IPH response to NI Health and Social Care Board 'Tranforming Your Care' consultation

The 'Transforming Your Care (TYC)' consultation relates to proposals for changes in the delivery of Health and Social Care in Northern Ireland in the context of the TYC report published in December 2011. TYC is about making changes to ensure safe, high quality and sustainable services for patients, service users and staff. TYC sets out proposals in respect of how health and social services will need to adapt and be organised to best meet the needs associated with population ageing, increasing long-term conditions and other challenges. Key points from IPH response include: IPH welcomes the HSC commitment to transform health and social care services to meet Northern Ireland’s changing population health needs Inequalities are a dominant feature of health service utilisation patterns in Northern Ireland – for example hospital admission rates for self-harm and alcohol-related admissions in the most deprived areas are double the regional figure. IPH recommends that

IPH response to Health and Social Care Board and Public Health Agency Community Development Strategy

The Health and Social Care Board (HSCB) and the Public Health Agency (PHA) launched a new Community Development Strategy for public consultation.  The HSCB and PHA want to see strong, resilient communities where everyone has good health and wellbeing, places where people look out for each other and have community pride in where they live. The HSCB and PHA seek a number of benefits from implementing this strategy including; a reduction in health and wellbeing inequalities, which also means addressing the social factors that affect health; strengthening partnership working with service users, the community and voluntary sectors and other organisations; strengthening families and communities; supporting volunteering and making best use of our resources. Key points from the IPH summary include IPH welcome the Community Development Strategy as an approach to enhance health and wellbeing and tackle health inequalities in Northern Ireland.   IPH recommend the current three strategy documents (Full and summary versions and the Performance Management Framework) are merged into one document for greater clarity. Reference to the Performance Management Framework is required in the main body of the text is to ensure good practice is implemented. IPH welcome the focus on tackling health inequalities using community development approaches however the contribution of community development approaches needs to be highlighted. HIA is a tool to support community engagement and provides a mechanism for HSCB and PHA to support the implementation of this strategy.

IPH response to the Government Alcohol Advisory Group

The Institute of Public Health in Ireland (IPH) welcomes the call for submissions by the Government Alcohol Advisory Group and commends the Justice Minister, Brian Lenihan TD., for establishing this group. IPH aims to improve health on the island of Ireland, by working to combat health inequalities and influence public policies in favour of health.  IPH promotes cooperation between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland in research, training, information and policy.   A report from IPH, Inequalities in Mortality 1989-1998 – A report on all-Ireland mortality data found that those in the lowest occupational class are 280% more likely to die from alcohol abuse than those in the highest occupational class. The poorer you are the more likely your life will be negatively impacted by alcohol.  In addition, alcohol is a contributory factor to deaths from accidents, which also show a pronounced socio-economic gradient.

The Implamentation and Evaluation of a Framework Supporting Effective First Contact Care across the Southern Health & Social Services Board (PDF 278 KB)

Interim report on the Southern Health and Social Services Board's Community Nursing Strategy Pilot Project

Children Order Advisory Committee Sixth Report (PDF 821 KB)

Children Order Advisory Committee sixth report

The Children Order Advisory Committee (PDF 410 KB)

Fifth Report

Regional Advisory Committee on Cancer - Report on Oesophageal Cancer 2000 (PDF 4.0 Mb)

Regional Advisory Committee on Cancer - Report on Oesophageal Cancer 2000 (pdf 4000Kb)

Regional Advisory Committee on Cancer Third Report - November 2004 (PDF 166 KB)

The Regional Advisory Committee on Cancer (RACC) was established in 1997 to carry forward the recommendations of the 1996 Campbell Report and to provide advice to the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety on the future development of cancer services. (Appendix 1) The 27 members of RACC come from the Health and Social Services Councils (which represent the interests of the public), Trusts, Boards, primary care and the Department. Members are listed in Appendix 2 RACC held its first meeting in June 1997 and has continued to meet twice a year since then. The Northern Ireland Cancer Forum was established in 1999 and is a subgroup of RACC. It was recommended that a Forum should be developed to provide meeting point for all voluntary and statutory bodies dealing with cancer in Northern Ireland. The Forum has now met on seven occasions and continues to work well with a unity of purpose. åÊ åÊ

Regional Advisory Committee on Cancer - Report on Endocrine Cancer (September 2004) (PDF 144 KB)

There is already a good infrastructure for the management of endocrine cancer in Northern Ireland but to develop and strengthen it we recommend the following: • Increasing the already close cooperation between the individual parts of the service for endocrine cancer by use of shared protocols for assessment and follow up: • The main hub of management should remain at the RGH focussed on The Regional Centre for Endocrinology and Diabetes and the Endocrine Surgery department where there has been a long-term interest in the management of these patients. This includes a close working relationship between the endocrinologists and surgeon at the Belfast City Hospital. • This does not suggest that current developments of shared follow-up should not be encouraged. They should but with the provision of adequately resourced registers to allow adequate audit and to ensure adequate assessment of follow-up attendance. The issues regarding informed consent for such registers are currently being discussed for all forms of cancer. In the rarer conditions follow-up should remain central to allow adequate numbers and experience to maintain internationally recognisable outcomes and to allow training of future specialists to continue åÊ

Regional Advisory Committee on Cancer - Guidance for the Management of Haematological Cancer (September 2004) (PDF 163 KB)

Haematological cancers in adults include a range of diseases including leukaemias, lymphomas and myeloma, all of which differ in diagnosis and management. Collectively they account for about 1 in 14 cancers. This guidance provides a profile of the major haematological malignancies with brief reference to relevant epidemiological factors and management implications. It emphasises the collaborative and specialised nature of the clinical haematology service currently being delivered in the Cancer Centre and Cancer Units on a hub and spoke basis. The guidance sets out recommendations aimed at strengthening the current clinical service, which should continue to operate as a network, facilitating rapid referrals and the use of shared protocols. Specifically, it recommends that patients should be managed by a multi-disciplinary approach and that the provision of diagnostic facilities including radiological and cytogenetic analysis must be sufficient to provide high quality and timely information. åÊ

Regional Advisory Committee on Cancer - Report on Skin Cancer (September 2004) (PDF 201 KB)

Skin cancer is the diagnosis for about a quarter of all patients with cancer and because most of the work is done on an outpatient basis the true extent of the disease has largely gone unrecognised. Skin cancers are related to ultraviolet radiation exposure. Geographic latitude as well as attitude affects the amount of ultraviolet exposure and the risk of skin cancer, with people from Northern Ireland exposing themselves to higher levels of ultraviolet radiation when on holiday abroad and artificially from sunbeds. Ozone depletion is known to increase the risk of ultraviolet exposure and skin cancer. The majority of people living in Northern Ireland have pale skin and are at increased risk of developing skin cancer, as are some patients with an increased genetic risk for cancer. Some pre-existing skin lesions are known to increase the risk of developing skin cancer. Data collection on the incidence of non melanoma skin cancer in Northern Ireland was not available before the establishment of the Cancer Registry in 1993. There is however good data on the incidence of melanoma before that period. In 1974 there were 39 cases in melanoma in Northern Ireland, by 2000 this had risen by almost 500% to 185 cases. åÊ

Directory of Colon and Rectal Cancer Specialist Teams

The Directory of Colon and Rectal Cancer Specialist Teams has been produced under the auspices of the Northern Ireland Regional Advisory Committee on Cancer. It contains details of the full membership of the clinical teams providing care for colon and rectal cancer in each of Health and Social Services Board Area. Lead Clinicians For Colon and Rectal Cancer Services (PDF 74 KB) EHSSB (PDF 198 KB) NHSSB (PDF 107 KB) SHSSB (PDF 130 KB) WHSSB (PDF 131 KB)

Directory of Lung Cancer Specialist Teams

The Directory of Lung Cancer Specialist Teams has been produced under the auspices of the Northern Ireland Regional Advisory Committee on Cancer. It contains details of the full membership of the clinical teams providing care in each of Health and Social Services Board Area. Lead Clinicians for Lung Cancer Services (PDF 74 KB) EHSSB (PDF 140 KB) NHSSB (PDF 106 KB) SHSSB (PDF 115 KB) WHSSB (PDF 126 KB)