Personality Disorder: A Diagnosis for Inclusion - The Northern Ireland Personality Disorder Strategy - The Way Forward - June 2010

Personality Disorder: A Diagnosis for Inclusion - The Northern Ireland Personality Disorder Strategy - The Way Forward - June 2010

Guidance on Discharge from Hospital and the Continuing Care in the Community of People with a Mental Disorder who could Represent a Risk of Serious Physical Harm to Themselves or Others (PDF 985 KB)

Guidance on Discharge from Hospital and the Continuing Care in the Community of People with a Mental Disorder who could Represent a Risk of Serious Physical Harm to Themselves or Others

Eating Disorder Services - Consultation Paper (PDF 98KB)

Eating disorders have one of the highest levels of mortality of any psychiatric illness. Around 0.6% of all those with anorexia nervosa die per year giving a cumulative life time mortality of between 5%-20%. Eating disorders are also associated with high levels of psychiatric and physical complications. The physical complications are often irreversible, lead to multiple medical investigations and have significant resource implications in their management. åÊ

Poots launches £18m state-of-the-art Telemonitoring NI service

Health Minister Edwin Poots today marked the roll-out of a ground-breaking hi-tech scheme which will enable more patients to monitor their health in their own homes. Following funding of £18m from the Department of Health, the newly named Centre for Connected Health and Social Care (CCHSC), part of the Public Health Agency, worked in partnership with business consortium TF3to establish the innovative Telemonitoring NI service. The service is now being delivered by the TF3 consortium in partnership with the Health and Social Care Trusts.Remote telemonitoring combines technology and services that enable patients with chronic diseases to test their vital signs such as pulse, blood pressure, body weight, temperature, blood glucose and oxygen levels at home on a daily basis. The service will now be rolled out to 3,500 patients across Northern Ireland per annum for a period of six years.Mr Poots today visited the home of Larne pensioner Michael Howard who has Chronic Pulmonary Obstructive Disorder (COPD) to hear how Telemonitoring NI has changed his life.During the visit Mr Poots said: "Chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes and COPD affect around three quarters of people over the age of 75. This is the generation from whom transport and mobility pose the biggest problems. The Telemonitoring NI service will allow thousands to monitor their vital signs without having to leave their own homes."It means that patients are able to understand and manage their condition better. Many say it has improved their confidence and given them peace of mind. With a health professional monitoring each patient's health on a daily basis, there is less need for hospital admission. Carers are also better informed with the pro-active support provided. It means earlier intervention in, and the prevention of, deterioration of condition, acute illness and hospital admissions."Telemonitoring NI is an excellent example of how the Health Service can innovateusing modern technology to deliver a better service for our patients."Eddie Ritson, Programme Director of CCHSC, PHA, said: "The roll-out of Telemonitoring NI represents a significant step towards providing quality care for the growing number of people with heart disease, stroke, some respiratory conditions and diabetes who want to live at home while having their conditions safely managed."This new service will give people more information which combined with timely advice will enable patients to gain more control over their health while supporting them to live independently in their own homes for longer."A patient will take their vital sign measurements at home, usually on a daily basis. and these will automatically be transmited to the Tf3 system. The resulting readings are monitored centrally by a healthcare professional working in the Tf3 triage team. If the patient's readings show signs of deterioration to an unacceptable level, they will be contacted by phone by a nurse working in a central team and if appropriate a healthcare professional in the patient's local Trust will be alerted to enable them to take appropriate action."Families and carers will also benefit from the reassurance that chronic health conditions are being closely monitored on an ongoing basis. The information collected through the service can also be used by doctors, nurses and patients in making decisions on how individual cases should be managed. "Using the service, Mr Howard, 71, who has emphysema - a long-term, progressive disease of the lungs that primarily causes shortness of breath - monitors his vital signs using the new technology every weekday morning. The information is monitored centrally and if readings show signs of deterioration to an unacceptable level, Mr Howard's local healthcare professional is alerted."Taking my readings is such a simple process but one that gives me huge benefits as it is an early warning system to me and also for the specialist nurses in charge of my care. Without the remote telemonitoring I would be running back and forward to the GPs' surgery all the time to have things checked out," he explained."Having my signs monitored by a nurse means any changes in my condition are dealt with immediately and this has prevented me from being admitted to hospital - in the past I've had to spend six days in hospital any time I'm admitted with a chest infection."The telemonitoring is not only reassuring for me, it also gives me more control over managing my own condition and as a result I have less upheaval in my life, and I'm less of a cost to the health care system. Most importantly, it gives me peace of mind and one less thing to worry about at my age."Patients seeking further information about the new telemonitoring service should contact their healthcare professional.

The problem of Antimicrobial Resistance in the food chain

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) associated with the food chain is currently a subject of major interest to many food chain stakeholders. In response safefood commissioned this report to update our knowledge of this area and to raise awareness of the issue. Its primary focus is on the food chain where it impacts consumer health. This review will inform and underpin any future action to be taken by safefood with regard to AMR.

Consumer Focused Review of the Chicken Food Chain

safefood research into consumer concerns about the food chain has indicated that more than 40 per centof consumers are most concerned aboutchicken in terms of how it is produced, packaged, sold and handled at home. Our review of theindustry foundit was highly regulated while adhering to rigorous international standards. This review found that chicken is the main protein source for many consumers on the island of Ireland. It alsooutlined the need for consumers to ensure that chicken is cooked andhandled properly to avoid food borne illnesses.

Consumer Focused Review of the Finfish Food Chain

Our review into the finfish food chain on the island of irelandrevealed that despite a highly regulated industry producing a very nutritious food source, the consumption of fish remains low and consumer barriers to purchasing and eating fish still remain.

A Review of the Milk Supply Chain

The milk review revealed that young women and teenage girls should increase their consumption of milk to improve their calcium intake. It highlighted that consumers have few concerns with regard to the safety of milk and the industry enforcement controls that are in place.

Consumer Focused Review of the Pork Supply Chain

Pig meat production was valued at €290 (£198) million at farm gate in Republic of Ireland (ROI) in 2007. In Northern Ireland (NI) in 2006, pig meat was estimated to account for almost seven percent of gross turnover in the food and drinks processing sector at £190 (€280) million. Whilst researching for this report it emerged that comparable figures for the value of the pig meat industry on ROI and NI are not available. This report showed that pig production on the IOI has changed from a small-scale enterprise carried out by a large number of mixed farmers to a modern industry comprised of a small number of specialist producers operating large-scale units. Most products for retailers are prepared and packed in specialised cutting and processing units which may or may not be integrated in the slaughter plant. For some pork products, various additives such as salt, herbs and flavour enhancers are added. Pork products are then stored and transported, frozen or chilled to wholesale, retail and catering facilities for ultimate sale to consumers.

Amphetamines for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in adults.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a childhood onset psychiatric disorder that can persist into adulthood in up to 50% of patients. From a clinical point of view, ADHD is characterized by hyperactivity, mood instability, irritability, difficulties in maintaining attention, lack of organization and impulsive behaviours. The presence of other disorders occurring at the the same time is also common, especially mood disorders and substance abuse. It seems that amphetamines could reverse the underlying neurological problems that feature in ADHD, and so improve ADHD symptoms. We found seven studies, which enrolled 1091 patients. These studies compared amphetamines to placebo and three of them also compared amphetamines with other drugs: guanfacine, modafinil and paroxetine. Three amphetamine derivatives were investigated: dexamphetamine, lisdexamphetamine and mixed amphetamine salts (MAS). Treatment length ranged from two to 20 weeks. All amphetamines improved ADHD symptoms but overall they did not make people more likely to stay in treatment and were associated with a higher risk of treatment ending early due to adverse events. One type of amphetamine, mixed amphetamine salts, did, however, increase retention in treatment. We found no evidence that higher doses worked better than lower ones. We did not find any difference in effectiveness between immediate-release and sustained-release formulations. Therefore, it appears that short-term treatment with amphetamines reduces ADHD symptoms, but studies assessing the effects of amphetamines for longer periods of time are needed.This resource was contributed by The National Documentation Centre on Drug Use.