18/01/2018 BBC News at Six

Cold weather keeps up

the pressure on the NHS.

The UK's in the grip of the worst

flu season for seven years.

It comes as dozens of doctors

in Wales warn that patient safety

in A&E units is being "compromised

to an unacceptable degree".

We have got patients

in the department and we don't have

space to see them, and then we're

coming back the next day and some

of the patients are still here.

It's getting worse every winter

but this is the worst we have seen.

As emergency services deal

with raised levels of flu,

we'll be finding out just how bad

the situation is across the UK.

Severe gales cause disruption

across much of the UK,

as fallen trees block

rail lines and roads,

and tens of thousands of homes

are left without power.

A summit at Sandhurst -

the French president holds talks

with Theresa May as the UK agrees

to pay an extra £44 million

for Channel security.

Terminally ill - the man fighting

for the right to a "peaceful

and dignified" death wins the right

to take his case to

the Court of Appeal.

And the train's to blame for a royal

delay, but Prince Harry

and his fiancee, Meghan Markle,

finally make it to Cardiff

and wow the crowds.

And coming up on Sportsday -

Johanna Konta says there's no

catastrophe, after her shock defeat

in the Australian Open to a player

outside the world's top 100.

Good evening and welcome

to the BBC News at Six.

The UK is in the grip of the worst

flu season for seven years.

The latest figures show

that the number of people who went

to their GP with suspected flu rose

by 40% in the past week,

with similar numbers

in the rest of the UK.

The cold weather is keeping up

the pressure on accident

and emergency units.

In Wales, dozens of senior doctors

have written to the Welsh government

saying that patient safety

is being put at risk

to an unacceptable degree.

They said planning for a winter

crisis had been inadequate

and the NHS in Wales

is "chronically under-resourced".

Here's our Wales

Correspondent, Sian Lloyd.

We've heard of emergency units

across the UK in crisis

but today doctors in Wales

raised their concerns

about the system here.

A letter signed by more than three

quarters of all Welsh consultants

in emergency medicine warned

the First Minister that patient

safety is being compromised.

There is good evidence that

in a crowded emergency department

that patients have their treatment

delayed and that can

make their illness more protracted

and ultimately it can make people's

lives be at risk.

So, yes, people may die

because of the pressures

that we are facing.

She had to wait three or four

hours for the ambulance.

Then she had to sit outside Accident

and Emergency in the ambulance.

Then she got transferred

to a trolley in a corridor.

82-year-old Joan is now being cared

for in hospital but her daughter

Trisha is horrified at the 13 hours

it took for her mother

to be treated.

As a patient, especially in South

Wales, you almost come to expect it.

You know that once the winter comes,

you know that if anything happens

that you need an ambulance,

get comfortable in the ambulance

because that is where you are going

to be staying for the next

couple of hours.

Resus is full.

Trolley bays are full.

The team at this hospital in Swansea

is trying to come up with new ways

of dealing with busy times.

Many of those packed into this room

have volunteered to leave their desk

jobs to join medical staff

on the front line.

Donna is one of them.

A personal assistant

with the health board,

she is now working to speed up

the flow of patients

through the hospital.

I'll come down onto the ward,

get the beds' state,

see how many beds we have got,

have we got any discharges due,

or potential discharges

for the various times of the day.

And if there is any delay in those

discharges then I can chase that up.

The scheme is having some success

but the NHS in Wales

is facing many challenges.

The latest figures show that

in December less than 80% of A&E

patients in Wales were admitted

or discharged within four hours.

That is way below the Welsh

Government's 95% target,

and worse than a year ago.

The Welsh Government says that this

December was the busiest on record.

It recognises the challenges faced

by staff and says it has invested

an extra £60 million to help people

working in emergency units like this

one deliver their services.

We are better prepared than ever

before, but there are real

risks in where we go.

Spikes in demand, unavoidable

pressures, but also unplanned

for pressures, and we have seen

some of those.

Politicians and doctors recognise

that this problem isn't

going away any time soon.

In fact it is feared that patients

could wait even longer

unless there is a revolution

in the way that health

and social care is delivered.

Our health editor,

Hugh Pym, is here.

Huge pressure on A&E in Wales

and now this sharp rise in flu cases

across the UK last week.

It is all adding to an already

overstretched NHS?

Yes, Sophie. Public health officials

have confirmed this is the worst flu

season since 2010, but it's not as

bad at a similar stage as it was

then. If we look at people going

into GP surgeries with flu-like

symptoms, there's been a big

increase in the last couple of

weeks, since the 1st of January.

Looking at the figures, since

January the 1st, people going into

GPs in Wales with flu symptoms, up

nearly 300%, which may explain some

of the pressure on A&E. In Northern

Ireland, Scotland and England, still

153% in England, a big rise. Public

Health England is saying it isn't as

bad as seven years ago and there is

still time to have the flu jab, but

there was concern at high levels of

the NHS as to where this might go.

In England, the A&E performance last

week wasn't as bad as the first week

in January, with not so many

patients in ambulances outside

hospitals, for example. But I think

nobody is being complacent. There is

immense pressure on the system, it's

not just flu, so it doesn't take

much to push things over the edge.

That is the worry. The society for

cute medicine, representing doctors

in hospitals, said it is a crisis,

and they say the pressure on staff

is only really sustainable at this

rate for a few weeks.

Severe gales have caused disruption

across much of the UK, with gusts

of over 80 miles an hour.

Tens of thousands of homes have been

without power for much

of the day in East Anglia

and the south-east of England.

The high winds brought down

trees and power cables,

blocking rail lines

and roads and damaging homes.

Robert Hall reports.

A warning of what was to come.

The vital cargo link

with the Channel Islands ploughing

through gales and high seas

as the latest weather

system barrelled in.

Ahead in Jersey, mountainous

seas breaking over

the island's lighthouse,

and more alerts warning

of coastal flooding.

In England, the wind

howled through the night,

with gusts of more than 80 mph

recorded in East Anglia.

Communities have been warned

to expect disruption,

if anything it was even more

widespread than had been expected.

This is the main rail line

between Ipswich and Norwich.

Trees brought down power lines

and blocked sections of track

causing major disruption.

At Norwich station,

trains were still going

nowhere by mid-morning.

In Ipswich, frustrated travellers

moved to buses or simply went home.

We were going to get the 11 o'clock

from Liverpool Street,

it didn't run so here we are.

It's tiresome but it happens.

Along a series of major routes,

including the M25, the traffic

ground to hold for mile after mile.

Damage to buildings and to woodland

was also extensive.

This pub near Clacton

in Essex lost most its roof.

in county after county,

local authorities were at full

stretch as they tried to clear trees

and other hazards from

roads and pavements.

Trees which all too often left

families and businesses without

power.

More than 100,000 in

the Midlands and East Anglia.

Through last night

and today, these repair

crews have been moving

from call to call.

In the east of England alone,

there are 300 of them

at work and by the time

tomorrow morning dawns it will have

covered around 900 locations.

This call centre in Ipswich

brought in extra staff to

deal with the rising

number of lines down.

First light this morning when

the winds hit, we were out there.

As soon as it's safe

to climb we were

climbing, putting those wires

back up.

In the north of England and in

Scotland, more snow to compound

the difficulties on transport links.

These pictures filmed

in Northumberland were typical, as

police again warned drivers not

to use the roads unless it was

absolutely necessary.

The gales may have left us

again, but winter has

us in a firm and often

beautiful grip.

The latest from UK power networks is

that those waiting for power to come

back are now about 8000 properties.

That's mainly spread across Norfolk

and Suffolk. One property that has

been waiting for the power to come

on through today was Wes Newton

village hall. They were expecting a

very special visitor, a special

member of their WIA, and I'm told

the Queen, who lives up the road in

Sandringham, was offered a generator

for the visit but she turned it

down, preferring to come and share

the wartime spirit and, by all

accounts, a good time was had by

everybody. I'm glad to say that Wes

Newton village hall now has the

lights back on.

The severe gales have hit much

of northern Europe as well.

Four people have been killed

by falling trees or debris

where gusts of up to 90 miles

per hour have been recorded.

Across the Netherlands and Germany,

winds caused severe disruption

on roads and damage to property.

Hundreds of flights and trains

were also cancelled.

Theresa May has welcomed

Emmanuel Macron on his first

official visit to Britain

since becoming French president.

The Prime Minister is understood

to have agreed to spend an extra

£44 million on improving border

security at French ports,

and to take in more

migrants from Calais.

The talks are expected to underline

the leaders' commitment to working

closely together after Brexit,

as our deputy political editor,

John Pienaar, reports.

Nothing like a bit of pomp

and ceremony to get

the meeting started.

Monsieur Macron and Mrs May

won't the EU partners much longer.

Now they are keener than ever

to keep in step where they can.

To stay in tune.

France is a key ally.

Brexit is coming and

the Prime Minister is

treading a delicate line.

Cooperation now, hoping friendship

pays off in future.

At the least French goodwill

is on Theresa May's wishlist.

The President came to this

Sandhurst Summit to talk business

about militantly collaboration

and border cooperation.

He wanted more cash

for border control.

He went to a migrant centre

near Calais this week.

And now he is getting £44 million

to help with security, fences,

closed-circuit cameras.

That has helped ease tension.

Border control has

been a sore point.

Boris Johnson and a troupe

of Cabinet colleagues mingled

with French counterparts.

The two countries are the EU's

biggest military powers.

Today they promised British

helicopters to help French troops

fighting jihadists in West Africa.

Although the deals and agreements

being struck here are

important this summit matters more

than just the sum of its parts.

France will be crucial to Britain's

chances of getting a good Brexit

deal, including on trade, and the

France- UK relationship will be

important in determining Britain's

clout as a global player after

Brexit.

Thank you very much. On the

count of three, a bit of a smile.

To

look at the leaders and their top

teams beaming on cue, you'd never

know the two countries have been

your's biggest rivals and closest

neighbours for time out of mind.

They still are but exudes both sides

to get on well. Mrs May certainly

hope they will.

The leaders' news conference is

running late, but both sides seem to

have done what they can to make it

go smoothly. They were going to see

the Bayeux tapestry without crossing

the channel. Emmanuel Macron cannot

call him self the European leaders'

most strong and stable leader, and

this relationship matters more than

ever, since Britain joined the old,

market 45 years ago. You can expect

a lot more high energy diplomacy in

the weeks and months and years

ahead.

Our top story this evening:

The UK is in the grip of the worst

flu season for seven years as

doctors in Wales warn that patient

safety in A&E units is being

compromised to an unacceptable

degree.

And still to come...

Prince Harry and his fiancee,

Meghan Markle, wow the crowds

in Cardiff on their first official

visit to Wales.

Coming up on Sportsday

on BBC News...

Will he, won't he?

The Arsenal manager says his star

striker, Alexis Sanchez, is likely

to move to Manchester United,

with Henrikh Mkhitaryan

going the other way.

Noel Conway is 68 years old.

He's terminally ill

with motor neurone disease.

He says he feels entombed

by his illness and simply wants

the right to a peaceful

and dignified death.

Today he won the right

to appeal a ruling

that forbids assisted suicide.

The Court of Appeal will now

consider if he should be allowed

help to end his own life.

The issue of whether or not

there should be a "right to die"

provokes passionate opinions.

Our medical correspondent

Fergus Walsh has spoken to two

campaigners with opposing views.

Sarah Jessiman from Warwickshire

knows her time left is limited.

Breast cancer has spread

to her spine and the treatment has

at times been extremely painful.

Sarah, who has an unrelated hearing

disorder, fears for the future.

The possibility that I'm

going to have the painful

and prolonged death,

and I'm scared.

I am very scared of the thought

of being bedbound in agony

for weeks or months.

Sarah wants a doctor to be allowed

to prescribe her a lethal dose

of drugs if her final months become

unbearable, but MPs

overwhelmingly rejected proposals

for a right to die in 2015.

I'd like the law changed so that

I can have a peaceful death

at the time I choose,

rather than the time

cancer might have in mind for me.

Sarah, who recently celebrated her

20th wedding anniversary,

says people should have a choice

over how they die.

I don't want to have the kind

of death where my friends

and family say to my husband and to

each other, "Thank goodness

she is not suffering any more."

Why do I have to suffer

that indignity?

Juliet Marlow from Hampshire has had

rheumatoid arthritis

since she was five years old.

Her immune system

attacks her joints.

She's had both her knees

and hips replaced.

Juliet can no longer walk

and relies on carers.

Every joint in my body has

got arthritis in it.

I have a large amount

of pain, but I take

painkillers on a daily basis.

I take anti-inflammatories

and between them they

keep the pain at bay.

Juliet is opposed to

a change in the law.

She says allowing assisted suicide

would make many disabled people feel

even more vulnerable and scared.

We don't want society

to turn its back on us.

It would send a message to me

that my life wasn't worth living,

you know, because so many people

judge me on what I can't do

without focusing on what I can do.

And she says allowing doctors

to help people to die

would break the bond of trust.

The relationship between doctor

and patient, I believe,

will be fundamentally damaged

if we ask them to be our

executioners as well as our healers.

Noel Conway, who is fighting

for the right to an assisted death,

is becoming progressively weaker

and is thought to have little more

than six months left to live.

His legal team have asked the Court

of Appeal to hear his case

as soon as possible.

Fergus Walsh, BBC News.

The Northern Ireland Secretary has

announced that talks to restore

the devolved government at Stormont

are to resume next week.

Karen Bradley, who was

appointed last week,

made the announcement alongside

the Irish Deputy Prime

Minister, Simon Coveney.

Power-sharing between

the Democratic Unionists

and Sinn Fein collapsed more

than a year ago.

The Justice Secretary, David Gauke,

has been ordered to make immediate

improvements to Nottingham Prison

after he was warned the jail

was "fundamentally unsafe".

Peter Clarke, the Chief Inspector

of Prisons for England and Wales,

used a new "urgent notification"

letter to demand

action within 28 days.

Our Home Affairs Correspondent

Daniel Sandford reports.

Violent and dangerous, HMP

Nottingham today became the first

jail to face a new procedure for

troubled prisons that need to be

urgently improved. Just days after

inspectors visited the prison, their

boss sent a letter to the Justice

Secretary saying:

And they needed to be an unwavering

focus on safety.

focus on safety.

All levels of

violence had increased quite

significantly, but in particular

levels of self harm had increased

dramatically in the last two years,

and tragically there have been eight

deaths that appear to be

self-inflicted. This is obviously

quite acceptable and raises the

question of whether any of those

deaths were preventable.

Among those

who died in the prison last year was

Sharon Whitford's son, who had only

served three weeks of his four month

sentence.

He rang me about a week

before and said he wanted moving out

of the prison because it was really

bad. People harming themselves. He

just said it was horrible, being in

Nottingham.

This new process of

sending urgent letters about failing

prisons came about partly because

prisons inspectors were fed up with

having their recommendations

ignored. The new Justice Secretary,

David Gauke, now has 28 days to

respond and say how Nottingham

prison will be made safe. David

Gauke was being sworn in as Lord

Chancellor today and will now be

realising what a huge job he has, to

turn around the prison system that

is crying out for leadership.

Parents in England are subsidising

free nursery care because it hasn't

been properly funded

by the government -

that's according to a new survey.

Many nurseries say they're

struggling to cover costs,

and are having to ask parents

to help for fees,

nappies and lunches.

The government says it's

investing £6 billion

in childcare by 2020.

Our Education Correspondent Elaine

Dunkley has the details.

For 21 years, this nursery school in

Roderick has been this woman's life.

Coming in now empty, cold and quiet

is very painful.

Eve knew she would

be unable to deliver the Government

scheme of childcare to parents

without cutting corners so she

decided to close.

My gusts past £6

50 and the Government are giving me

for pound 36. Somehow I've got to

make that difference and so no, no,

it wouldn't have worked. It would

have just been one massive struggle.

In order to pay redundancies, we had

to close before we run out of cash.

Others fear the same fate. At the

sparkling stars preschool in Poole,

the numbers don't add up. Gusts are

going up and the future is not

certain.

The only person this policy

is free to is the Government, it is

not free to parents or their

children because we are having to

ask for additional contributions to

cover parts of what we offer that

the funding does not cover.

Before

the scheme was introduced, the high

cost of childcare meant some parents

were worse off going back to work,

but with some mercenaries struggling

to offer 30 hours a week, parents

are having to cover additional

gusts.

Obviously if they can't

sustain it, that is concerning.

When

they go to bigger schools we are not

asked to make donations there.

It is

costly, when you look at a minimum

wage and what they earn commutator

of the cost of the nursery.

A report

suggests only 35% of childcare

providers are delivering 30 hours

per week completely free. 37% have

or increased charges for meals and

snacks to make up the shortfall.

What will happen is providers will

struggle and struggle to try and

make this work, they will have to

review how they do things and have

to make a decision. Either fees will

go up for the parents who don't

qualify for the 30 hours, or they

will have to close their doors.

The

Government insists the additional

hours are working for parents but

nurseries say they are going out of

business.

A wolf which was on the loose in

Berkshire this morning for six hours

has been safely recaptured after

escaping from its enclosure in

Newbury.

It was initially thought

the animal, called Torak,

fled the site after strong winds

had damaged fencing.

But now staff at the sanctuary

believe the enclosure gate may have

been left open deliberately.

Police say the wolf travelled eight

miles before it was caught

beside the M4 motorway.

It turns out even the Royals can

suffer train delays.

Prince Harry and his fiance

Meghan Markle were an hour late

for their first official visit

to Wales this afternoon.

But that didn't stop hundreds

of people waiting in the cold to see

them at Cardiff Castle.

The couple - who are

due to marry in May -

are on a tour of UK cities

to introduce Meghan to her new home.

Nicholas Witchell reports.

They were an hour late arriving,

courtesy of Britain's rail system.

A points failure at

Didcot to be precise.

And though perhaps there wasn't

quite the excitement they had found

in Brixton, south London, last week,

the crowds who'd waited in Cardiff

nevertheless made the want

of their welcome very clear.

And when people had waited

so long in the cold,

Harry and Meghan did their best

to give a little warmth back

and to ensure that everyone,

and most particularly

the children, was included.

Meghan scribbled

a message for someone...

And received bunches of daffodils.

What other flower would be

appropriate to give

as a welcome to Wales?

Well she said at the time

of her engagement that she wanted

to get to know as much

of the country as possible,

and clearly as the future wife

of Prince Henry of Wales,

this visit is important.

Meghan seemed to soak it all up,

then she and Harry went

across to meet...

Harry and Meghan, aged six and nine.

Their gift?

A Welsh love spoon.

Further comment seems superfluous.

And to this royally inclined crowd,

this almost royal couple were hit.

They are the ones we love the most.

Or I love the most anyway.

They are just so, like, normal.

Harry was really pleasant

and Meghan was lovely.

Absolutely lovely.

Wales, or at least that

part of it which came

to see Harry and Meghan,

seemed to approve.

Nicholas Witchell,

BBC News, Cardiff.

Time for a look at the weather.

Sarah Keith Lucas is here.

It's been revealed that last year

was one of the hottest years

It's been revealed that last year

was one of the hottest years

globally since records began.

Yes, both the Met office and Nasa

have released press releases today

indicating 2017 was the hottest year

on record without the natural

warming effect of El Nino.

warming effect of El Nino. Warming

was different in different locations

around the globe. The polar regions

were one of the warmest regions.

2015 and 2016 were both slightly

warmer than 2017 but during these

years we have the warming effect of

El Nino. This was the scene taken by

one of our weather watchers today in

Durham. Blue skies but a lot of

lying snow there and more of those

snow showers parking in.

Particularly across parts of

Scotland, Northern Ireland and the

north-west of England, we are seeing

the snowfall continuing to

accumulate. I think some icy

conditions likely to start your

Friday morning. Clear skies, a cold

and frosty morning, and do watch out

for the slippery conditions on

untreated surfaces. On Friday, a

similar dating today. We're blue

skies and wintry sunshine. Lots of

these snow showers moving across

Northern Ireland, Scotland and

north-west England as well. Heavy

and persistent for a time. Further

south and east you are likely to

stay dry with cold but sunny

conditions. For Wales and the

south-west, rain showers and they

will be falling as sleet or snow

over the highest ground. Moving

through Friday night and into

Saturday, we have a front

approaching from the south-west.

Before it gets

Before it gets there there is a

ridge of high pressure keeping

things quiet and settled. On

Saturday we are likely to start with

cloud and outbreaks of rain along

the south coast for a time but that

should clear away, then a much

improved day. Lighter winds, more

sunshine and a largely dry picture

for Saturday but we still have the

cold air in charge. Into Sunday,

this band of rain works in, it bumps

into the cold air so we could see

some snow for a time in northern

England and Scotland, then some wet

weather and temperatures will be on

the rise. Through the weekend,

Saturday will be the brightest and

joyous day, wet and windy by Sunday.

Saturday will be the brightest and

joyous day, wet and windy by Sunday.

Sarah, thank you. The UK is in the

grip of the worst flu season for

seven years as doctors in Wales

warned that patient safety in A&E

unit is being compromised to