HIA focus

The PHA, supported by the Institute of Public Health in Ireland (IPH) and other agencies and individuals, has completed a health impact assessment (HIA) on the Cardiovascular Service Framework (CVSFW) for Northern Ireland.The CVSFW is the first in a series of service frameworks developed in Northern Ireland to guide HSC provision from prevention and health improvement over early intervention in communities and general practice into hospital and other institutional settings towards rehabilitation, palliative care and end of life.The CVSFW is relevant to everyone who has a part in HSC services for health improvement, hypertension, hyperlipidaemia, diabetes, heart disease, cerebrovascular disease (stroke), peripheral vascular disease and renal disease. This includes patients, carers, families, communities, voluntary and statutory service providers, policy makers and researchers.

Consultation on 'Co-operating to safeguard children and young people in Northern Ireland'

This draft policy has been updated to reflect changes in structures and legislation. The draft policy outlines how communities, organisations and individuals must work to ensure children and young people in Northern Ireland are safeguarded as effectively as possible. Consultation Documents Draft Co-operating to Safeguard Children and Young People (PDF 356KB) Draft Co-operating to Safeguard Children and Young People (MS WORD 463KB) Co-operating to Safeguard Children and Young People - (easy read) (PDF 15MB) Preliminary Equality Screening, Disability Duties and Human Rights Assessment (PDF 99KB) Regulatory Impact Assessment, and Rural proofing Assessments (PDF 37KB)   Consultation Response Questionnaire Consultation Response Questionnaire (MS Word 38KB)   How to respond to the consultation Please use the questionnaire to tell us your views on the draft policy. An Equality Impact Assessment, a Regulatory Impact Assessment and Rural Proofing templates are attached in respect of the draft policy. The deadline for responses is 5.00 pm on 21 August 2015. Please email the questionnaire response to: Child.Safeguarding@dhsspsni.gov.uk Or post it to: DHSSPSNIChild Safeguarding Policy TeamRoom A3.5Castle BuildingsStormont EstateBelfastBT4 3SQ The Department will consider requests to produce this document in other languages or in alternative formats – Braille, audio, large print or as a PDF document. If you require the document in these or other formats please contact us using the details provided above or telephone 02890522543.

Consideration of health in Strategic Environment Assessment (SEA) on the island of Ireland

This IPH report explores the extent health was incorporated into SEA in a manner which would suggest a good understanding of the many social and economic factors which strongly influence health. The research identifies that a consideration of health is not routinely included in SEAs. There is a need to build capacity and change mindsets in how SEAs are undertaken to more completely factor in the health impacts.

An Assessment of the Microbiology of Hand Contact Surfaces in the Retail Environment

This study aimed to assess the microbiology of food and hand contact surfaces in the retail environment and the potential for these surfaces to act as vehicles for the spread of foodborne pathogens. During the survey, 10 stores in the Republic of Ireland (ROI) were visited by student Environmental Health Officers (EHOs) who took swab samples from four surfaces: conveyor belts, long-life shopping bags, shopping trolley handles and keypads on card payment units. The swab samples were examined for the presence of the pathogens Salmonella, Campylobacter and Listeria. The Aerobic Colony Counts, as well as the levels of E. coli and Enterobacteriaceae, were also determined. In addition, structured questionnaires were used with retailers to establish the stores’ regimes for the cleaning of conveyor belts. Similarly, shoppers donating their long-life shopping bags for sampling were questioned about how they normally use these bags, and the results were compared with those from the microbiological survey. The results indicated that the hygiene of the surfaces sampled was good, with Salmonella, Campylobacter and Listeria not detected in any of the samples, and levels of both Enterobacteriaceae and E. coli were below the limits of detection in all but one sample. Aerobic Colony Counts varied but none of the results obtained would be deemed ‘unacceptable’ or ‘unsatisfactory’ under guidelines for ready-to-eat foods

Accident & Emergency Nursing Assessment of Deliberate Self Harm. Exploring the Impact of Introducing a Suicide Education Programme and a Suicide Intent Scale into A&E/MAU Nursing Practice: A Pilot Study

A proposal to pilot nursing assessment of self harm in Accident and Emergency Departments (A&E) was developed by key stakeholders in nurse education and suicide prevention in the South East and submitted to the National Council for the Professional Development of Nursing and Midwifery in April 2002.The proposal included the introduction of a suicide intent scale. Following an initial training programme, a suicide intent scale was utilised by nursing staff in A&E and the Medical Assessment Unit (MAU),Wexford General Hospital and evaluated over a period of nine months. Four months into the study the National Suicide Research Foundation (NSRF) was invited to collaboratively prepare a successful submission to the Health Research Board (HRB) as part of ‘Building Partnerships for a Healthier Future Research Awards 2004’. The NSRF undertook independent scientific evaluation of the outcomes of the suicide awareness programme. The study is in line with priorities determined by Reach Out, the National Strategy for Action on Suicide Prevention 2005-2014 (HSE, 2005) and the HSE-South East Suicide Prevention Programme through raising nursing staff awareness of the public health issue of suicide/deliberate self harm and by improving the efficiency and quality of nursing services offered to persons who present to acute hospitals with deliberate self harm. The study findings indicate evidence to positively support nursing assessment of DSH using a suicide intent scale in terms of assessing behavioural characteristics of individual clients and their suicide risk. Enhanced confidence levels of nursing personnel in caring for suicidal clients was demonstrated by staff who participated in an education programme related to risk assessment and specifically the use of a suicide intent scale.This resource was contributed by The National Documentation Centre on Drug Use.

In-depth assessment delivers the verdict on the Government�۪s promise of a more equal society

An independent and detailed expert analysis of a decade of reforms (published 25 February) takes up the challenge made by Peter Mandelson in 1997 to “judge us after ten years of success in office. For one of the fruits of that success will be that Britain has become a more equal society.����”Commissioned by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, the study, by a team led by LSE’s Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion, shows sharp contrasts between different policy areas. Notable success stories include reductions in child and pensioner poverty, improved education outcomes for the poorest children and schools, and narrowing economic and other divides between deprived and other areas.But health inequalities continued to widen, gaps in incomes between the very top and very bottom grew, and poverty increased for working-age people without children.����In several policy areas there was a marked contrast between the first half of the New Labour period and the second half, when progress has slowed or even stalled.John Hills, one of the leaders of study, said, “Whether Britain has moved towards becoming a ‘more equal society’ depends on what you look at, and when. Where clear initiatives were taken, results followed. But as the growth of living standards slowed, even well before the recession, and public finances tightened, momentum seems to have been lost in several key areas.”Kitty Stewart added, “The government can take heart from achievements such as the reduction in child poverty up to 2004.����Recent data show that by then, child well-being in the UK had begun to move up the European league table from its dismal showing at the start of the decade that formed the basis of UNICEF’s damning 2007 report. But even with improved figures, Britain was still left with one of the highest rates of child poverty out of the 15 original EU members, and the latest figures show it had increased again by 2006/7.”����The study concludes that the decade from 1997 was favourable to an egalitarian agenda in several ways: the economy grew continuously; the government had large majorities and aspired to create more equality; and public attitudes surveys suggested pent-up demand for more public expenditure. But that environment now looks very uncertain, not just in the near future, but also in the longer term.����Fiscal pressures from an ageing society could further constrain resources available for redistribution, and public attitudes towards the benefit system have hardened while support for redistribution has declined.Hills added, “The 1980s and 1990s showed that hoping that rapid growth in living standards at the top would ‘trickle down’ to those at the bottom did not work.����The period since 1997 has shown that gains are possible through determined interventions, but they require intensive and continuous effort to be sustained.”JRF Chief Executive Julia Unwin added, “We know the potential impact the deepening recession will have on those already living in poverty. This book provides an important, timely and comprehensive assessment of where we are and what remains to be done.”