Fermanagh - Your Life in Your Hands

This project intends to build on the success in equipping individuals with mental health problems, who are obese, with the skills necessary to make healthier lifestyle choices.Particpants will work as a group and support each other. A range of sessions were held on health issues of importance to clients (stress, exercise, mental health) through information workshops, training, pharmacy clinics, cooking etc. For the participants involved in the project their confidence has grown and they are able to share their learning with others at the centre. The clients are aware of other services and how to access them. The pharmacist role played a visit to the doctors to help clients get the best out of their appointment. The mental health of those involved has also imporved and has spurred them on to make changes in their overall lifestyle.

AMH New Horizons, Fermanagh

This is their 3rd BCPP project and is a Level 3. Previous projects highlighted the complex health issues facing those with significant mental health problems. From their successful partnership, the pharmacist now sits on their steering group. This project will build upon previous work and aims to provide people with the skills to make healthier lifestyle choices. Participants, the pharmacist and other providers will work in partnership to design a programme that will focus on the participants supporting each other and relaying their learning to others in the centre.

Rasharkin Health Initiative

This project will build on previous work carried out over the last 3 years. There are 4 main aspects: - intergenerational work focusing on the development of a vegetable garden with pharmacy input on health advice - develop and promote the lunch club which has been very successful to date and has targeted people previously not accessing support or community services in the village - annual health fair - local carer’s advice centre to provide practice information and signposting services. This last aspect is the result of ongoing identification of the need to support carers over the last 2 years of the BCPP project. This project will be driven forward by a lay health worker working closely with the pharmacist Outcome: The project built on previous work. Some of the work included: health fayre, intergenerational garden, and luncheon club. Results from questionnaires showed that the project increased people's awareness of the causes of ill-health and how they might deal with them. People now see the pharmacist as a local and not just as someone dispensing medicine.

North Down & Ards AMH

AMH, founded in 1963, one of the largest regional voluntary sector organization in NI, has provided a range of services for people with mental health difficulties and learning disabilities. AMH Ards offers a range of person centred activities eg training in IT, administration, catering, literacy and numeracy, crafts etc. They have completed 2 Level 2 applications. This Level 3 application will endeavor to build on the success of the second project, encouraging and building capacity for people to identify their own health needs, enable them to benefit from a range of support services, including pharmacy available to them. In addition, it will continue to educate and involve pharmacists in the road to mental health recovery. 4 programmes (7 weeks long ï¿_ 3 with the pharmacist) will be delivered each year (2 at each of the centers in Ards and Bangor). This more formal programme will be supplemented by ongoing support, staff training (2 sessions) and 4 informal drop in sessions and more general health events. At all of these sessions, the pharmacists will either lead on or attend.

Rasharkin Women's Group

This is a Level 3 project. The partnership have worked together for over 6 years through BCPP projects. They have worked on a number of issues and with a range of groups including young people, older people and more recently carers and farmers. This Level 3 project seeks to build skills and capacity in the area and bring different elements off the project together. For example, advance work with farmers and combine target groups through a range of events. The project focuses on a capacity building programme. At the end of the first year, each group will identify key health issues that they would like to address over years 2 & 3.

ARC HLC

ARC Healthy Living Centre provides a range of services for a range of groups eg older people, young, unemployed etc. This is their 3rd application and is a Level 3 project. Previous BCPP projects have focussed on for example, peer education programmes for young people, working with Surestart and addiction services. As a result of the project the pharmacist has integrated well into the community. This project will build upon previous work to increase health awareness, promote interagency understanding and deliver a wide range of interactive sessions with groups such as SureStart and alcohol projects. It will also seek to take this out into other areas and encourage other pharmacists to become involved in this way of working.

Rural Health Partnership

This is their 3rd BCPP project and this is a Level 3 project. Rural Health Partnership is a community based initiative which assists people to recover from a mental illness. Previous BCPP projects focussed on supporting the needs of women in relation to mental health and more specifically, those experiencing post natal depression through the 2nd BCPP project using a lay health approach. This project seeks to build on this previous work. A very good working relationship has developed between the pharmacist and RHP. A programme of activities that can enhance the skills and knowledge base of the participants will be developed and so will relationships with other services eg GPs, primary care team etc. The project aims to educate the community at large on the issues faced by vulnerable women, with particular emphasis on symptoms of postnatal depression and anxiety.

Foyle Haven

This is the Centre's second project with BCPP. The first project integrated the pharmacy into their support network and addressed issues important to street drinkers in a safe environment. This project will build on the previous project. It will encourage and facilitate self worth, self esteem and further encourage a sense of responsibility and confidence to access other health and support services. The pharmacist will provide information sessions, 1-1 support and training to staff and volunteers. This project will also see them linking up with the SOLACE project in Irvinestown which BCPP has also supported.

The Belfast Carers Centre

This is their 2nd BCPP project. The previous project demonstrated a number of successes - using the pharmacy to target carers, providing advice in the pharmacy, getting carers to come together for support etc. This project will build on previous work and will further support pharmacy staff to recognise and support carers needs. The project also aims to set up a local carers group with 20 carers partcipating.

Portglenone Enterprise Group (PEG)

PEG and the pharmacist have been working through BCPP projects for a few years and have worked with a range of groups (young and older people) on a range of health issues. This project seeks to continue to build on this work. The lay health worker will be present in the pharmacy and more emphasis will be placed on co-delivery with young people and in schools. Relationships with young vulnerable and isolated teenagers are developing and the pharmacist will continue to engage with them to identify and work to tackle health issues they are facing.

AMH New Horizons Craigavon & Banbridge

This is the groups second BCPP project and a good partnership has been built between partcipants and teh pharmacist. This project will build on the previous work but work with a new set of partcipants. Togetehr the pharmacist and partcipants w...

ASIST suicide prevention training - all-island evaluation report

The findings of a Public Health Agency evaluation report on a suicide prevention training programme were today presented at the North South Ministerial Council Health Sector meeting.ASIST, The Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training programme, has to date been delivered to more than 20,000 people in the Republic of Ireland and more than 11,000 people in Northern Ireland. This two day course, delivered by a wide range of organisations including those from the voluntary/community sector, for professionals and the public helps individuals provide emergency help to people at risk of suicidal behaviour. It also develops a cooperative network among participants, since often many people have to work together to prevent suicide.Talking about the findings of this work, Dr Eddie Rooney, Chief Executive, PHA, said: "Both the PHA and the National Office for Suicide Prevention (NOSP), based in the Republic of Ireland, are concerned for any loss of life through suicide and we send our condolences to all families who have been bereaved. We know ASIST training brings a positive element to suicide prevention. Those who have been trained said that the two biggest advantages are that they know when, how and have the confidence to help people who are under pressure and that it helps to build positive links between community and voluntary organisations and the health service. I am pleased that this has been borne out in the evaluation and we hope ASIST will continue to be of enormous benefit and will contribute to a reduction in suicidal behaviour and the tragedy that this brings to our community".This evaluation found that within organisations where staff had participated in ASIST training, there were improvements in service development; staff attitudes, confidence and skills in relation to suicide and suicide intervention and in policies and procedures. At a community level, ASIST was found to have contributed to a sense of empowerment through an increased confidence in being able to deal with suicide and suicidal behaviour.The report also shows that the ASIST model offers a common language, helping communication between the community or voluntary organisations and those from a health background. In fact this training helped to cancel out any differences between those with mental health qualifications and those without, in terms of knowledge, skills, attitude and willingness to intervene. The study also confirmed that ASIST training was most relevant to those who were likely to be in contact with a person 'at risk'.In welcoming the publication of the report Geoff Day, Director of the NOSP, said: "This report is an independent evaluation of the ASIST programme, it has allowed us to demonstrate the effectiveness of the programme in increasing community participants confidence and ability to respond to individuals in suicidal crisis.He added: "The fact the evaluation was completed on an all-island basis allows the NOSP and the PHA to avoid duplication of resources, improve coordination of suicide prevention training programmes across both jurisdictions and allows us to learn from different approaches used in suicide prevention across the island of Ireland."He reiterated the Health Service Executive commitment to the continued implementation of quality assured training programmes as part of Reach out: the National Strategy for Action on Suicide Prevention.ASIST training is being rolled out in Northern Ireland as part of the implementation of the 'Protect Life' suicide prevention strategy, which was published by the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety in 2006.A copy of the evaluation report can be found below and in the publications section of this website, by clicking here

A Happy and a Healthy 2012

Many of us start the New Year with the best of intentions to lose weight, get fitter and eat well. It's that sense of new possibilities and fresh beginnings that can also help motivate changes in lifestyle. The Public Health Agency advises that making small changes to your own and your family's lifestyle can have a significant impact on improving overall health. Taking time to reflect, and making a plan, can all help. Choosing healthier food and increasing your physical activity will help maintain a healthy weight and prevent unwanted weight gain, which can have serious implications for a person's physical and mental health as it is associated with an increased risk of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, some cancers, respiratory problems, joint pain and depression.What can I do to improve my health?Make 1 or 2 small changes at a time - don't try to change your lifestyle radically or all at once as you're more likely to fail. Small changes in what you eat, or how active you are, are easier to make and more likely to be maintained.Mary Black, Assistant Director of Health and Wellbeing Improvement, PHA, said: "The New Year brings a time when many people reflect on their lives and very often eating more healthily is one of things they identify for change. I recommend setting a couple of small, achievable targets that can then be continued in the long term, for example:Eat breakfast everyday;Eat an extra portion of vegetables every day;Swap deep fried chips for oven chips;Choose fruit for between-meal snacks instead of a biscuit or bun;Begin to enjoy a hot drink on its own without feeling the need to have something sweet at the same time.Be active. Any sort of activity will be good for you. Think about how you can be more active each day. This doesn't have to involve running a marathon or joining a gym. Some suggestions include:· Go for walks with the children/family or friends. It's free! Walk on your lunch break;· Take the stairs instead of the elevator or escalator;· Park further away and walk to work/school;· Get off the bus a stop earlier and walk the rest;· Minimise the amount of time you are sitting down - take breaks from the computer at work or watching TV at home and walk around;· Children and adults can build up to the recommended daily activity levels in 10 minute sessions rather than doing it all in one session.Adults need at least 30 minutes, five days a week of moderate physical activity and children need 60 minutes of physical activity every day.Mary continued "It's easy for people to get into the habit of spending their spare time sitting down - watching TV, playing computer games, listening to their MP3 players - but being active will help you maintain a healthy weight and generally make you feel better. It can also improve your mood, reduce anxiety and protect against depression."It is what you do most of the time that really matters, so if you eat too much or don't exercise on any one day, don't worry too much - just accept it and get back to your new way of eating and being more active as soon as possible.

Belfast Active Travel Action Plan 2014-2020

The Belfast Strategic Partnership, which is led by the Public Health Agency, Belfast Health and Social Care Trust and Belfast City Council, is launching theBelfast Active Travel Action Plan 2014-2020 which aims to build a healthier city by encouraging people to incorporate walking and/or cycling into their daily travel. The travel plan aims to try to make Belfast a more vibrant city where people are healthy, fit, well-connected with one another, and use physical activity as part of their everyday lives.

Alive 'n' Kicking

The Alive N Kicking (ANK) programme is a child weight management programme. Its primary aim is to support and empower parents and children from 2-19 years old to adopt healthy eating practices, increase physical activity levels, reduce sedentary behaviour and build self esteem.A secondary aim is to contribute towards children participating in the programme improving their long term health through achieving and maintaining a health body weight. The objectives of the programme are:1.To increase the level of healthy eating practices amongst participating families. 2.To increase the level of daily physical activity of participating children.3.To increase levels of self-esteem amongst children participating in the programme. 4.To contribute towards the long-term aim of achieving and maintaining a healthy body weight for children and parents participating in the programme.5.To deliver a safe, high-quality service.