Public Service Agreement - Revised Health Sector Action Plan - December 2012

The health service has been at the forefront in delivering significant change under the PSA. The substantial contribution already made by health service staff, especially during the period of concentrated retirements up to February 2012, is acknowledged and much appreciated by management. These changes are being achieved in what is a complex working environment with increasing demands, (500,000 increase in medical card holders between 2007 and 2012) and a growing and ageing population, within a public health service which is undergoing unprecedented organisational change and reform, accompanied by a reducing workforce. Public Service Agreement – Revised Health Sector Action Plan- December 2012 savings report Click here to download PDF 51kb

Future Dementia Care in Ireland: Sharing the Evidence to Mobilise Action

A major challenge facing societies across the world today is population ageing. The fact that people are living longer and the notable improvements in the overall quality of life and well-being of older people today needs to be celebrated. However, population ageing will inevitably result in an increase in disability and a very significant increase in the incidence of age-related health problems especially Alzheimer's disease and the related dementias. Click here to download PDF 2.5mb

Action Report A, B, and C v. Ireland- Application no 25579/2005

Three applicants, A,B and C, all of whom had crisis pregnancies, brought proceedings against Ireland before the European Court of Human Rights claiming violations of Articles 2, 3, 8, 14 and 13 of the European Convention on Human Rights. 1.In its judgment delivered on 16 December 2010 the Grand Chamber determined that there had been no violation of the Convention in relation to the first and second applicants, Ms. A and Ms. B.2.The Grand Chamber determined that there had been a violation of Article 8 of the Convention in relation to applicant Ms. C . Click here to download PDF 156kb  

Action Plan A, B, and C v. Ireland

Action Plan A, B, and C v. Ireland As required, Ireland submitted an Action Plan to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on 30th November on the implementation of the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in the A, B and C v Ireland case. The Action Plan can be downloaded at this link: Click here to download PDF 56kb  

Action Cancer

The pharmacist will hold sessions with particpants to raise breast awareness in the Ardoyne and Shankill areas and provide information on health issues they want more detail on. Five essions were carried out by the pharmacist on women's health - mainly breast awareness with 53 women attending in total. The pharmacist gave health related information to the women and discussion followed. Each group attending were unique and each discussion brought up different concerns and interests. Cancer Lifeline a community group attended the session and have since made links with the pharmacist and Action Cancer.

PHA/HSCB Hidden Harm Action Plan

This joint PHA/HSCB Hidden Harm Action Plan - Responding to the needs of children born to and living with parental alcohol and drug misuse in Northern Ireland, has been prepared for the DHSSPS in response to the PfA target on Hidden Harm. The plan was approved by DHSSPS in October 2009.

Neurological conditions: involvement to improve service delivery

A major, ongoing Public Health Agency led consultation exercise has identified 12 recommendations to improve the lives of the 48,000 people, and their carers, who experience neurological conditions across Northern Ireland. These recommendations will form the basis of an action plan to improve service delivery and support for those experiencing a range of conditions, such as epilepsy, Huntington's Disease, Parkinson's Disease, progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) and multiple sclerosis (MS).The recommendations cover four areas:accurate information and diagnosis;control and choice, particularly self-management and person-centred services;day-to-day living and independence, including finance, employment, social life and ability to get out and about;emotional and psychological impact on individuals and families, eg the support available to deal with stress, fear, frustration, isolation, loss and vulnerability associated with living with a neurological condition.The report was launched at a regional workshop, held in Cookstown (today) and co-ordinated through the Neurological Conditions Network, which was established to develop this work.Speaking before the workshop, Health Minister Edwin Poots said: "Neurological conditions give rise to complex needs, which require support from a wide range of professionals. They also change lives, both for those directly affected and for their families and carers, and it is so important not to lose sight of this if we are to successfully address the challenges in tackling neurological conditions."Last week, I visited the home of Beth McCune, who suffers from motor neurone disease. I was invited to see for myself the daily challenges faced by Beth and her husband and carer, Arthur, and to hear of their experiences. While I was struck by their courage and patience, this visit underlined again for me the severe life-changing impact of the disease."At present, there are some 48,000 people in Northern Ireland living with neurological conditions. It was in recognition of the needs of men and women like Beth that my department requested the establishment of the Neurological Conditions Network and provided the necessary funding to support it."Michelle Tennyson, PHA Assistant Director and Chair of the Neurological Conditions Network, said: "This detailed engagement exercise was undertaken to get the views and quality of life experiences of those affected by these conditions. We tried to ensure everyone who wanted to contribute could, by providing support through helplines, the internet and face-to-face events. I am honoured that so many people have trusted us with their experiences to help us make a difference and was privileged to be invited into the home of Beth and Arthur McCune for the same reason."The recommendations cover a range of conditions and their implementation will need cooperation and action from professionals, service users, voluntary organizations and others, across many sectors and agencies. The network is looking forward to delivering on these challenging new ways of working to improve the lives of all those affected by neurological conditions."The workshop attracted service users and carers along with delegates from across Northern Ireland's community, voluntary and statutory sectors.If you have a neurological condition, or care for someone who does, and want to share your experiences, please go to: www.publichealth.hscni.net/ncnsurveyYou can also contact Julie Mawhinney, Tel: 028 9032 1313.

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.

Tackling Health Inequalities through Action on the Social Determinants of Health: Lessons from Experience

Briefing 10 - Lessons from experience This document, commissioned by Public Health England, and written by the UCL Institute of Health Equity, sets out 12 points to consider when taking action locally on the social determinants of health. It is intended as a source of information on approaches to consider when devising local programmes and strategies to reduce health inequalities. It complements the other briefings and evidence reviews in this series, which provide more detail on action on specific social determinant areas, such as employment and early years interventions, including information on impacts and cost effectiveness where available. The 12 steps are divided across three parts. The first part sets out four strategies that help prioritise action on health equity. The next steps are principles of effective action on the social determinants of the health, presented in the second part. Finally, the steps in part three outline ways of ensuring that measures to increase health equity are sustainable and have impact over the long term. The briefing is available to download above. This document is part of a series. An overview document which provides an introduction to this and other documents in the series, and links to the other topic areas, is available on the ‘Local Action on health inequalities’ project page. A video of Michael Marmot introducing the work is also available on our videos page.

Action plan against Drugs and Drug Addiction: Horizons 2008

Portugese action plan against drugs.This resource was contributed by The National Documentation Centre on Drug Use.

Report Against Drugs- an action plan to combat substance abuse in Longford.

The Forum for Longford was started in 1997 to provide a co-ordinated inter-agency approach to identify and help tackle social problems in Longford. A survey was carried out with 1,331 post-primary students to ascertain attitudes and behaviours towards alcohol, smoking and drug use. Of the pupils interviewed, 64% had taken an alcoholic drink at age 15 or younger; of these 73% had their first drink between the ages of 12 to 15. Of those that had experience of alcohol, 51% drank several times a week or daily. For smoking, 67% had smoked a cigarette; of these 8% smoked 5 or more daily. Of those that smoked, 47% began between the ages of 11 to 14. With regard to illegal drugs 27% had used cannabis, 20% had used inhalants, 10% hallucinogens, 9% amphetamines and 7.4% had used ecstasy. Following on form these findings, the report makes several recommendations, including the formation of a community task force, Garda/ neighbourhood watch response, schools prevention and information. Also among these key areas are the role of parents, the needs of young people and facilities for young people.This resource was contributed by The National Documentation Centre on Drug Use.

A key to the door - Homeless Agency action plan 2007-2010, Issue 22, Summer 2007

The Homeless Agency recently launched its action plan to eliminate long-term homelessness and the need to sleep rough in Dublin by 2010. This article will discuss the elements of the plan that relate to homeless individuals with addiction problems in the context of the wider policy framework on drugs and homelessness. The plan contains three strategic aims, relating to prevention, local access to quality homeless services and long-term housing options with support when required. The plan contains 10 core actions (high priority) that cover more than one strategic aim and 74 additional actions (lower priority). Individuals with mental health problems, addictions (alcohol and drugs) and dual diagnosis (addiction and mental health) needs have been identified as needing healthcare and other interventions as part of the strategic aim to prevent homelessness and reduce the risk of becoming homeless. As part of the development of the action plan, a total of 105 men, women and children, both current and past users of homeless services, were interviewed. The principal immediate causes of their becoming homeless were identified by those interviewed as family breakdown, and alcohol, heroin and mental health problems. Several studies have shown the prominent role played by drug use in exposing individuals and families to homelessness in Ireland.This resource was contributed by The National Documentation Centre on Drug Use.

Alcohol Action Ireland's conference - presentations.

Session One - Alcohol and Crime in Ireland, Counting the Costs• National Quantitative Research, Director of Alcohol Action Ireland, Fiona Ryan• National and International Context - Dr. Anne Hope• Economic Costs of Alcohol Related Crime - Senior Lecturer, Sean Byrne Session Two - Exploring Responses to Alcohol and Crime• Garda Juvenile Diversion Program - Superintendent, Colette Quinn• HSE South - Health Promotion Officer, Sandra Coughlan Session Three - Hidden Harm - Sexual and Domestic Violence and Alcohol• Rape Crisis Network Ireland - Cliona Saidlear• SAFE Ireland - Director, Sharon O’ Halloran• Alcohol Concern - Director, Christine Toft• Men Overcoming Violence (MOVE) - CEO, Thomas Bibby• Head of Crime Reduction Branch, Martine Mc Killop & Belfast Community Safety Partnership, Stevie LaveryThis resource was contributed by The National Documentation Centre on Drug Use.

Tackling health inequalities: 2007 Status Report on the Programme for Action

The status report provides a review of developments against the data since the publication of the Programme for Action in 2003. It considers progress against the Public Service Agreement (PSA) target, the national headline indicators and against government commitments. The report highlights the challenging nature of the health inequalities PSA target for 2010.

The London Health Commission prospectus 2006-2008: Partnership for health: challenges for action

The London Health Commission programme of work to 2008 has identified four Health Challenges to stimulate action on its top priorities durng the next three years. It is urging organisations to join in action to increase the number of disabled people in employment; introduce smoke-free workplace policies; improve access to effective language support services for their users; help improve the emotional health and well being of young Londoners.