Parry Jones and a second unnamed official were both
:12:52. > :12:55.given cash payments to avoid tax, totalling ?51,000. An investigation
:12:56. > :12:59.by the Wales Audit Office led to the payments being stopped.
:13:00. > :13:05.Labour has launched its campaign for the European elections with a set of
:13:06. > :13:08.key pledges. The party urged voters to send a message to the UK
:13:09. > :13:12.government about the cost of living, and to reject the UK Independence
:13:13. > :13:17.Party. Daniel Davies reports. Opinion polls are looking up for
:13:18. > :13:20.Labour. It launched its campaign at Swansea university's new EU-funded
:13:21. > :13:28.campus, a symbol of global ambition, says Labour. What about Labour's
:13:29. > :13:32.ambition? It'll want to do better than the 2009 European election when
:13:33. > :13:35.its share of the vote slumped by 12%. That pushed Labour into second
:13:36. > :13:41.place behind the Tories, with Plaid Cymru and UKIP taking the other two
:13:42. > :13:47.seats. The last European election was pretty bleak for Labour. It was
:13:48. > :13:51.the first time the party had failed to top the poll in a Wales-wide
:13:52. > :13:54.election since 1918. The outlook is much better this time and the
:13:55. > :14:02.challenge for Labour for the party is to win a second Welsh seat in the
:14:03. > :14:09.European parliament. The last election in 2009, I remember well
:14:10. > :14:14.because it was at the last of the last Labour government and in the
:14:15. > :14:18.middle of the expenses scandal. But this time on the doorstep, things
:14:19. > :14:21.are more positive. We have been out working hard every day for the last
:14:22. > :14:25.few weeks and we have had a great response. It would take a political
:14:26. > :14:28.earthquake for Derek Vaughan to fail to get re-elected. Labour has set
:14:29. > :14:33.its sights on making sure its second candidate Jane Bryant joins him in
:14:34. > :14:39.Brussels. The response on the door has been very good and positive.
:14:40. > :14:44.People are quite keen to give a bit of a kick to the national government
:14:45. > :14:48.at the moment. Labour is putting the cost of living at the centre of its
:14:49. > :14:51.campaign. It's stressing its pledge to freeze energy bills if it wins
:14:52. > :14:55.power in Westminster. A reminder that though these may be the most
:14:56. > :14:57.important European elections in a generation. According to Welsh
:14:58. > :15:04.Labour, they're also a dry run for the general election next year.
:15:05. > :15:07.A company in Caerphilly has won more than ?360 million worth of contracts
:15:08. > :15:11.from the Ministry of Defence. General Dynamics in Oakdale will
:15:12. > :15:15.work on the engineering and support for a radio system used by the armed
:15:16. > :15:23.forces. It says the investment has secured more than 140 jobs at the
:15:24. > :15:27.site. It is hugely important because it
:15:28. > :15:32.allows us to retain the skills we have developed over the years here
:15:33. > :15:34.in South Wales. Without this it would be difficult to retain the
:15:35. > :15:37.critical expertise we need in this business.
:15:38. > :15:41.Trains are starting to run again on a section of the Cambrian Coast
:15:42. > :15:44.Railway in Gwynedd, which was completely washed away by storms in
:15:45. > :15:47.January. The line at Llanaber, north of Barmouth, has cost ?7 million to
:15:48. > :15:51.rebuild. It means that trains are now able to go as far north as
:15:52. > :15:55.Harlech, but the rest of the line to Pwllheli will stay closed until at
:15:56. > :16:00.least the summer, while a new bridge is built.
:16:01. > :16:03.34 Welsh beaches have been given the international Blue Flag award for
:16:04. > :16:06.their high standards and water quality - one more than last year.
:16:07. > :16:09.Aberdaron and Barmouth in Gwynedd, and Cilborth beach in Ceredigion
:16:10. > :16:13.have been recognised for the first time. 31 beaches have been given the
:16:14. > :16:20.Green Coast Award, which recognises unspoilt environments.
:16:21. > :16:25.The Hay Literature Festival will be broadcast on BBC television, radio
:16:26. > :16:28.and online. It's the start of a three-year partnership, bringing the
:16:29. > :16:31.coverage on Sky Arts to an end. BBC Wales Television, Radio Wales and
:16:32. > :16:35.Radio Cymru are among the networks broadcasting live from the festival
:16:36. > :16:40.which begins at the end of this month.
:16:41. > :16:44.New York 1953 where Dylan Thomas first performed his most famous
:16:45. > :16:49.work, Under Milk Wood. He died on another trip to the city months
:16:50. > :16:52.later at the age of 39. As events take place around the world to mark
:16:53. > :16:56.the centenary of the poet's birth, Tomos Morgan has been back to The
:16:57. > :17:10.Big Apple to take a walk in his footsteps.
:17:11. > :17:19.The beginning at the beginning. Dylan Thomas performed Under Milk
:17:20. > :17:24.Wood in New York City for the first time in 1953. It is a place he
:17:25. > :17:28.described as the city of towers. During his four trips here in the
:17:29. > :17:35.early 50s, he wrote how he struggled with the scale of the city in
:17:36. > :17:40.letters home. I have no idea what I am doing here in the middle of the
:17:41. > :17:45.last empire on earth. Here I have to take things to sleep. Everybody uses
:17:46. > :17:52.the telephone every time, it is like breathing. Fire Brigades, ambulances
:17:53. > :17:57.all with their sirens, wailing and screaming, seem never to stop. His
:17:58. > :18:04.name is synonymous with a range across the city. To mark his
:18:05. > :18:09.Centenary, an app has been developed showing those key locations.
:18:10. > :18:16.Tourists can visit his favourite horns on an official Dylan Thomas
:18:17. > :18:21.walking tour led by a Welshman. Now we are in the Cherry Lane Theatre in
:18:22. > :18:26.the heart of the village. He arrived here in typical fashion, forgetting
:18:27. > :18:32.his notes. Unfortunately a friend remembered that she had a book of
:18:33. > :18:39.his poetry and went to get it. It was in Manhattan at the 92nd St
:18:40. > :18:44.theatre where Swansea's famous poet found a much bigger audience. The
:18:45. > :18:51.stage is set just like it was for the first performance of Under Milk
:18:52. > :19:00.Wood on the 14th of May, 1953. It was in this very seat he sat and
:19:01. > :19:06.performed to a crowd of 1000 people. Although Under Milk Wood had been
:19:07. > :19:09.scheduled for a number of months, it was touch and go to the last minute
:19:10. > :19:17.whether it would have finished in time. People did not know it was
:19:18. > :19:22.going to be funny. So they were very reverent and hushed until the humour
:19:23. > :19:29.begins. A few people laughed at first and then it becomes
:19:30. > :19:34.uproarious. A few blocks away, members of the St Davids Welsh
:19:35. > :19:39.Society of New York are practising for their own performance. There are
:19:40. > :19:46.more people performing than in the audience. It did not matter whether
:19:47. > :19:53.they had talents, they wanted to bring these people together to
:19:54. > :19:58.become the village. The majority of his time was spent in bohemian,
:19:59. > :20:03.Greenwich Village where he seemed most comfortable. But one of his
:20:04. > :20:10.favourite drinking holes, he is still remembered. He liked to
:20:11. > :20:22.drink. He was here to drink. He wasn't here to socialise. At night,
:20:23. > :20:34.he would talk. He liked being around his peers. His peers were miners and
:20:35. > :20:41.semen. It was up the stairs he took his final steps, only to boast of
:20:42. > :20:48.drinking 18 whiskeys. This was his last address before his untimely
:20:49. > :20:53.death on November the 9th, 1953. The jailing islands of hotel bedrooms,
:20:54. > :21:00.from which one must escape at once. The and said provider for power that
:21:01. > :21:04.shoots its building up to the stars. Everything is not terrible here, I
:21:05. > :21:11.have met many kind and intelligent, humorous people. A century since
:21:12. > :21:16.his, many visitors to New York share his fear and fascination with the
:21:17. > :21:20.city. A place where his legacy remains.
:21:21. > :21:24.And on tomorrow night's programme we'll be live in Laugharne, the town
:21:25. > :21:27.that inspired Under Milk Wood. Celebrations are taking place all
:21:28. > :21:31.weekend there to mark the centenary and we'll be catching up with one of
:21:32. > :21:39.his many fans - a former US President! That's at 630pm.
:21:40. > :21:42.The Ospreys should still have a chance of making the top four spot
:21:43. > :21:49.as they are currently in action in Italy. After trailing throughout the
:21:50. > :21:54.night, Ashley Brett put the Ospreys ahead. The score is currently 27
:21:55. > :21:59.points to 23. Mixed weather across the country, so
:22:00. > :22:05.how is it looking for the bank holiday weekend?
:22:06. > :22:12.Very promising. I cannot promise unbroken sunshine, but plenty of dry
:22:13. > :22:18.weather over the next few days. There will be differences from day
:22:19. > :22:26.today such as cloud cover. The radar picked shows today's rain and
:22:27. > :22:34.showers. Heavy downpours in places but hit and miss. Sunshine and
:22:35. > :22:40.showers in Powys. Temperatures in Powys falling as low as six Celsius.
:22:41. > :22:46.This is the picture for 8am. Much better than today. A lot of cloud
:22:47. > :22:50.around. Low cloud and fog on the Brecon Beacons. Should be brighter
:22:51. > :22:54.in the south-west. Temperatures seven to 10 Celsius. The weather
:22:55. > :22:58.will in crude during the day with the cloud lifting and breaking. A
:22:59. > :23:04.dry afternoon. Just the odd shower in Pembrokeshire. Peeling cooler
:23:05. > :23:14.tomorrow with a light breeze. Plenty of cloud and dry weather. A high of
:23:15. > :23:19.12 Celsius with a light breeze. Tomorrow night, much of the country
:23:20. > :23:25.is dry with a lot of ground frost in mid Wales and eastern parts. Six
:23:26. > :23:33.Celsius. On Saturday, high pressure over the UK. The warm front through
:23:34. > :23:36.Ireland may affect us for a time. Saturday is dry and bright with the
:23:37. > :23:42.best of the sunshine in the East. More cloud further west and perhaps
:23:43. > :23:48.a few spots of rain turning up by the evening. On Sunday morning, then
:23:49. > :23:51.maybe the odd spot of light rain in the north-west. A lot of cloud in
:23:52. > :23:55.the north and west. The best of the sunshine is in the south-east with a
:23:56. > :24:04.high of 12 Celsius. Bank holiday Monday looks nice. Hazy, milky
:24:05. > :24:07.sunshine with high cloud. A southeasterly breeze and seven
:24:08. > :24:14.Celsius on the north coast, 18 in Flintshire. Some nice weather this
:24:15. > :24:20.bank holiday weekend. I cannot promise wall-to-wall sunshine, but a
:24:21. > :24:25.lot of dry weather. Enjoy it if you can because the signs are it will
:24:26. > :24:27.break next week with some rain. Enjoy the dry weather over the next
:24:28. > :24:32.few days. Enjoy the dry weather over the next
:24:33. > :24:35.The main headlines: Gerry Adams is still in police custody. He was
:24:36. > :24:39.arrested last night and is being questioned in connection with the
:24:40. > :24:45.murder of a mother of ten, Julie McConville in 1972.
:24:46. > :24:50.There are calls for a nursing home in Powys to be investigated after an
:24:51. > :24:56.elderly resident was verbally abused and did. The poor treatment of
:24:57. > :25:00.Veronica Teal came to light after her family put a camera in her room.
:25:01. > :25:06.They are horrified at her mother's treatment.
:25:07. > :25:12.I am disgusted and I am glad my mum is out of it, but there are other
:25:13. > :25:16.people there. You should be allowed to have dignity and care.
:25:17. > :25:21.If you have got a story about care services you want to share with us,
:25:22. > :25:27.get in touch with us by e-mailing us.
:25:28. > :25:32.We will have a quick update at 8pm and more News at 10:25pm. But from
:25:33. > :25:33.the team here