:00:00. > :00:08.Every hospital emergency department here is "on the edge" -
:00:09. > :00:11.the warning from the head of the Royal College of Emergency
:00:12. > :00:17.And after yesterday's steel job losses in Port Talbot -
:00:18. > :00:20.the Welsh government will ask the Chancellor for enterprise zone
:00:21. > :00:40.status so that tax breaks can be offered.
:00:41. > :00:45.Every hospital emergency department in Wales is "on the edge" and too
:00:46. > :00:48.many patients spend too long - some more than 24 hours
:00:49. > :00:51.That's the warning from the head of the Royal College
:00:52. > :00:54.of Emergency Medicine here who says staff shortages and excessive
:00:55. > :00:55.workloads could put patients at risk.
:00:56. > :00:58.But the Welsh Government insists the problems here aren't unique,
:00:59. > :01:08.Our health correspondent Owain Clarke reports.
:01:09. > :01:11.It is first thing in the morning but the emergency department
:01:12. > :01:15.here at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff is already full.
:01:16. > :01:18.Inside, there is one empty bed, kept free in case
:01:19. > :01:24.Last week, we saw a lot of ice so we saw a lot of patients come
:01:25. > :01:30.It is a difficult time for the frail elderly as well,
:01:31. > :01:34.who do tend to get more infections at this time of year so generally
:01:35. > :01:37.the department and the hospitals are more busy in January.
:01:38. > :01:39.To ease the logjam in the A, staff from
:01:40. > :01:41.around the hospital have come to discuss how many beds can
:01:42. > :01:45.We do have a resus space but there is no capacity
:01:46. > :01:47.in our ambulances outside of the minute.
:01:48. > :01:50.Even in a hospital of this size, if they can find just a handful
:01:51. > :01:52.of beds this morning, it can mean the difference
:01:53. > :01:57.They say the effort has already led to fewer ambulances queueing
:01:58. > :02:02.But according to one of Wales's leading emergency doctors
:02:03. > :02:04.who works on the other side of the country in Wrexham,
:02:05. > :02:06.a shortage of hospital beds and emergency doctors
:02:07. > :02:13.means too many patients in Wales spend too long in emergency units.
:02:14. > :02:16.None of the emergency departments in Wales has the required number
:02:17. > :02:19.of consultants that we think is a minimum from the Royal College.
:02:20. > :02:22.In Wrexham, we are four consultants short.
:02:23. > :02:25.We have six compared to the required minimum number of ten.
:02:26. > :02:27.Every emergency department is on the edge.
:02:28. > :02:34.We are ever so close to a patient becoming really poorly
:02:35. > :02:36.within our department and that could have a
:02:37. > :02:42.knock-on effect and have disastrous outcomes.
:02:43. > :02:44.The latest figures show that the proportion of patients
:02:45. > :02:48.who had to wait more than 12 hours in an urgent care unit has gone down
:02:49. > :02:49.since last winter, but despite the milder
:02:50. > :02:53.weather there wasn't an improvement in the four-hour target and arguably
:02:54. > :02:57.the pressures are being felt most here at Morriston Hospital
:02:58. > :02:59.in Swansea, with just 58% of patients
:03:00. > :03:01.spending less than four hours in this department,
:03:02. > :03:09.The minor injuries unit in Singleton and Neath Port and the A service
:03:10. > :03:12.in Llanelli take some of the less serious cases so those don't come
:03:13. > :03:16.here but what that does mean is that when you look at our patients here,
:03:17. > :03:19.a much higher percentage of them are completed
:03:20. > :03:23.patients, so for example, a typical emergency department might
:03:24. > :03:26.be 70% minor injuries, 30% major - we are
:03:27. > :03:33.The local Health Board says it is taking steps to ease
:03:34. > :03:44.This team's job is to find out what extra support frail patients
:03:45. > :03:49.We have measured the length of stay in the over 80s within Morriston
:03:50. > :03:51.Hospital and it has dropped quite significantly from somewhere
:03:52. > :03:55.between 20 days in hospital and it has
:03:56. > :03:58.actually dropped down to seven days in the latest data,
:03:59. > :04:02.Any bed that becomes available will be filled
:04:03. > :04:05.straightaway and what is clear is the pressure is on both
:04:06. > :04:07.here and in emergency units across the country.
:04:08. > :04:20.And with the temperatures dropping, it could get worse.
:04:21. > :04:22.A group of Welsh Conservative MPs is calling on the Chancellor
:04:23. > :04:25.to reverse his decision to devolve some income tax powers to Wales
:04:26. > :04:29.In the letter, seen by BBC Wales, five of the party's MPs wrote
:04:30. > :04:33.to George Osborne to say his policy change,
:04:34. > :04:35.announced in his autumn statement, was "disrespectful" and breached
:04:36. > :04:39.The Welsh Conservatives say they have long called for the Welsh
:04:40. > :04:44.government to be more accountable for its finances.
:04:45. > :04:47.A woman found dead in Usk last week died from "ligature pressure
:04:48. > :04:53.The body of Georgina Symonds was found in a workshop on a farm
:04:54. > :04:57.Peter Morgan, from Abergavenny, has been charged with her murder.
:04:58. > :05:09.Detectives have made fresh appeal for information,
:05:10. > :05:13.40 years after the death of a Welsh teenager in London.
:05:14. > :05:16.15-year-old Peter Watts left his home in Colwyn Bay in
:05:17. > :05:18.1976 after leaving a note for his parents saying
:05:19. > :05:20.he was going to help a friend with homework.
:05:21. > :05:23.He was found collapsed in a Euston Road underpass in London
:05:24. > :05:26.the following morning with head injuries, and died
:05:27. > :05:31.A meeting of steel workers and union representatives
:05:32. > :05:35.has taken place in Port Talbot tonight following yesterday's
:05:36. > :05:38.announcement of a thousand job losses at Tata Steel across the UK.
:05:39. > :05:42.The majority of the jobs will be lost in South Wales,
:05:43. > :05:49.750 across Port Talbot and Llanwern in Newport.
:05:50. > :05:51.Tonight's meeting has been about getting an understanding
:05:52. > :05:53.with our representatives of the process that
:05:54. > :05:55.we are going to follow, what has been announced
:05:56. > :06:00.And it started to develop the roles that we
:06:01. > :06:03.have to now take with the Welsh assembly Government,
:06:04. > :06:07.who we have a meeting with tomorrow, and how the pressure can be put
:06:08. > :06:09.onto the UK Government so that it can understand
:06:10. > :06:12.what needs to be done to save steel-making in the UK.
:06:13. > :06:14.Those job losses in the steel industry were again top
:06:15. > :06:18.The Welsh government will ask the Chancellor George Osborne
:06:19. > :06:22.to give Port Talbot enterprise zone status so that tax breaks can be
:06:23. > :06:27.There were further clashes in the House of Commons over
:06:28. > :06:31.the steel industry today, and details emerged of a task force
:06:32. > :06:33.which will meet for the first time tomorrow.
:06:34. > :06:38.Here's our political editor Nick Servini.
:06:39. > :06:40.The morning after one of the bleakest days
:06:41. > :06:44.Nothing can change yesterday's events.
:06:45. > :06:47.What has been occupying minds today is the action needed to prevent
:06:48. > :06:54.In the meantime, the accusations at Westminster continue to fly
:06:55. > :07:00.as the UK Government insisted it had done all it could.
:07:01. > :07:02.When the bankers bonuses were threatened, he immediately shot
:07:03. > :07:07.over to Brussels with an army of lawyers to defend them.
:07:08. > :07:09.He would jump into a helicopter for a Tory fundraiser,
:07:10. > :07:13.but it has taken him four months to lift a finger for a steelworks
:07:14. > :07:20.Well, we want a successful financial services industry because hundreds
:07:21. > :07:24.of thousands of people across the country work in it
:07:25. > :07:28.but we also want a successful manufacturing and steel industry.
:07:29. > :07:30.There was an altogether gentler tone at the assembly as ministers
:07:31. > :07:34.confirmed that they had asked the Chancellor to make Port Talbot
:07:35. > :07:45.They also gave more details of the task force meeting in Cardiff
:07:46. > :07:48.tomorrow along the lines of one set up after the major losses
:07:49. > :07:50.were announced at the oil refinery in Pembrokeshire in 2014.
:07:51. > :07:53.Nevertheless, at the assembly, as in the comments,
:07:54. > :07:55.there were questions for the Government about why
:07:56. > :08:02.Why did the Minister wait until the job losses have been
:08:03. > :08:05.announced before writing to the Chancellor of the Exchequer
:08:06. > :08:07.to pursue the issue of an enterprise zone?
:08:08. > :08:11.She's right to say that we knew there were challenges for the steel
:08:12. > :08:13.industry, but in terms of the scale of the job losses,
:08:14. > :08:17.we did not know about that until the end of last week.
:08:18. > :08:19.The job losses brought the problems of the steel industry
:08:20. > :08:23.Now, what the political parties will all agree on are the measures
:08:24. > :08:26.needed to soften the blow, particularly for the younger workers
:08:27. > :08:33.What would be far more divisive is to try to create the kind
:08:34. > :08:42.of conditions for the long-term survival of the industry in Wales.
:08:43. > :08:45.The question will be - can they set aside their differences
:08:46. > :08:50.At the heart of this will be how to deal with the cheap Chinese steel
:08:51. > :08:53.which is flooding the market and pushing prices down.
:08:54. > :08:55.It is difficult to determine whether it is legitimate prices that
:08:56. > :08:58.are coming in or illegitimate and that is what they are working on.
:08:59. > :09:02.I mean, I agree with you that it could have been done faster
:09:03. > :09:04.but actually a lot of it from the UK perspective
:09:05. > :09:07.is because our own Government has not been effective in applying
:09:08. > :09:20.and pursuing these things as fast as they could do.
:09:21. > :09:23.It was described today as part of Wales' heritage .
:09:24. > :09:25.All efforts will now be made for the Port Talbot steelworks
:09:26. > :09:27.to become part of Wales's future as well.
:09:28. > :09:30.Rugby, and with the start of the Six Nations just a fortnight
:09:31. > :09:34.Wales coach, Warren Gatland, has named 37 players in his squad.
:09:35. > :09:36.Cardiff Blues wing, Tom James, has been re-called,
:09:37. > :09:37.six years after winning his last cap.
:09:38. > :09:40.Aled Davies from the Scarlets is the only uncapped player.
:09:41. > :09:42.Wales start their campaign against last year's winners,
:09:43. > :09:48.The coaching team back to a 37 man squad, slightly larger than usual
:09:49. > :09:51.due to a number of injured leading players.
:09:52. > :09:57.With the likes of Captain Sam Warburton and Scarlets full-back
:09:58. > :10:00.Liam Williams are on their way back to fitness as another Six Nations
:10:01. > :10:04.I think we're in a good place the moment and we've got some good
:10:05. > :10:06.players that have come back from injury.
:10:07. > :10:09.We still have one or two players that have picked up injuries
:10:10. > :10:12.during the World Cup but I think 31 of that squad were involved
:10:13. > :10:14.in the World Cup so there is a lot of continuity.
:10:15. > :10:17.As well as the comfort of consistency, the head coach has
:10:18. > :10:23.It has been six years since the Blues wing Tom James
:10:24. > :10:28.I have been pretty impressed with Tom over the Christmas period.
:10:29. > :10:31.It was disappointing to lose him in the Rugby World Cup.
:10:32. > :10:32.He was selected in our original squad.
:10:33. > :10:36.I think he adds a little bit of an X Factor.
:10:37. > :10:39.Among the forwards, Josh Turnbull makes a return following a two-year
:10:40. > :10:44.absence and Alun Wyn Jones after re-signing his national dual
:10:45. > :10:47.contact with Ospreys features in a powerful contingent of forwards
:10:48. > :10:51.with four British Lions in the back row.
:10:52. > :10:54.And along with the older heads, Gatland has chosen one uncapped
:10:55. > :10:57.player, Aled Davies, picked in light of the injured
:10:58. > :11:03.Also in the backs, Rhys Priestland is included, despite the initial
:11:04. > :11:08.announcement that he was to step back from international rugby.
:11:09. > :11:11.And Jonathan Davies and Hallam Amos made a welcome return from injury.
:11:12. > :11:14.So on a beautiful day here at the Vale hotel,
:11:15. > :11:16.Six Nations has kicked off for Wales.
:11:17. > :11:20.They will be hoping for a swift return to key injured players
:11:21. > :11:23.as they aim for a perfect start to the 2016 campaign with a win
:11:24. > :11:30.against the holders Ireland in Dublin on the 7th of February.
:11:31. > :11:44.Very cold and in fact the coldest night of the winter so far for many
:11:45. > :11:50.of us. A widespread frost and some freezing fog as well. The
:11:51. > :11:53.temperature could fall as low as minus seven Celsius in some places
:11:54. > :11:57.by the end of the night. A widespread sharp frost for many of
:11:58. > :12:04.us and that is how we start tomorrow. Frosty, freezing fog, the
:12:05. > :12:09.warning in force, but otherwise, bright clear and sunny. A crisp
:12:10. > :12:15.winter morning. Freezing fog across the rest of the UK. They could
:12:16. > :12:17.linger all day in some spots. Otherwise, we have an icy road
:12:18. > :12:21.warning in force across Scotland. Many places bright with winter
:12:22. > :12:26.sunshine tomorrow. Parts of northern England tomorrow a little bit
:12:27. > :12:29.cloudy. Out of seven Celsius in Belfast. In Wales tomorrow, a bright
:12:30. > :12:36.and sunny afternoon, lots of blue sky. Any freezing fog should have
:12:37. > :12:42.disappeared from many places. To Celsius to three Celsius, up to six
:12:43. > :12:45.Celsius on the Pembrokeshire coast. Another widespread frost tomorrow.
:12:46. > :12:51.Cloud increasing during the night, some spots of rain in the West.
:12:52. > :12:55.Temperatures staying above freezing. On Thursday, much cloudier, mist and
:12:56. > :12:58.fog patches, also some splashes of rain and less cold with a
:12:59. > :13:03.south-easterly breeze and that sets the scene for Friday. Much milder,
:13:04. > :13:08.into double figures, some rain, clearing to drier and brighter
:13:09. > :13:12.weather. Saturday looks dry at the moment with temperatures much higher
:13:13. > :13:15.than recently saw a change on the way turning milder later this week.
:13:16. > :13:21.The cold spell coming to an end. From all of us on the
:13:22. > :13:28.programme, goodnight.