24/04/2017 BBC Newsline

Two members of staff at a Portadown care home have been arrested

and questioned by police investigating allegations of abuse.

An elderly resident has been taken to hospital,

and the BBC understands that a number of workers at the home

Our Health Correspondent Marie-Louise Connolly reports.

It is understood that an elderly man who is a resident at the care home

is being treated in hospital after sustaining a number of injuries. The

alleged incident has led to several members of staff being suspended

from the care home. Police have confirmed that two members of staff

were arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm with intent and

have since been released on police bail. A spokesperson for the Akira

group which owns the home has sole source said it would be wrong to

comment -- for the care group says it would be wrong to comment. The

group provides residential help to people who are both real and

mentally ill. -- both frail and mentally ill.

The Government has revealed the kind of Budget it could impose

if the parties fail to reach Agreement on restoring devolution.

And it's not good news for schools or health.

and while health would get an increase, it would not be enough

Our economics and business editor John Campbell has been

Six months ago Sinn Fein and DUP were struggling to agree a budget.

Look at the figures. Health, the biggest part of the storm of budget,

consumes about half of everything Stormont spends, it would get an

uplift of 3%. Inflation in the health service tends to run at 5%

per year, on that figure the health service would be running to stand

still. Education, there would be a cash reduction of 2.5%. The only

department there gets a big boost as the Department of communities, with

database spending up by 9%, but my understanding is that that reflects

welfare litigation measures that the previous executive had agreed.

already provoked reaction from within the schools sector.

The cats that we are facing a savage. They are devastating.

Someone has said, this is all the political parties plus the Secretary

of State holding our children to ransom so that the deal can be

struck to restore the executive. Details of the NIO's contingency

budget came as the House of Commons approved a Bill which postpones

the deadline for restoring devolution until the end of June,

following the general election. The Bill also allows rates to be

collected from homes and businesses. Our Political Editor,

Mark Devenport was in Westminster where there was more talk

about electoral pacts. It is known in Westminster slang

as the wash up period. The last few days before

a parliament breaks up But for the Northern Ireland Office,

this is a crucial week, a chance to push through a bill

postponing the deadline In the Commons, the Secretary

of State also tried to give the Stormont departments extra

reassurance over this year's budget. We very much hope that we will see

an Executive up and running But if that does not prove possible,

I want to put on record that this Government would be prepared,

as a last resort, to pass an appropriation act in the next

session to provide legislative authority for the expenditure

of Northern Ireland departments. Inevitably, our local MPs' thoughts

are turning not just to Stormont's future,

but also to their own. So what is their take

on the arguments of general election pacts, be they in favour

of the union or Since 2010 has been eight elections,

on the end one was the impact. If there was an anti-Grexit pact

would you have to stand aside? Do you think if there

was an anti-Brexit pact that you would have to stand aside only

for those who would One of the things you need to talk

about in relation to any such pact is was it seriously

an anti-Brexit pact? People should be a using their vote

to take their seat Besides postponing the Stormont

talks deadline, the Government's fast-track legislation also enables

rates to be collected. The Lords get their say

on Wednesday and assuming all goes according to plan,

the Ministerial Appointments and Regional Rates Bill should

become law by the end of this week. The police say a bomb left

at Holy Cross Boys' Primary School in North Belfast was an attempt

to kill their officers. It was discovered in

the early hours of yesterday morning and about 20 residents had

to leave their homes It's thought police officers on foot

patrol were most likely the target. A sizeable device and we believe

that had it exploded, it would have killed people

in the immediate area and cause potential danger to people over

a wider area as well. It was aimed at people walking

in the area and police More than 800 people have

attended a meeting in Newry protesting over plans to limit

the opening hours of the Emergency Department

at Daisy Hill hospital. The Southern Health Trust says

overnight closure may be unavoidable The emergency department at Daisy

Hill is one of the busiest, dealing with 50,000 patients per year. The

emergency service is vulnerable at night due to a shortage of permanent

senior medical staff and plans are being made to expand capacity at

another hospital. But it Daisy Hill action group is determined to fight

any reduction in opening hours. If the lights go out in Daisy Hill

eight and DDR out for good. Temporary closure, that would be it.

That is what happened at Downpatrick. It surrendered to

night-time closure. It is still a temporary department. People claim

increased travelling times would put lives at risk. Bacteria had just

taken hold. Craigavon was too far away. He needed it there and then.

He was able to be stabilised and moved on. Had he not been

stabilised, he would not be with me today. There was anger that the

southern health trust failed to attend the ceiling's meeting and

they also that events are moving quickly. Some medical staff believe

an announcement on opening hours could come later this week.

Here is the weather. It is a cold night. It will be

wintry tonight and tomorrow. There will be rain, heel, sweets, even

snow showers. Then it moves away again. Lots of showers at the moment

following is a mixture of rain, hailstones, sleet, snow. As

temperatures dropped to freezing there could be slippery patches

tomorrow morning, particularly on high level roads. Sunshine, but

bitterly cold in that wind. As the showers moved through they will fall

as a mix of rain, hailstones, sleet and snow and they will cause

temperatures to plummet. Lots of snow showers for Scotland the

north-east airman. Further south, more sheltered from those showers.

Across the Republic of Ireland, not so many showers, more in the wake of

sunshine, but with that chilly wind. Northern Ireland, there will be some

decent breaks. Tomorrow night the showers feasibly more or less

altogether but the ear is still chilly so temperatures will drop

course to freezing. Then editors where school, my other, and more

settled as high-pressure bells from the south-west. --.

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