:00:00. > :00:13.The Health Minister has warned that services here are at breaking point
:00:14. > :00:15.as she unveiled a ten-year plan to transform the system.
:00:16. > :00:16.Michelle O'Neill says change is critical
:00:17. > :00:19.to ensure services can cope with the growing demand.
:00:20. > :00:21.She was responding to the findings of the Bengoa health review
:00:22. > :00:30.Our health correspondent Marie Louise Connolly reports.
:00:31. > :00:33.Matt is 88, and is about to have a procedure
:00:34. > :00:40.which will improve the condition of his heart.
:00:41. > :00:42.He has travelled around 50 miles to the
:00:43. > :00:44.Royal Victoria Hospital to have it done.
:00:45. > :00:46.I really do not mind travelling from Cookstown to Belfast
:00:47. > :00:53.This procedure is only available in Belfast.
:00:54. > :00:55.The team of experts is based in one place and
:00:56. > :00:57.patients are expected to travel to them.
:00:58. > :01:00.I think that is the pattern all across the western world.
:01:01. > :01:03.They get the best treatment, patients...
:01:04. > :01:05.And, fortunately, for that little bit
:01:06. > :01:07.of inconvenience, they get better outcomes.
:01:08. > :01:10.It is that idea of centralising certain services,
:01:11. > :01:14.such as cancer and cardiology, that the Minister would like to see
:01:15. > :01:17.happening across all the health trusts.
:01:18. > :01:19.At the moment, expertise is being spread
:01:20. > :01:24.too thinly across too many buildings and it all costs money.
:01:25. > :01:26.The reality is that the current model is
:01:27. > :01:30.If we continue to provide services in the same way,
:01:31. > :01:34.using the same current models of care, demand projections show
:01:35. > :01:37.that ten years from now the HSC will need
:01:38. > :01:46.what does this ten-year plan mean for the public?
:01:47. > :01:50.There will be a short-term plan with a significant
:01:51. > :01:53.cash injection to address the current waiting list problem.
:01:54. > :01:54.There is to be significant investment in
:01:55. > :02:00.Also more GP training places, and more
:02:01. > :02:05.advanced nurse practitioners in the community.
:02:06. > :02:09.GPs are to have district nurses, health visitors and
:02:10. > :02:15.social workers to help bring care back into the community.
:02:16. > :02:17.While the report does not mention hospital closures,
:02:18. > :02:20.it says services within the five health trusts
:02:21. > :02:23.will have to meet certain criteria to prove they are viable.
:02:24. > :02:26.That could be the potential sticking point, as some
:02:27. > :02:30.hospitals may lose the services such as emergency departments
:02:31. > :02:34.According to the man behind the plan, that will mean
:02:35. > :02:38.That is one of the reasons why we did a
:02:39. > :02:42.political format where we approved some principles and all parties
:02:43. > :02:50.which means that hopefully the opposition would not
:02:51. > :02:53.be using, because of the importance of this
:02:54. > :02:57.change for the people in Northern Ireland,
:02:58. > :02:59.will not be using Health and Social Care as
:03:00. > :03:04.The Health Minister's trump card is having her
:03:05. > :03:10.Side-by-side, both parties spoke with one voice.
:03:11. > :03:12.We either try to manage the change
:03:13. > :03:16.or we either manage the chaos that would come
:03:17. > :03:20.if we did not tackle the huge issues that there are.
:03:21. > :03:23.Problems of such magnitude cannot be fixed overnight.
:03:24. > :03:29.At least today marks the start of trying to fix them.
:03:30. > :03:32.Earlier, on BBC Newsline, I asked the Health Minister
:03:33. > :03:39.how she was going to reduce waiting lists.
:03:40. > :03:45.This is about delivering better hill fog outcomes for all of those people
:03:46. > :03:51.who we are representing. Waiting lists are obviously an outcome of a
:03:52. > :03:55.system that does not work, a challenged system that needs to be
:03:56. > :03:58.transformed. In the short term, we need short-term investment, making
:03:59. > :04:01.sure we are at full capacity within the hill fog service, but also going
:04:02. > :04:07.to the independent sector to make sure those patients get seen in a
:04:08. > :04:14.timely manner. That did not, I want to be but... Where you getting the
:04:15. > :04:19.money for that? Through the Executive. What we have is achieve
:04:20. > :04:21.additional funding but I am actively engaged in conversation with the
:04:22. > :04:25.finance minister and made Executive colleagues and we will be announcing
:04:26. > :04:29.in due course our budget. You see this as a good news story, and a lot
:04:30. > :04:33.of people agree, but there will be a lot of people on these waiting
:04:34. > :04:37.lists, 225,000 people waiting to see a consultant, who will have looked
:04:38. > :04:40.to you for answers and they did not get any. I do not think that is
:04:41. > :04:44.right. What the population got today is we are going to work seriously
:04:45. > :04:47.and provide the political leadership necessary to transform hill fog and
:04:48. > :04:53.Social Care Act. We cannot keep doing things the same and expecting
:04:54. > :04:57.different outcomes. The waiting lists are unacceptable, we have to
:04:58. > :05:00.do my -- we all agree, but if we do not transform they will get even
:05:01. > :05:07.worse. A bigger role for the private sector? I have always said that I
:05:08. > :05:10.will not leave patients waiting on waiting lists. If I can buy in the
:05:11. > :05:14.service elsewhere in the short term, that is a short-term measure,
:05:15. > :05:18.because I want to have a hill fog service free at the point of
:05:19. > :05:20.delivery based on need and all provided in-house.
:05:21. > :05:22.A meeting of Northern Ireland doctors this evening
:05:23. > :05:24.gave a cautious welcome to the Minister's plans for the future
:05:25. > :05:28.General practitioners have decided to freeze their threat to resign
:05:29. > :05:31.in protest at lack of support and investment
:05:32. > :05:34.Instead, they are waiting to see if today's announcement
:05:35. > :05:37.by Minister Michelle O'Neill is followed up with action
:05:38. > :05:48.That helped take the form of a multidisciplinary team, and we heard
:05:49. > :05:51.that from the Minister today. She also talked about investment in
:05:52. > :05:56.general practice, and that was a good thing. She also talked about an
:05:57. > :06:00.increase in GP training numbers, and that is a good thing. So we have
:06:01. > :06:03.heard from the minister today some hope. We are certainly looking at
:06:04. > :06:08.the report and the minister's response and we think we are going
:06:09. > :06:12.in the right direction, but we have heard this before. We need to see
:06:13. > :06:16.action and implementation and we need to see investment in general
:06:17. > :06:17.practice and in the primary care services for patients.
:06:18. > :06:20.The former Ulster and Ireland rugby player David Tweed's
:06:21. > :06:21.convictions for child sex abuse have been quashed.
:06:22. > :06:23.He had been serving an eight-year prison sentence.
:06:24. > :06:29.Dan Stanton reports from the Appeal Court in Belfast.
:06:30. > :06:37.57-year-old David Tweed refused to answer questions after being
:06:38. > :06:38.released from custody early this evening.
:06:39. > :06:41.He was freed after senior judges at the Appeal Court quashed
:06:42. > :06:44.The former councillor from Ballymena
:06:45. > :06:49.hugged relatives after the verdict was given.
:06:50. > :06:53.In 2012, a jury found him guilty of 13 counts of indecent assault,
:06:54. > :07:00.and inciting gross indecency with a child.
:07:01. > :07:01.The former rugby international had been serving
:07:02. > :07:06.He was capped four times for Ireland,
:07:07. > :07:10.and played more than 30 times for Ulster.
:07:11. > :07:13.At the end of today's case, Lord Justice Gillen said that judges
:07:14. > :07:15.would be giving the reasons in writing
:07:16. > :07:25.for quashing his conviction soon.
:07:26. > :07:27.A 21-year-old man who was using his mobile phone while driving has
:07:28. > :07:34.Edward Devlin had been using an app on his phone to look at used cars
:07:35. > :07:39.In a tragic turn of events, the pole then fell and fatally
:07:40. > :07:41.injured a 66-year-old man who'd been standing nearby.
:07:42. > :07:43.Devlin was jailed for 13 and half months.
:07:44. > :07:51.Edward Devlin, seen here leaving an earlier court hearing, admitted
:07:52. > :07:58.In what is believed to be the first case of its kind
:07:59. > :08:07.Devlin had been using an app, Gumtree, on his mobile phone
:08:08. > :08:10.It happened as Devlin was driving along this road
:08:11. > :08:18.Ahead of him, a tank had parked up along the side of the road.
:08:19. > :08:21.A car slowed down behind it, waiting to overtake.
:08:22. > :08:24.It was a straight section of road and Devlin should have seen
:08:25. > :08:26.the obstruction from 300 metres, but he did not.
:08:27. > :08:30.The court heard his attention was distracted.
:08:31. > :08:32.He was using an app on his mobile phone
:08:33. > :08:39.When he did look up, it was too late.
:08:40. > :08:41.Swerving to avoid crashing into the car in front,
:08:42. > :08:44.he mounted a verge and struck a telegraph pole.
:08:45. > :08:48.who was standing outside his house.
:08:49. > :08:53.and died one month later in hospital.
:08:54. > :08:54.Today, Craigavon Crown Court heard that Devlin
:08:55. > :08:58.had two previous convictions for careless driving
:08:59. > :09:00.and has previously been disqualified from driving
:09:01. > :09:04.The judge also outlined the impact
:09:05. > :09:07.that Mr Bailey's death had on his widow.
:09:08. > :09:11.He said her life had been blighted by her loss.
:09:12. > :09:14.Devlin was sentenced to 13 and a half months in prison.
:09:15. > :09:18.He will spend the same amount of time on licence.
:09:19. > :09:20.It seems low for somebody who has taken
:09:21. > :09:27.Not just carelessness but dangerousness,
:09:28. > :09:30.because it is dangerous to look at your mobile phone and it is
:09:31. > :09:32.dangerous to look at it for that a sustained,
:09:33. > :09:35.lengthy period and not be concentrating on driving,
:09:36. > :09:40.which should be your primary focus at the time.
:09:41. > :09:43.The judge said this case highlights the dangers of using
:09:44. > :09:47.He said this is a particularly serious example,
:09:48. > :09:51.because the defendant was using the Internet to surf online
:09:52. > :09:56.He said that without mitigating factors, including the defendant's
:09:57. > :10:00.young age, the fact that he had admitted the offence and the genuine
:10:01. > :10:09.remorse that he had shown, he would be facing longer imprisoned.
:10:10. > :10:12.The Justice Minister Claire Sugden has reversed plans to close
:10:13. > :10:19.Courthouses in Armagh, Ballymena, Lisburn, Limavady, Magherafelt,
:10:20. > :10:20.and Strabane were are all earmarked for closure
:10:21. > :10:23.under plans announced by her predecessor David Ford.
:10:24. > :10:25.Claire Sugden said it wouldn't be appropriate
:10:26. > :10:33.to proceed with the proposed closures at this time.
:10:34. > :10:38.A number of people have contacted me since I became a minister around
:10:39. > :10:42.this particular issue, asking that I look at this again, not just on the
:10:43. > :10:47.perspective of how this will affect justice in terms of the cord usage,
:10:48. > :10:51.but also in the wider perspective. How this will affect town centres,
:10:52. > :10:58.access to justice, a number of reasons. I was keen and I listened.
:10:59. > :10:59.Carl Frampton's World featherweight title rematch against
:11:00. > :11:02.former champion Leo Santa Cruz has been confirmed for Las Vegas on
:11:03. > :11:07.Belfast man Frampton beat Santa Cruz in a thrilling bout in New York
:11:08. > :11:09.in July to become the first Irish fighter
:11:10. > :11:10.to win world titles at two weights.
:11:11. > :11:13.Frampton said he's thrilled about the prospect of the Vegas bout
:11:14. > :11:15.which will take place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
:11:16. > :11:17.Football, and in tonight's County Antrim Shield quarterfinals
:11:18. > :11:23.Matthew Clarke was able to nip in front of the Cliftonville defence
:11:24. > :11:26.five minutes before half time to score the opener,
:11:27. > :11:29.Ryan Gaynor and Andrew Waterworth wrapped it up for the Blues
:11:30. > :11:45.Also through to the semifinals are the PSNI and Crusaders.
:11:46. > :11:47.On tomorrow's programme, we're in Newry, where retail
:11:48. > :11:50.business is also enjoying a big uplift in southern shoppers.
:11:51. > :11:51.Our business correspondent Julian O'Neill joins them
:11:52. > :11:53.to discover just what kind of savings they're making.
:11:54. > :11:59.With the details here's Angie Phillips.
:12:00. > :12:06.Good evening. It is not going to be quite as cold tonight. The sky is
:12:07. > :12:09.not as clear and that is because we have an approaching weather front
:12:10. > :12:13.moving in from the north-west. An increasing breeze, increasing amount
:12:14. > :12:16.of cloud and that of rain. Mainly light and patchy, working its way
:12:17. > :12:20.eastwards, clearing later in the night. Because we have more cloud
:12:21. > :12:25.and breeze, the temperatures are holding up. For tomorrow, we have a
:12:26. > :12:28.legacy of quite a lot of cloud for a time anyway and we still have that
:12:29. > :12:33.breeze. A lot of dry weather but there will still be a few showers,
:12:34. > :12:38.particularly towards the north and west. Biased towards the south and
:12:39. > :12:44.east. Tomorrow, basically a North, South split. Cloudy conditions,
:12:45. > :12:47.strong winds running into Scotland and to a lesser extent of the
:12:48. > :12:50.Northern half of Ireland. That band of showers breaking up as it makes
:12:51. > :12:53.its way sites. Biased for the south of the Republic and mainly dry
:12:54. > :12:58.across England and Wales, where we could see some pleasant spells of
:12:59. > :13:06.sunshine. Light winds as well, so highs of 17 degrees. Also mild for
:13:07. > :13:09.us tomorrow, for a time of year. Hopefully, in the afternoon, we will
:13:10. > :13:13.see some brighter glimpses coming through the cloud from time to time.
:13:14. > :13:17.But you have to be out of the breeze to benefit from it. Breezy around
:13:18. > :13:20.parts of the course. Through the rest of the week, we are on the
:13:21. > :13:23.periphery of high pressure so we get these weak weather fronts trundling
:13:24. > :13:27.around the edge, and particularly into Friday we could get some rain
:13:28. > :13:33.from that. Not an awful lot, no great mind, still a lot of dry
:13:34. > :13:34.weather but a fair amount of cloud as well.