03/09/2014 Spotlight

Britain will not be cowed, says the Prime Minister. That is

The damning report raised serious concerns about the service.

Some patients have told Spotlight they're not surprised.

You know, some of the patients really have too wait ages and ages

and they are not always sure if the transport is going to turn up.

Hello. Also tonight: Out with the old and in with the new.

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the new Holsworthy

market. It's all change

as the first animals are sold I am not one of these that things

old things are easy but you have to just move on I suppose.

the rare triplets making history in Devon.

Serious concerns have been raised about

the non emergency hospital transport service in parts of the South West.

The health watchdog, the Care Quality Commission,

has warned the private company NSL that it must improve the service

after numerous complaints from patients and hospitals.

An inspection found that transport sometimes arrived too early,

The company had failed to complete background safety checks

on some staff and some of them lacked proper training.

Here's our Health Correspondent Sally Mountjoy.

Thousands in the region rely on NHS transport to get to and from

hospital treatment and appointments. The firm that provides that service

in Devon, Somerset and Cornwall has been failing many of those patients.

That is the conclusion of a critical report from the Care Quality

Commission. They found some staff did not have the proper training or

criminal record checks. NSL and did not listen to or act on complaints

and there were numerous complaints from patients and hospitals about

transport that was too early, late or did not arrive at all, causing

distress and anxiety to patients. If they are not confident they will be

picked up it will give a lot more anxiety and people are already

worried about treatment or an outcome of an appointment that they

have and that is obviously additional concern that they really

do not need. Kidney dialysis patients find the delays especially

hard. I spent four hours hooked up to a dialysis machine that is very

exhausting. I really want at the end of this time to be able to go home

without having to wait for possibly an hour or maybe more. NSL told us

it has recruited 53 more staff since March and bought nine more

ambulances and 11 cars to meet demand. It said the vast majority of

patients were transported early or on time. These company said all

staff undergo criminal record checks but an administrative error meant

that the checks were not recorded on the files of two employees. Dave has

now left his job as a volunteer car driver for the company and he is

among several volunteers we spoke to who are upset about late payments

and unfair new mileage rates. He said the service was better run by

the NHS Ambulance Service. They had the patient's needs at heart and

they cared about them and make them they cared about them and make them

feel valued whereas NSL treat them like cardboard boxes. The drivers

are a forgotten army. We felt drier `` valued as rivals for the

Ambulance Service. NSL says it will hold discussions with volunteer

drivers to try and resolve their concerns and it will give the CQC an

action plan early next week outlining how it will address the

inspector's concerns. We wanted to speak to the group

which commissions NHS services in Devon, where there have been

the largest number of complaints about patient transport, but nobody

was willing to be interviewed. In a statement NEW Devon Clinical

Commissioning Group said, it is clearly not acceptable that patients

are continuing to experience They said they had a robust action

plan to address the CQC's concerns. The first animals have been sold

at Holsworthy's brand new livestock The town's old cattle market,

which had been there for more than The new site has improved facilities

and cost more than ?6 million. Our North Devon reporter,

Andrea Ormsby, has the story. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen,

welcome to the new Holsworthy market. We start off with Lot number

one... They are off. History in the making

for Holsworthy. Yes, it is a good day. It is a new start, that is what

life is all about, new starts! We are being part of history today. It

is also modern. It is lovely to see a large, spacious area and modern

facilities and easy access. I hope it will be a great success. Just one

week of market was missed in the handover from old to new. We have

got cows from Belgium and buyers from the Midlands and buyers from

write`down in and fenders from all over the South of England and a

great day and a wonderful start. With 100 years of history behind it

the old market is still missed by some. I am not one of these that

forgets old things easily, not really, but otherwise you have to

just move on I suppose. They say so anyway. But this market I should

think they have put a lot of thought into it and it is laid out excellent

as far as I can say. The District Council invested more than ?6

million to make this happen. It is the largest project that the

District Council have ever taken. Naturally prices go up but even

historically I don't we have ever done anything quite as big as this

even taking inflation into account. Day one of the stock market, it has

a long history to live up to. A multi`million pound claim has been

launched against two firms involved in the

building and design of an eco`school Pupils will now be taught in

temporary classrooms at Dartington Primary School after the zero

carbon building developed leaks. The builders are in and the once

green Dartington Primary School is looking a little bit they each.

Leaks sent rainwater running down the walls of the zero Carbon school

so that four years after it opened the solar heated classrooms are

empty. The 300 children will be taught for the next two years in

prefabs. Devon County Council is demanding ?7 million from the

architects and the main contractors to put things right. This parent

cycles across town to bring his son to the school and he fears for the

future of green designs. I think this might put people off. If they

see this they might think, look at that, environmental building doesn't

work, green building doesn't work. In my heart I hope it does, I really

do. I wanted this to work and I still hope it does. I wonder what

the outcome will be. Some have said it was unwise of the council to

commission such an ambitious plan but others disagree. I think we were

all really excited for a zero carbon school right on our doorstep and a

lot of parents wanted to send their children to a school that had a

really strong ethos of environmental care and the children could play

outside and spend a lot of time outside. We can see what has been

achieved in the school grounds. How much will remain of the school's

green credentials is unclear but one pupil at least cannot wait for

school to return on Monday. I really do love school. So much! So, so

much! Neither the architect nor the contractors wanted to comment. They

previously denied any liability. Scientists

in the South West say they hope to have a cure for dementia

in the next ten to twenty years. A centre of scientific excellence is

to be created in the region to help researchers in Plymouth and Exeter

work more closely to find Dorothy, seen here on the left, was

in the land Army during the Second World War. She died four years ago

at home in Brixham. Her widower said she suffered from Alzheimer's the

10`year is. There were some treatments even when Dorothy had it

but the NHS would not fund it at the time. It would have extended her

life may be by another year if she had but that means a lot to

families. Nearly 13,000 people have dementia in Devon alone. Today

Alzheimer's research UK announced that the south`west would be a

centre of scientific excellence and is getting ?50,000 worth of funding.

Research scientists in Plymouth and Exeter are among the best in the UK.

Now they can pull their ideas together. I think it will mean that

ultimately we will move towards understanding the disease faster and

better. I know how devastating it is to have a family member diagnosed

with the illness. Sadly both of my grandmothers died with dementia and

I really hope that the work that we do every day as dementia research is

here in the south`west will ultimately mean that many people

will not see their grandparents lost to this terrible illness. With

current advances in research we are hoping that within ten or 20 years

we will be able to deliver the cure for at least most common

conditions. I really hope so, it is why I come to work every day and it

is why I am so passionate about the research that we do. A cure, or just

holding it back, a cure would be great, that would be a miracle. It

is too late for Dorothy but maybe a miracle will happen in our lifetime.

A ceremony has taken place in Plymouth today to remember those who

The fleet played a vital role in keeping the country supplied

during World War II when ships had to contend with German U`boats.

More than 30,000 merchant seaman lost their lives in the war.

During the Second World War Britain was dependent on supplies brought

across the Atlantic from North America. Without them the country

could have been starved into submission. That made merchant

vessels are prime target for the Germany U`boats. We do not

appreciate what those chaps went through during the war. A lot of

them never talked about it. If we can just give up one day or a few

hours just to remember them, that is important. This morning on Plymouth

Hoe people came to do just that. Among those laying wreaths was

Vivian Foster who has long campaigned for greater recognition

for those who served in the merchant fleet. My father was torpedoed on

the oil tankers and got the Lloyds Metall, MBA, and the rest of the

metals and my uncle Colin was torpedoed off the West African coast

and spent 52 days on a raft before being rescued and the youngest

brother, Stanley, was last across the Atlantic on the second trip

crossing the Elan tick. Three brothers, very significant, all

Merchant Navy and that is why I have done what I have done to get them

recognised. `` crossing the Atlantic.

They endured some of the most perilous conditions on the Arctic

convoys to Russia, where temperatures dropped to `50 degrees.

This morning in the sunshine they were all remembered.

The triumph of hope over adversity, a glimpse of one woman's

Plus ahead of the Invictus Games for injured service personnel,

Find out why these new arrivals are so rare.

A little known manuscript has been found after 45 years,

giving a unique insight into a life of self sufficiency on Exmoor.

It written by Hope Bourne who famously lived

Now the writings documenting life in a Somerset village

Historians say it's a fascinating chronicle of ordinary life which

There is nothing in the world is clean and fresher than rainwater or

good country spring water. It was a lifestyle at odds with the 20th

century. For decades Hope Bourne's home was a tiny caravan on the edge

of Exmoor. This is my armament, the most precious and important part of

my equipment here. She hunted her own food, shunned the trappings of

modern life, yet watched everything around her and was a prolific

writer. Now, 45 years after it was written historians have rediscovered

one of hope's manuscripts were packing up to move office. There it

was. She really was an extraordinary woman, was an extraordinary woman,.

It is hard to imagine anybody now living in the way that she left, in

a caravan, on her own, with no electricity and going out to shoot

her own dinner and growing her own vegetables and not having running

water and drinking from a bucket out of the stream, she was quite

amazing. A village of the more Chronicles

everyday life in the 1960s at a time when traditions here were battling

modern trends. Hope Bourne would write... The radio and television

may bring the wider world into almost every home but here are holed

up in London or more in the Middle East is a far less importance than

yesterday's rain or tomorrow's sheep sale. Then there is the tale of the

faithful dogs who refused to leave their owners side even after she had

died on a more of a heart attack. The dogs even went to the funeral

and as Hope Bourne said there was not a dry our eye and even the men

were blowing their noses. Where the chief mourners? Yes, they sat in the

play with everybody else and Hope Bourne makes it clear that they are

just a part of the story the village. Hope Bourne died four years

ago at the age of 91. Her remarkable tales of life on Exmoor will be

published next year. Quite nice to have that little step

back in time for a couple of minutes.

Some of the top tennis players from Great Britain and Europe are gracing

The Tarka Tennis Centre is hosting its annual Ladies' Open with prize

Dave Gibbins reports on the importance of the tournament,

With the US tennis open running concurrently with this one at

Barnstaple it gives a new breed of professional tennis player the

opportunity to come to the fore. 15`year`old Jodi Burridge is the

youngest player in this event which is the fourth biggest in the country

behind Wimbledon, Eastbourne and Birmingham. Her mum and grandparents

are from Barnstable and after making it around to that had cause to

celebrate with grandma. She behaved quite well today. She better, or

else! We are very pleased she is here. It is lovely to have her here

so I do not see very much of them because they live in Surrey. I want

to go as far as I can so hopefully I can get all of the way but it will

be a long road and it will be tough so I have to see how it goes.

Besides Jodie's obvious promise 19`year`old Katie is another to make

a mark here. She disposed of the number one ranked player. To do it

on a hard court as well you start to think that I could be going

somewhere. If I keep going in this direction you never know what can

happen. The highest ranked British player here is Tara Moore, a regular

at Wimbledon she also took the first round exit in the singles. Despite

that she enjoys the top`class facilities at the Tarka Tennis

Centre. I love playing here, I have had a lot of good results here and

unfortunately this year I could not continue at but I hope to do pretty

well in the doubles and I enjoyed playing here. The surface is one of

my favourites so coming here is or was like me home for me. With a

greater proportion of prize money going to other events in the ladies

calendar this year attracting the likes of Tara Moore is still goes to

show that the Tarka Tennis Centre is still one of the best centres in the

country. Now, to a sporting event

which is the brainchild of Prince Harry, and will shine a light

on some of the most determined The Invictus Games is

a new international event in London for wounded, injured

and sick service men and women. Well, earlier we met Steve

and Louisa who are two of those taking part from Hasler Company,

a rehabilitation unit for service They'll both be competing

in the archery event. Louisa began

by telling us how she got involved. We do a lot of afternoon activities

and there was an opportunity at a barracks to go and have a go at

archery so I went and had a go. I only shot a couple of hours and I

thought I liked it and I had never tried it before so one day in the

gym a paper went around to ask if you wanted to have a go at Invictus

Games for the training and such and I put my name down and adjust by

road from there. I went to Stoke Mandeville with 30 archers and we

all had a go. This has been championed by Prince Harry, how

important is it to have that sort of profile? I do not think without him

it could have happened. Definitely his patronage and enthusiasm and

William's enthusiasm as well. They have both been out there. What sort

of injuries and disabilities did you pick up a new armed service career?

I was in the Royal Marines over 30 years and training injuries in

combat injuries that had picked up and illnesses, it partly came to a

point when I could not work anymore so I entered the rehab system two

and illnesses, it partly came to a point when I could not work anymore

so I entered the rehab system two and a half or three years ago. With

the help of Headley Court and the Haussler company they have slowly,

with good medication and counselling it has helped me medically to get

back on my feet and the other bit that is conjoined with that is what

is life after the Royal Marines? I have been medically Recharge ``

discharged and a lot of effort goes into relearning how to work and

skills and improving and making you fit for the workplace. For the team

members involved, what does it mean to be aiming for the Invictus Games?

What has it been like in the build`up to this big event? It has

been quite exciting deal `` it has been quite exciting. I did not think

I would be able to compete on an international level and from being

sporty before being injured it has given hope again that there are

different sports I had not fought to take part in and you forget how big

it is going to be. When I first started I felt like it would be a

Sportsday author name. It has really expanded. What is personal to me and

what sums it up is that rehabilitation through sport is

fantastic and it becomes about ability, not disability, and we are

all finding that we may be a bit damaged and frayed around the edges

but we cannot do what we used to be but we can do what we can do and

this is helping us to find that. It all kicks off one week today and we

wish all the best of luck. Thank you for coming in to see us.

And there's more about the Invictus Games all this week with

David Fitzgerald on BBC Radio Devon every evening from 5.00pm.

Rare triplets of the world's smallest primates have been born

The zoo believes the tiny monkeys known

as pygmy marmosets are the first triplets to survive in captivity

They're now three months old and thriving.

Spotlight's Johnny Rutherford has been to see them.

Meet Meeny, Miny and Mo. Cute rather than cheeky, these triplets are so

tiny they could all fit in a teacup. Born at Shaldon Wildlife Trust

busily believes that the monkeys are something rather special. These are

our pygmy marmoset family and they are a South American primate and the

world 's smallest primates so as adults they are only a few inches in

size and we are extremely excited for the triplets because it is

thought to be a first for triplets to be successfully reared by parents

in captivity alone. These mini monkeys live in social groups and

have a specialised diet which improves as `` includes sticky tree

sap and insects. They are part of a managed breeding programme to

maintain a sustainable population. Their main threats are habitat

destruction and deforestation. There are large parts of the main forest

that is being `` rainforest that is being decimated for various reasons.

They are also caught for the pet trade. They do not make very good

pets despite being adorable. There are plenty of other adorable animals

at the trust. These has started a new experience this year, allowing

people to get closer to the animals. The meerkats have been

telling me about a new arrival. Is that right? There was great interest

across the whole slew as apparently the new arrival is the biggest brain

to body ratio of any mammal, including humans. OK, so here is our

new arrival. It is an Male Northern tree shrew and he will be living

with a female that arrived yesterday from up in Somerset and so hopefully

these two are going to get on that we will have some baby tree shoes in

the near future. Maybe they will have triplets like the monkeys.

They are very cute. I did not know Johnny could talk to the animals! It

is his speciality. Now it is time for the weather and

welcome back to David. Thank you. I have brought some sunshine with

me. I drove home quite late from Plymouth last night and the

temperature was still reading 18 degrees which is good for September.

We had a lovely day today with temperatures back up to 21 degrees

which is above average for the time of year and there is more of that to

come as well. First thing tomorrow morning maybe misty but the sunshine

will work through that and we will have sunny spells in the afternoon

with a similar temperature of around 21 or 22 degrees. Most of the

weather activity at the moment is a long way out to the west of us.

Compared to last week it is a lot more settled and this line of Cloud

is held out here by an area of high pressure that extends from Norway

right across the North Sea and covers most of southern Britain. It

will stay there in one form or another. It will be weaker by the

middle of the day tomorrow and by Friday you cannot see where it is

but it is effectively still there but a weather front tries to come in

from the north`west and it is week so we stay largely dry.

Moving into the weekend there are showers developing but there was a

lot of fine weather to have on both days. Temperatures come down a

little bit. This is the satellite picture from earlier today. There

has been a lot of cloud but for most of us a lovely end to the day. Later

tonight it turns a bit misty. Some low cloud will drift in and out of

the coast and then missed will form and by Dawn extensive low cloud

developing. The most of us it will start a bit grey but not as cold as

it has been during the night time at temperatures between 12 and 14

degrees. After the mist and low cloud has gone it should improve to

a fine and warm day. Temperatures should get back up into the low 20s.

It will always be cloaked `` Kular around the coastline and easterly

winds will dominate tomorrow. For the Isles of Scilly we will have a

cloudy start but it should brighten up and we will see some sunshine.

There is haze in the air if you are heading out to see so the sea is

moderate because of that. Here is the outlook. As we head into

the weekend a lot more cloud around on Saturday and Sunday as it weakens

and moves away. Friday is nice though with gentle wind from the

north`eastern temperatures of 19 or 20 but it clouds up on Saturday and

Sunday. Birthdays are dry but it will be cooler. We come down to

about 17 or 18 by Sunday. You can contact us on Twitter or on our

e`mail address. Have a nice evening. Good to have

you back. We have the film about the baby monkeys on the Spotlight

Facebook page if you want to share it with your friends and family. We

will be back tomorrow at 6:30pm. Good night.