:00:00. > :00:00.California at the of 85. That is all from us. There is a
:00:00. > :00:11.Good evening. The Health Minister has said the
:00:12. > :00:15.coroner may have to investigate the deaths of five patients at the Royal
:00:16. > :00:18.Victoria Hospital. The Belfast Health Trust admitted that A
:00:19. > :00:25.waiting times may have been a contributory factor in the deaths.
:00:26. > :00:28.It emerged tonight that two of those deaths were after August last year
:00:29. > :00:31.when a report from the College of Emergency Medicine called for
:00:32. > :00:36.immediate action to improve the A's system. The five deaths are
:00:37. > :00:39.referred to as Serious Adverse Incidents and are highlighted in a
:00:40. > :00:50.BBC Spotlight investigation which follows this programme. Declan Lawn
:00:51. > :00:55.reports. Last month's major incident has been
:00:56. > :00:59.the catalyst for a number of startling revelations. At the time
:01:00. > :01:02.the Health Minister was keen to point out that it had been an
:01:03. > :01:09.unusual and unpredictable event that didn't point to a system that was in
:01:10. > :01:12.crisis. Well, there is 100 people and 40 people on trolleys. The
:01:13. > :01:17.response was to get more staff there to deal with the backlog. We had an
:01:18. > :01:24.unusual spike. An unreasonable spike in the numbers coming through. BBC
:01:25. > :01:28.Northern Ireland scam Spotlight has been speaking to doctors and nurses
:01:29. > :01:33.who say that the system is at breaking point. The medical staff we
:01:34. > :01:37.spoke to didn't want to appear on camera, but we have shown e-mails
:01:38. > :01:41.from a range of senior doctors to senior managers at the Belfast
:01:42. > :01:46.Trust. Now, these e-mails date back several months and they point out
:01:47. > :01:51.how under staffing and excessive trolley waits have been compromising
:01:52. > :01:55.the safety of patients. The emergency department consultants
:01:56. > :02:00.have also issued a statement to Spotlight. They point out they have
:02:01. > :02:06.been raising concerns about patient safety and dignity at the highest
:02:07. > :02:11.levels of the Belfast Trust. Spotlight can reveal evidence th
:02:12. > :02:15.patients have been affected. This document describes how two patients
:02:16. > :02:18.died in serious adverse incidents where one of the significant
:02:19. > :02:22.contributory factories was how long they had to wait for treatment.
:02:23. > :02:28.Yesterday, the Chief Executive of the Belfast Trust admitted to us
:02:29. > :02:33.that there were more. Well, it is difficult, but it would be single
:02:34. > :02:37.figures, Declan. We have been told it could be nine? No, it is not as
:02:38. > :02:41.high as nine. No, I think at this point, it is about four. Today,
:02:42. > :02:45.however, the Belfast Trust Amened that number -- amended that number.
:02:46. > :02:50.Stating there have been five deaths in cases were waiting times has been
:02:51. > :02:56.one of the factors in the last year alone. Well, they were spread out
:02:57. > :03:00.throughout last year, 2013. Where they have been after August last
:03:01. > :03:02.year? Would any of the deaths been after August? I think two of the
:03:03. > :03:06.deaths were after August. The doctors and nurses we spoke to
:03:07. > :03:10.stressed that most of the time the emergency department of the Royal
:03:11. > :03:15.Victoria Hospital is safe, but during out-of-hours periods and at
:03:16. > :03:20.weekends that's not always the case. They want urgent action.
:03:21. > :03:25.The Education and Skills Authority or ESA moved a step closer with the
:03:26. > :03:28.announcement of backing from grammar schools. As our education
:03:29. > :03:30.correspondent, Maggie Taggart reports, there are hopes that a
:03:31. > :03:40.seven year stalemate can be broken. The governing bodies association
:03:41. > :03:44.represents 52 out of a total of 69 grammar schools and up until now,
:03:45. > :03:47.they had opposed the introduction of the education and skills authority
:03:48. > :03:52.which is to replace the education boards. However, in a significant
:03:53. > :03:56.move, the voluntary grammars body says it approves of the planned ESA
:03:57. > :04:01.and wants to see it in action. The decision has been welcomed by the
:04:02. > :04:08.Sinn Fein education spokesman. Well, it is a very welcome development.
:04:09. > :04:11.The minister was approached with concerns that they had with the
:04:12. > :04:18.Education Bill. The minister responded with a compromise paper to
:04:19. > :04:23.protect terms and conditions of teachers. A compromise has been
:04:24. > :04:27.sought and has been granted. They have a way forward and the G BA are
:04:28. > :04:32.calling for ESA to go ahead. The teachers, the unions, the political
:04:33. > :04:37.parties all saying let's have ESA, we need to hear from the DUP. Why
:04:38. > :04:42.don't they want to go ahead with it? The DUP spokesman says he has
:04:43. > :04:47.concerns about the protection of the controlled Schools Secretary tor
:04:48. > :04:51.which mainly educates Protestant children.
:04:52. > :04:57.The mother of a teenage girl who was groomed by someone on the internet
:04:58. > :05:04.says she felt sick to the stomach when she found out. A survey shows
:05:05. > :05:06.only half of parents have safety settings on their children's
:05:07. > :05:11.computers and tablets. Tara Mills reports. Samantha Shaw is the mum of
:05:12. > :05:15.two girls. When was in P7 she was targeted online by someone
:05:16. > :05:21.pretending to be Justin Bieber. They are taking photos. They can facetame
:05:22. > :05:25.each other and it is -- facetime each other. It is a really young age
:05:26. > :05:28.and maybe they are having problems at home and someone is showing them
:05:29. > :05:33.attention or giving them attention that they are not getting and they
:05:34. > :05:37.are thinking, "OK, who wants to see my nice hair?" It can start off
:05:38. > :05:42.innocently like that. The police weren't able to trace the man, but
:05:43. > :05:45.her daughter who didn't want to appear on camera is more cautious
:05:46. > :05:54.online. I was really afraid about it. I wouldn't like a man trying to
:05:55. > :05:58.stalk my profile. I keep myself on private. It is not on public. It is
:05:59. > :06:02.just on friends so just my friends can see my stuff. The police are
:06:03. > :06:08.taking a proactive approach. They are rolling out strange across
:06:09. > :06:10.schools across the north-east. We look at sexting and the issues
:06:11. > :06:18.around that and the issues around that and how important it is for the
:06:19. > :06:24.kids to know that sexting is illegal. One student believes it is
:06:25. > :06:29.a good idea. I know many friends who have been targeted and it is not
:06:30. > :06:33.very nice and sometimes I feel that we have not good a very good
:06:34. > :06:36.education towards it. So it has been very good to get this presentation
:06:37. > :06:40.so we can learn more about this issue. In the past, stranger danger
:06:41. > :06:42.was a threat to children outside. Now, that danger is much more likely
:06:43. > :06:51.to be in their hands. Police organisation in the Republic
:06:52. > :06:54.has called on the chairman of the Garda Siochana Ombudsman Commission
:06:55. > :06:58.to resign in a row over the suspected bugging of its office.
:06:59. > :07:01.The chairman, Simon O'Brien, said there was, what he called, three
:07:02. > :07:13.credible security threats last year. there was, what he called, three
:07:14. > :07:14.Garda involvement, but even that suggestion has annoyed senior Garda
:07:15. > :07:19.officers. It is quite clear in my mind that the ombudsman commission
:07:20. > :07:22.seemed to have forgotten what they are about. They seem to have no
:07:23. > :07:26.regard for the laws that apply in this country. It casts a huge
:07:27. > :07:30.question mark over the ability of the chairman of the ombudsman
:07:31. > :07:34.commission to carry on in his functions seeing as he has usurped
:07:35. > :07:37.the Government in not reporting what has gone on. And he suspected
:07:38. > :07:43.somebody of having carried out a criminal act and he didn't bother
:07:44. > :07:47.reporting it to the organisation tasked with investigating criminal
:07:48. > :07:50.activities in this country. Football and there was one game
:07:51. > :07:53.tonight in the Irish Premiership. In County Fermanagh, Ballinamallard
:07:54. > :07:56.took on Crusaders in less than perfect conditions. The Belfast side
:07:57. > :07:59.held on for a 2-1 win with the striker Gary McCutcheon getting the
:08:00. > :08:02.decisive goal early in the second-half.
:08:03. > :08:07.Be more on the latest support for the Education and Skills Authority
:08:08. > :08:12.across TV, radio and online tomorrow. Also we talk to the road
:08:13. > :08:14.racer, Michael Dunlop, who had threatened to quit the sport last
:08:15. > :08:18.year. He now reveals his plan to race again.
:08:19. > :08:23.The town centre in Omagh was closed to traffic for a time tonight
:08:24. > :08:27.because of snow. The police are warning that heavy falls are causing
:08:28. > :08:31.hazardous driving conditions in many places especially in western
:08:32. > :08:36.counties. It was a tricky commute home at teatime for many motorists
:08:37. > :08:38.especially on the Glenshane Pass. Now let's get some more detail on
:08:39. > :08:47.that weather with Cecilia Daly. Good evening. It is not a nice night
:08:48. > :08:51.for travelling. Snow will continue and there will be icy conditions. By
:08:52. > :08:53.the end of the night we could have several centimetres on the higher
:08:54. > :08:56.hills and there could be a covering of snow just about anywhere, but
:08:57. > :09:00.particularly in the West where snow showers will be more frequent, but
:09:01. > :09:05.by morning fortunately many of them will have eased. Dry by the end of
:09:06. > :09:08.the night, but icy with temperatures sub-zero and where the snow is
:09:09. > :09:16.lying, the snow will have frozen over too. A cold and icy start and
:09:17. > :09:20.we wait for the next area of wet and windy weather. Some snow a mixed in
:09:21. > :09:24.with the rain particularly over the hills, but not exclusively. So there
:09:25. > :09:28.could be more wintry weather tomorrow morning through the rush
:09:29. > :09:32.hour. We have an area of low pressure moving in bringing rain to
:09:33. > :09:36.the south of Ireland and also to many southern and western areas of
:09:37. > :09:40.Britain. A core of severe gales will move up through the Irish Sea and
:09:41. > :09:43.that will affect north-west Wales, England and the West Country. Maybe
:09:44. > :09:47.the high winds could affect Northern Ireland too. Lots of snow over the
:09:48. > :09:51.Scottish mountains and flooding will be a hazard across parts of Southern
:09:52. > :09:55.England. So there is a wi warning in force for parts of Northern Ireland
:09:56. > :09:58.tomorrow especially in the east, and the East Coast in particular which
:09:59. > :10:06.may see high gusts. Later in the day, the rain will turn back to
:10:07. > :10:10.sleet and snowy especially across the West. Fortunately things will
:10:11. > :10:17.become drier and quieter on Thursday with sunshine on Friday.
:10:18. > :10:19.That's it. We're back at 6. 25pm during Breakfast. From me, good
:10:20. > :10:22.night.