Weaning made easy: moving from milk to family meals

This booklet provides advice about the stages involved in helping babies make the move from milk only to joining in family meals.

Weaning made easy moving from milk to family meals (English and translations)

As a parent you want the best start for your baby. What your child eats and drinks is important for his/her health now and in the future. The information in this leaflet may be quite different from what you have read before, or what your friends or family may tell you they did. New research is constantly being carried out into infant nutrition and the information and advice in this leaflet is based on up-to-date scientific evidence. It will help you make sure that your child is getting a good start. (Note: translations are of the 2007 version)

Guidelines for the provision of temporary drinking water supplies at events in Northern Ireland

This guidance is intended for use by organisers of events such as music festivals or agricultural shows where a temporary water supply may be required. It applies to all events that may require a connection to a new water supply as well as events that may require a connection to an existing supply, e.g. annual events taking place on the same showground.

IPH response to DHSSPS Consultation on a ten year breastfeeding strategy for Northern Ireland 2012-2022

The Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety invited submissions on the development of a new ten-year Breastfeeding Strategy for Northern Ireland 2012-2022 between May and September 2012. The draft Breastfeeding Strategy 2012 – 2022 proposes further action in relation to breastfeeding and aims to protect, promote, support and normalise breastfeeding within the population of Northern Ireland. Key points from IPH response IPH welcomes the commitment by the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to develop a comprehensive long-term strategy to support women in Northern Ireland to breastfeed. The timeframe provides scope for developing clear long-term targets and actions and the embedding of breastfeeding culture into allied services, policies and programmes throughout Northern Ireland. The draft strategy’s recognition of the potential of breastfeeding as a means for tackling health inequalities forms a central theme of the IPH submission IPH welcomes the success achieved to date in improving breastfeeding. However, it is clear that the overall breastfeeding rate in Northern Ireland still lags behind the rest of the UK. Inequalities in breastfeeding rates remain an ongoing concern. IPH emphasises the importance of integrating the actions of the breastfeeding strategy with the strategic direction of overall public health policy in particular the forthcoming Fit and Well policy framework and early years strategies. IPH welcomes the inclusion of stipulations regarding weaning practices as an important component of the vision and one which, if achieved, will maximize the benefits from improving breastfeeding rates and duration.

Regional Advisory Committee on Cancer - Second Report 2002 (PDF 132 KB)

Regional Advisory Committee on Cancer (RACC) was established in 1997 to carry forward the recommendations of the Campbell Report of 1996 and to provide advice to the Department of Health and Social Services on the future development of cancer services. The Committee meets twice a year and its membership (Appendix I) is an indication of the wide range of interests involved in Cancer Care across the community. This report records some of the key developments in cancer services over the last 3 years. åÊ Significant progress has been made toward developing a high quality and integrated cancer care network. All five Cancer Units are now operational with chemotherapy and outpatient services for the most common forms of cancer are delivered from these locations. Agreement to the start of the new Cancer Centre, at the Belfast City Hospital, currently estimated to cost å£58m, is expected shortly. As a temporary expedient two additional therapy machines will be installed in Belvoir Park Hospital to increase capacity while the building of the new Cancer Centre proceeds. åÊ To deliver high quality cancer care the workforce needs to continue to expand. This requires increasing investment in the training of professional staff in the context of an already difficult HPSS labour market. The development of the five Cancer Units has increased staff mobility in the short-term, drawing skilled staff away from the centre who have been difficult to replace. At the same time increasing numbers of patients are being offered effective therapies at both the Cancer Units and the Centre. åÊ This report contains a review of selected developments in cancer care. The first section introduces the Memorandum of Understanding and the Tripartite Agreement between the National Cancer Institute of the USA and the Health Departments both North and South. This is a unique international partnership, which promises to bring very significant advantages to both the service and research communities across the Island. åÊ åÊ åÊ

454 Users Successfully 'weaned off' Methadone

A total of 454 methadone users successfully completed treatment programmes aimed at weaning them off the heroin substitute last year - but more than 2,000 others left the state's maintenance programme during the same period for a variety of reasons, new figures have revealed. According to statistics released under the Freedom of Information Act, there were 9,760 methadone users around the country last year, with the majority in the Dublin area. However, over 2,778 clients of the methadone maintenance service left the HSE's central treatment lists during the year. A summary of the reasons reveals that in 1,268 instances, they did so after either being released or committed to prison.This resource was contributed by The National Documentation Centre on Drug Use.