27/03/2014 Spotlight

Good evening. The Royal Cornwall over on the BBC News

Good evening. The Royal Cornwall Hospital has been told by the health

watchdog it has to improve. A lack of beds and incomplete or inaccurate

patient records have been highlighted by the Care Quality

Commission. But it also found many services are delivered to a good

standard. Alison Johns reports. The inspectors visited the Royal

Cornwall Hospital in Januarx, making two announced visits and ond

unannounced. It's one of thd first trusts to be subjected to an

inspection regime, with doctors nurses and managers all involved.

The report has been publishdd today, and its overall conclusion hs that

the hospital requires improvement. Patient records and some wards were

incomplete. There were too lany operations being cancelled or

delayed due to a shortage of beds. But the six remaining areas,

including Accident and Emergency, intensive care and maternitx, were

all rated as good. This is ` safe hospital. There are issues to

improve on, but we do not w`nt people to feel they could not bring

a member of their family to this hospital. What we're saying is that

we have identified some things where we will need a clear plan vdry

quickly to address those concerns. The hospital's Chief Executhve

welcomed the report, but accepts that the lack of beds is sthll a

problem. We are working closely with our partners to improve pathways for

patients. What the report does is highlight that there is still a

pressure in the organisation and it is something that we need to deal

with as an urgent matter. The hospital now has to come up with an

improvement plan showing wh`t action it is going to take and sublit it to

the CQC. The family of the lurdered Somerset woman Catherine Wells`Burr

handed in a petition at Downing Street today. It's in opposhtion to

the deportation of two of hdr killers, who've requested they serve

the remainder of their sentdnces in Poland. Catherine's boyfriend, his

ex`girlfriend and her uncle, who're all Polish, were jailed for 32 years

each in June for killing thd 23`year`old. Her family fear their

sentences could be cut if they serve them abroad. A new report s`ys there

are significant risks in thd way Devon and Cornwall Police ddal with

domestic abuse. The force s`ys it recognises there are too many

inconsistencies, some of whhch it's already addressing. Hamish Larshall

reports. On the march, callhng for more help for victims of dolestic

violence. But are the policd listening? As much as they can be,

according to a report. `` not as much as they could be. It found

Devon and Cornwall Police dhd not yet provide a consistent service in

all cases of domestic violence. 34% of all assaults were domesthc

abuse`related in the last 13 months until August of last year. The

figure for most other forces is between 45 and 90. This wom`n sees

the problems of domestic abtse first`hand. She feels this report

backs up what she has been seeing over the last few years. I'd think

they must feel very unhappy at this report, really. I think that they

think they are doing a really good job, but what they are doing is

producing lots of paper and policies, and not all of those

things are actually being actioned at the right end. One major concern

from the inspectors was the way Devon and Cornwall Police ddal with

emergency calls. Where introducing dedicated special officers to ensure

that we better standardise our response to victims of domestic

abuse. These account for 11$ of all crime and inspectors say thd force

will continue to be monitordd. There's been a rise in the number of

drivers in Devon claiming for damage caused by potholes. It's gone up by

two`thirds, according to thd County Council's latest figures. John Ayres

has more. The weather has bden exceptional. Not just the sheer

size, but the number. In December, 2000 potholes were reported. By

January and February, it was 70 0 a month, and the claims have risen as

well. This man suffered ?480 worth of damage to his car when it hit a

pothole here. He is trying to make a claim against the County Cotncil

that has been told he does not qualify. I received a reply from the

Council who told me they were not liable for that time, that the

incident happened, and they would not pay out against my clail. The

reason, apparently, is becatse there have been so many potholes this

winter that the council has had to change its policy, because ht is

impossible to cope with thel all. Our policy is to fix potholds on A

roads within a day and to fhx the rest of the holes within seven days.

We have had to bring in a tdmporary relaxation of that policy, so for A,

B and C roads, we fix them within two weeks, and the rest, within a

month. Dealing with the backlog is getting more difficult in a climate

where it is forced to make cuts And that's it from me for now, time now

for a look at the weather Over to David now with all the detahls.

It will be warmer by the wedkend. At the moment, the showers are never

too far away and they will continue overnight, it will continue to be a

showery day tomorrow and sole of the showers could bring us hail. There

could be snow on the hills. We still have easterly winds. More showers

are moving inland this evenhng and overnight. Snow is possible over

Dartmoor. Overnight temperatures are still close to freezing. For

tomorrow morning, everyone will start the day cloudy and with

showers. The showers will lhnk together to give us more persistent

rain at times, but in betwedn the showers, there will be sunshine

Although temperatures are slightly high, it will not feel warm due to

the chilly breeze. Saturday is different, rain will clear way to

the west and it will feel w`rmer. Up to 15 degrees. Into Sunday, it is

even warmer. In a second, a fool UK forecast.

weather. Now the national forecast with Nick Miller.

Hello, as winter becomes spring the atmosphere contains more energy The

shower clouds grow taller. If conditions are right, you get

thunder storms. There have been some today. Bob took this picture near

London this afternoon. The spring flowers will appreciate the