:00:21. > :00:25.Good evening, this is BBC Newsline. The headlines this Tuesday evening.
:00:25. > :00:30.It could be the biggest shake-up in the local health service since the
:00:30. > :00:36.foundation of the NHS, with a halving of the number of acute
:00:36. > :00:40.hospital. GP surgeries could merge into bigger groups carrying out
:00:40. > :00:45.treatments can be done in hospital. Fears that housing benefit changes
:00:46. > :00:51.will result in more than people becoming homeless. We are with the
:00:51. > :01:00.police on a raid in County Armagh. And a very windy evening with snow
:01:00. > :01:04.and ice in places but tomorrow is a bit more settled.
:01:04. > :01:09.Our health service is on the verge of the greatest process of change
:01:09. > :01:13.for a generation. The blueprint revealed in a review today it is
:01:13. > :01:18.based on a service around the needs of individuals, shifting care into
:01:18. > :01:23.the community, treating people in their own homes. Accident and
:01:23. > :01:27.emergency care could be limited to just five centres. GPs and
:01:27. > :01:32.pharmacists will be asked to do much more and there will be
:01:32. > :01:35.emphasis on preventing illness. In a moment we will have reaction from
:01:35. > :01:40.one regional hospital and we will put the concerns to the health
:01:40. > :01:44.minister. But first, our health correspondent details the main
:01:44. > :01:48.proposals. It is the biggest shake-up of
:01:48. > :01:53.health and social care services in Northern Ireland in 50 years.
:01:53. > :01:58.Endorsing the document, Edwin Poots said its significance should not be
:01:58. > :02:03.underestimated. I believe this is the most important statement I have
:02:03. > :02:06.made for am likely to make to this house in respect of our health and
:02:06. > :02:10.social care system. recommendation suggests sweeping
:02:10. > :02:14.changes. Among the most controversial is reducing the
:02:14. > :02:18.number of hospitals which provide accident and emergency care and
:02:18. > :02:22.treatment for more serious conditions. At the moment there are
:02:22. > :02:29.10 acute hospitals across Northern Ireland. That is likely to be
:02:29. > :02:34.reduced to six. In Belfast, the Royal Hospital will be the centre
:02:34. > :02:41.for acute services. Elsewhere, there are major question-marks over
:02:41. > :02:49.what services Daisy Hill in Newry put provide in the future.
:02:49. > :02:55.Belfast, it is quite clear. They should work as effectively as if
:02:55. > :02:59.they will want hospital, so that there is no duplication of services.
:02:59. > :03:04.Understandably, patients often concerned about how long it will
:03:04. > :03:07.take to travel to hospital in an emergency. The review suggests that
:03:07. > :03:12.what is more important is the quality of care that you get when
:03:12. > :03:19.you arrive. It is a very busy tourist area in the summer time and
:03:19. > :03:24.it is good to have accident and emergency close by. I have a little
:03:24. > :03:33.child and if something happened I would have to go to the Antrim or
:03:33. > :03:39.the Belfast. I would argue that it is good news. The minister did not
:03:39. > :03:43.say anything this morning to dissuade me from that. Cross border
:03:43. > :03:49.co-operation is another development. The radiotherapy department in
:03:49. > :03:59.dairy bull Service patients from Ulster and downside but it will not
:03:59. > :04:00.
:04:00. > :04:07.be one-way traffic. This is what I wanted. I believe it is important
:04:07. > :04:11.that we say we have moved the user, the patient, the client, to the
:04:11. > :04:16.centre and the services are delivered around the needs of the
:04:16. > :04:22.patient user. People wishing to be called for in their own home should
:04:22. > :04:27.be able to do just that. The money will come from transferring over
:04:27. > :04:35.�83 million from the hospital budget to community care instead.
:04:35. > :04:41.Is this review radical? Yes. Is it ambitious, yes. But the biggest
:04:41. > :04:46.obstacle is finding the money to ensure its smooth transition and
:04:46. > :04:51.also the reaction from politicians, particularly those living in areas
:04:51. > :04:56.where accident and emergency services could be gone by a 2016.
:04:56. > :05:00.The �70 million he is looking for is really an investor to say
:05:00. > :05:06.proposal, whereas if the money is spent on this purpose in the longer
:05:06. > :05:09.run it will save on Derry expensive infrastructure. Against the
:05:09. > :05:14.backdrop of waiting lists and low morale, another challenge is
:05:14. > :05:19.bringing patients and health workers along with the minister.
:05:19. > :05:23.Your GP will be up a heart of any big change. They will be asked to
:05:23. > :05:27.do more of the kind of procedures can be done in hospital. It is part
:05:27. > :05:33.of a drive to keep patients out of hospital, which is the most
:05:33. > :05:37.expensive place to deliver care. �83 million will be shifted out of
:05:37. > :05:43.hospital budgets into the community to provide those services. Our
:05:43. > :05:48.report has been to the Falls Road in Belfast to see how it might work.
:05:48. > :05:52.In these streets there at least five GP services. The reforms
:05:52. > :05:56.announced today would see them affected in two ways. They would be
:05:56. > :05:59.asked to take on some of the work that hospitals have traditionally
:05:59. > :06:05.done and they will be expected to work together more closely to
:06:05. > :06:09.provide those services. To reduce suggest that the 253 GP practices
:06:09. > :06:14.across Northern Ireland would come together into 17 so-called
:06:14. > :06:24.federations. Within the federations, they would develop specialisms in
:06:24. > :06:24.
:06:24. > :06:30.things like dermatology of physiotherapy. This sort of model
:06:30. > :06:35.is already working here. In east Belfast, patients at this health
:06:35. > :06:41.centre can have ear, nose and throat procedures done, saving them
:06:41. > :06:48.a long wait for hospital appointments. This doctor is a
:06:48. > :06:53.false road GP. He said the new system can work. Or on the face of
:06:53. > :06:59.it I do not think we will see any great change in the way that people
:06:59. > :07:06.attend to their GP. The way we deliver other services probably
:07:06. > :07:10.will change. The current system is not sustainable. Under the
:07:10. > :07:15.traditional arrangements, people who go to their GP and are referred
:07:15. > :07:20.on normally end up at their local hospital. But you could end up in
:07:20. > :07:27.the future somewhere like this. It is a community based facility
:07:27. > :07:32.offering a range of services such as dietary help, physiotherapy Prix,
:07:32. > :07:39.and did the system is to work you could end up seeing someone here
:07:39. > :07:46.rather than your local hospital. know my own doctor personally. I
:07:46. > :07:50.have got used to him over the years. It is hard to get to see the same
:07:50. > :07:54.doctor and form a personal relationship with them, even in the
:07:54. > :08:04.small surgery. If you had to go to some sort of super surgeries, how
:08:04. > :08:07.
:08:08. > :08:16.would you feel about that? Not good. Whether the proposals mean a
:08:16. > :08:21.quicker and better health service is still under review.
:08:21. > :08:25.Daisy Hill in the Newry is one of the hospitals that could lose its
:08:25. > :08:32.accident and emergency. We are joined by Staff Nurse John McCardle,
:08:32. > :08:37.who is also a local councillor. You could lose A&E but could also
:08:37. > :08:43.expand become a regional speciality centre. Is that the compromise?
:08:43. > :08:50.do not think so. We have an awful lot to offer here. We have a lot of
:08:50. > :08:57.people coming to our A&E. It is up to 40,000 in the last 12 months. We
:08:57. > :09:01.had a lot of people coming from the Republic of Ireland. If they come
:09:01. > :09:06.between it 9:00am and 5pm during the week, if they pay up, as it
:09:06. > :09:10.were, for the treatment they receive. He become after that, they
:09:10. > :09:15.signed a former make a commitment to pay. We have a valuable service
:09:15. > :09:20.to offer not only to our own people but two counties in the republic.
:09:20. > :09:26.Do you believe that as part of this increased cross-border traffic,
:09:26. > :09:31.Daisy Hill should keep its A&E and perhaps be expanded? Is that not
:09:31. > :09:35.greedy? Not at all. We are living at the moment at the centre of any
:09:35. > :09:40.economic corridor between Belfast and Dublin. The population is
:09:40. > :09:46.growing and it is in this is that we will grow by 40,000 in the next
:09:46. > :09:50.20 years. -- envisaged. That will put pressure on schools and
:09:50. > :10:00.hospitals, so we should be talking about expanding the service that we
:10:00. > :10:03.
:10:03. > :10:08.offer. We are doing and will pull lot more than we did over the years
:10:08. > :10:15.and, as I believe, there is room for expansion. We are not Luddites,
:10:15. > :10:21.we realise that you must move forward. But I think we need
:10:21. > :10:31.equality. The Health Minister could win pitch it with me now. This is
:10:31. > :10:32.
:10:32. > :10:38.the kind of argument you're going to get -- Edwin Poots. I go back to
:10:38. > :10:43.the issue of sustainability and resilience. What the report is
:10:43. > :10:47.looking for is an assurance that there is an adequate number of
:10:47. > :10:52.experts to maintain emergency surgery so that people get the
:10:52. > :10:58.quality of care that they need. People need quality and they demand
:10:58. > :11:03.quality and they should get it in the health system. The key words of
:11:03. > :11:08.this review our treatment in the home and getting people out of
:11:08. > :11:12.hospital. Community care and getting people away from these big,
:11:12. > :11:16.expensive centres, but those have been mantras of the health service
:11:16. > :11:20.for decades. Why should we think this latest move will be any more
:11:20. > :11:25.successful? It is very clear as to what the report believes we should
:11:26. > :11:30.do. We have identified where funding will be transferred and
:11:30. > :11:37.over the next coming months crooks will have to identify how they
:11:37. > :11:41.actually implement this report and have the outcome required. It is
:11:41. > :11:45.such a fundamental stiffed. Are they not historical reasons for
:11:45. > :11:50.thinking it probably will not happen the way they you lay it out
:11:51. > :11:57.here? It is in necessary shift. We have a population which is growing
:11:57. > :12:02.more elderly, with a growing number of long-term conditions. We can
:12:02. > :12:05.respond to that in a better way to deliver better outcomes in a way
:12:05. > :12:11.that is more cost-effective. Therefore it is incumbent upon us
:12:11. > :12:15.to insure that is what happened. Unions say you're not putting the
:12:15. > :12:22.money in to do it properly. It has to cost more money and you keep
:12:22. > :12:26.telling us there is no more money. Were we to keep doing the same
:12:26. > :12:32.thing, the Budget we would require would be higher. Those kind of
:12:32. > :12:38.figures need to be addressed. This will enable us to do that without
:12:38. > :12:42.cutting services brutally, which would otherwise be the case. Great
:12:42. > :12:46.emphasis on cross-border traffic. Will that be a problem for some
:12:46. > :12:51.Unionists? I do not know any Unionist that have a particular
:12:51. > :12:56.problem whenever people come up to the supermarkets and acquire
:12:56. > :13:00.services from us. But structural cross-border work is something
:13:00. > :13:05.Unionists do have a problem but. This is not about any particular
:13:05. > :13:10.deep concerns on that front. It is about providing the best quality of
:13:10. > :13:16.care for people who live in our border areas. If we want to
:13:16. > :13:21.maintain good quality services it is important that we offer our
:13:21. > :13:25.services and people buy services from us. It this is not up and
:13:25. > :13:29.running by 2016 bullet have failed? I would expect we will be moving
:13:29. > :13:34.very quickly over the next two or three years and people will seek
:13:34. > :13:38.fundamental change in the health system. Still to come, how rising
:13:38. > :13:46.prices and static incomes are putting a squeeze on the Christmas
:13:46. > :13:50.party. As Lawrie Sanchez Wyddial sea has written a letter of apology
:13:50. > :14:00.took Nigel Worthington, we reveal the dwindling list of candidates
:14:00. > :14:01.
:14:01. > :14:06.for the Northern Ireland's manager Homelessness is increasing in
:14:06. > :14:10.Northern Ireland and could get worse. Tonight, in his second
:14:11. > :14:15.special report, Will Leitch finds how homeless charities are bracing
:14:15. > :14:19.themselves for even more difficult times in the new year.
:14:19. > :14:25.One man's search for somewhere to sleep. But homeless charities fear
:14:25. > :14:29.an increase in young people in the same situation. From January 1st
:14:29. > :14:33.there is a change in housing benefit. More people will be
:14:33. > :14:42.classed as single young people when claiming for accommodation. The
:14:42. > :14:52.rules changed the operator limit from 25-35. An estimated 5,000 more
:14:52. > :15:00.
:15:00. > :15:04.people will claim. But they will claim.
:15:04. > :15:14.Housing benefit will be restricted to what it costs to rent a single
:15:14. > :15:28.
:15:28. > :15:36.We are bracing my Cirque -- ourselves for a massive influx of
:15:36. > :15:39.young people. These are people who are sofa surfers. As recession
:15:39. > :15:49.bites, their family and friends are not going to be able to provide for
:15:49. > :15:52.
:15:52. > :15:55.these young people. Tonight, predictions of further
:15:55. > :15:59.pressure on accommodation in Northern Ireland are due to further
:15:59. > :16:03.benefit changes. People are not aware that so many
:16:03. > :16:10.young people on housing benefit, not just people who are unemployed
:16:10. > :16:14.but people who have well Duke -- wages, will be affected by a whole
:16:14. > :16:19.raft of benefit changes. I estimate that in the coming years roundabout
:16:19. > :16:25.160,000 people will find a drop in their housing benefit.
:16:25. > :16:32.All parties agreed there are likely to be a lot more homeless people in
:16:32. > :16:34.2012 and that prospect, like tonight's weather, is very bleak
:16:34. > :16:44.indeed. A man has appeared in court in
:16:44. > :16:48.
:16:48. > :16:58.donned Doc charged with the murder of a Crossmaglen man. -- been done
:16:58. > :17:01.
:17:01. > :17:06.dog. James Hughes was shot dead in done
:17:06. > :17:10.a dog in the early hours. A man approached his taxi and fired
:17:10. > :17:18.several shots into the vehicle. At the well known G A A player died
:17:18. > :17:22.from his injuries. The defendant did not speak at any time during
:17:22. > :17:26.the hearing but police described how he had contacted them by
:17:26. > :17:35.telephone and had been very remorseful and truthful about what
:17:35. > :17:40.happened to James Hughes. When officers, I apologise to him, his
:17:40. > :17:45.family and to his friends. The young woman who was also -- and do
:17:45. > :17:54.the young woman who was in the taxi. He said, I cannot live with myself
:17:54. > :17:59.for doing this. He was remanded in custody.
:17:59. > :18:05.Two men have been arrested after the police uncovered a suspected
:18:05. > :18:11.drugs factory in County Armagh. Dead and dying horse has also found
:18:11. > :18:20.in the operation, near Mountnorris. This report contains distressing
:18:20. > :18:25.images from the beginning. Microchip identification on a dead
:18:25. > :18:29.horse found near Mountnorris. A second horse was in such bad
:18:29. > :18:33.condition that it had to be destroyed and the third horse was
:18:33. > :18:39.rescued. Police uncovered what they believe to be a drugs factory.
:18:39. > :18:44.Specialist teams carried out a search and took away cannabis
:18:44. > :18:49.plants as well as other equipment. Two men are helping police with
:18:49. > :18:56.their inquiries. The chairman of the Tourist Board
:18:57. > :18:59.has accused the Audit Office in questioning whether the Titanic
:18:59. > :19:03.Signature Project and the Giants Causeway Visitor Centre will be
:19:03. > :19:10.able to attract enough visitors. The Audit Office says it doubts the
:19:10. > :19:20.long-term appeal of the titanic building.
:19:20. > :19:30.
:19:30. > :19:34.The tourism ambition is to double the value of tourism by 2020. Do I
:19:34. > :19:44.have no doubt -- I have no doubt that in the medium term we will
:19:44. > :19:47.
:19:47. > :19:57.definitely visit her on the visitor projections. -- deliver on the
:19:57. > :20:06.
:20:06. > :20:10.visitor projections. Inflation has fallen to 4.8 %,
:20:10. > :20:15.still much higher than the rate at which my peak -- most people's pay
:20:15. > :20:19.is rising. Kevin Magee has been finding out
:20:19. > :20:23.how rising prices have been squeezing business and consumers.
:20:23. > :20:27.Today's inflation figures mean that prices are rock and so is the cost
:20:27. > :20:32.of Christmas. The pound in your pocket at this year's Christmas
:20:32. > :20:36.party will buy you less. Businesses are having to absorb rising costs,
:20:36. > :20:43.often this means making savings in other areas.
:20:43. > :20:48.Anything down to the dishwasher we are looking at. Everything is about
:20:48. > :20:54.efficiencies, lights going off and on. We have gone around and changed
:20:54. > :20:58.all of our lighting systems to which -- delights with a longer
:20:59. > :21:04.shelf-life. We have gone through bedrooms. You walk through and you
:21:04. > :21:09.think, how much is that costing? It is 13 storeys high. Prices have
:21:09. > :21:15.been increasing at around 5 % but food has been rising much Cork --
:21:15. > :21:21.much faster. Does the head chef at the Europa Hotel have any advice
:21:21. > :21:26.about how people at home can cut costs this Christmas. If you don't
:21:26. > :21:32.need it, don't buy it. By what you need, use it if you have it and by
:21:32. > :21:35.as much fresh product as you can and let support the fruit and
:21:35. > :21:41.vegetable guy on the corner, because his prices are very
:21:41. > :21:46.competitive compared to the supermarket. People need to be re-
:21:46. > :21:49.educated. The customers also say they are watching their spending.
:21:49. > :21:54.am going to cut back on the amount of money I give to their
:21:54. > :21:59.grandchildren. Money is a bit tighter so we are just going to
:21:59. > :22:04.have a close family Christmas and try to cut back. I have really
:22:04. > :22:08.price checked everything down to my Christmas cards this year. Price
:22:08. > :22:12.rises are not just a problem for businesses like this one. Every
:22:12. > :22:22.home in Northern Ireland will find it more expensive to put together a
:22:22. > :22:27.
:22:27. > :22:30.Christmas dinner this year. On tomorrow night's programme, we
:22:30. > :22:39.will be examining the links that some people are having to go to
:22:39. > :22:49.just to find work. -- lengths. Lawrie Sanchez has said that he has
:22:49. > :22:50.
:22:50. > :22:59.written a letter of apology to his successor.
:22:59. > :23:02.Today he brought himself out off the run-in -- the running.
:23:02. > :23:06.Three months ago Lawrie Sanchez said he had unfinished business
:23:06. > :23:10.with Northern Ireland and that a Worthington's days were numbered.
:23:10. > :23:20.The fall-out from the criticism has convinced him not to reapply for
:23:20. > :23:24.the job. Some day I would like to return. I
:23:24. > :23:31.don't think it is the appropriate time and I have not formally a
:23:32. > :23:36.pride -- applied. He says this man is the one to
:23:36. > :23:42.succeed Worthington. He has won the Lieder by than twice
:23:42. > :23:48.with Shamrock Rovers. He has just given him his notice. -- won the
:23:48. > :23:53.League. He is the one in current form.
:23:53. > :23:59.We can reveal that CHEERING AND APPLAUSE -- Jim Magilton will
:23:59. > :24:09.appeal before a three-man appeal tomorrow.
:24:09. > :24:10.
:24:10. > :24:13.-- appeared before a three-man panel. It would seem the search to
:24:13. > :24:21.find Nigel Worthington's successor is developing into a three horse
:24:21. > :24:24.race. It is black -- back to the
:24:25. > :24:27.classroom for County Londonderry teenager James McCulloch, who has
:24:27. > :24:33.narrowly lost out in the Young Apprentice final.
:24:33. > :24:38.He was beaten in a nail-biting finish by 16-year-old Zara
:24:38. > :24:42.Brownless. The pair went to have -- went head-to-head in a chance to
:24:42. > :24:46.devise an on-line computer game. Dozens of his friends and family
:24:46. > :24:53.gathered at the cinema in Port rusty watch it on the big screen
:24:53. > :24:59.and, despite their disappointment, they said they were so proud of the
:24:59. > :25:06.17-year-old. -- Portrush. He might not have won but he is a
:25:06. > :25:11.winner to us. I hope to see him in class, he has already Mr enough's!
:25:11. > :25:18.No phones tomorrow. Stop following Twitter. Despite he has already
:25:18. > :25:28.missed enough. If you want to follow us on our
:25:28. > :25:42.
:25:42. > :25:47.social media pages, here is how to We will tell you everything we know
:25:47. > :25:51.about economics, which will probably fill about half a tweet.
:25:51. > :25:55.Let's talk about the weather because it is extremely wintery and
:25:55. > :26:00.windy conditions today. Off Donegal the waves were breaking with its.
:26:00. > :26:07.The Irish Met Office told us that the highest weight ever recorded in
:26:07. > :26:17.Irish waters was clocked, reaching a maximum of 20.4 metres.
:26:17. > :26:21.
:26:21. > :26:25.But wind is causing lots of travel It seems we have have we -- we have
:26:26. > :26:32.had everything thrown at us. We started off with the snow and the
:26:32. > :26:42.ice, which led to some quite treacherous conditions on the A
:26:42. > :26:42.
:26:42. > :26:47.four. Then we had this would -- the sleet and snow turning into rain
:26:47. > :26:52.during the day. It has been quite persistent in parts of the north
:26:52. > :26:57.and west through the afternoon. It is still cold enough to be colder
:26:57. > :27:01.air to have a tendency to change back to sleet and snow. We have a
:27:01. > :27:05.warning in places for snow through this evening and overnight, not
:27:05. > :27:13.just on hills but low levels at times as well. We still have those
:27:13. > :27:20.very blustery winds, Gayle forces expressly in the north. -- gale-
:27:20. > :27:27.force especially. As the sleet and snow comes inland, we should see
:27:27. > :27:36.some snow on lower levels. It is not going to last all night but as
:27:36. > :27:43.the night way it -- wears on it becomes icy. Temperatures dropping
:27:43. > :27:52.to freezing. Slippery and -- on untreated roads where we have lying