Improving services for general paediatric surgery (PDF 97KB)

Policy and Standards of Care for Paediatric ENT Surgery in Northern Ireland

Patterns of sex work contact among men in the general population of Switzerland, 1987-2000

OBJECTIVES: To analyse the prevalence of lifetime recourse to prostitution (LRP) among men in the general population of Switzerland from a trend and cohort perspective. METHODS: Using nine repeated representative cross-sectional surveys from 1987 to 2000, age-specific estimates of LRP were computed. Trends and period effect were analysed as the evolution of cross-sectional population estimates within age groups and overall. Cohort analysis relied on cohorts constructed from the 1989 survey and followed in subsequent waves. Age and cohort effects were modelled using logistic regression and non-parametric monotone regression. RESULTS: Whereas prevalence for the younger groups was found to be logically lower, there was no consistent increasing or decreasing trend over the years; there was no significant period effect. For the 17-30 year age group, the mean estimate over 1987-2000 was 11.5% (range 8.3 to 12.7%); for the 31-45 year group, the mean was 21.5% (range over 1989-2000 20.3 to 23.0%). Regarding cohort analysis, the prevalence of LRP was found to increase steeply in the youngest ages before reaching a plateau near the age of 40 years. At the age of 43 years, the prevalence was estimated to be 22.6% (95% CI 21.1% to 24.1%). CONCLUSIONS: The steep increase in the cohort-wise prevalence of LRP in younger ages calls for a concentration of prevention activities in young people. If the plateauing at approximately 40 years of age is not followed by a further increase later in life, which is not known, then consumers of paid sex would be repeat buyers only, a fact that should be taken into account by prevention.

TT virus infection in children and adults who visited a general hospital in the south of Brazil for routine procedure

TT virus (TTV) is a newly described nonenveloped human virus, with a circular, negative-stranded DNA genome, that was first identified in the blood of a patient with posttransfusion hepatitis of unknown etiology. PCR primers and conditions used for TTV DNA amplification may greatly influence the level of TTV detection in serum. Three PCR assays, with different regions of the genome as targets, were used to test TTV DNA in 130 sera from children and adults visiting a hospital in the south of Brazil, most of them for routine procedure. Forty-four percent of adult sera and 73% of sera from children aged 0-10 years were TTV positive with at least one PCR assay. However, the three assays were able to detect only 33%, 35%, and 70% of the total positive samples. Our results showed a high prevalence of TTV infection in the south of Brazil, particularly among young children, and confirmed the necessity of performing several PCR assays to assess the true TTV prevalence in a determined population.

General Palliative Care Guidance for Control of Pain in Patients with Cancer (PDF 56 KB)

This document is intended to be a practical clinical guideline for the control of pain in patients with cancer. Its target group is hospital staff, primary care team members and nursing home staff. It attempts to apply the clinical principles outlined in the document 'Control of Pain in Patients with Cancer' published by "Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network" (SIGN). This document has been adapted with the permission of SIGN. Rigour of Development A full evidence based reference list is available with the SIGN document. This can be accessed at www.sign.ac.uk. Contents not based on the SIGN document are referenced separately. This document has been developed as one part of the recommendations identified in the Regional Review of Palliative Care Services, 'Partnerships in Caring'. The development of these Pain Guidelines was led by the Northern Ireland Group of the National Council for Hospice and Specialist Palliative Care, whose membership is detailed in Appendix 4. They will be reviewed and updated in two years. A wide consultation process with potential users was undertaken. åÊ åÊ

Oral Health Strategy - General Dental Services (PDF 397KB)

Equality Impact Assessments

Visió general i anàlisi de xarxes socials

El projecte realitza una visió general de les xarxes socials que existeixen actualment a Internet i analitza detalladament les característiques de set xarxes molt importants (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, V Kontakte, MySpace, Tuenti, Flickr) amb l'únic objectiu de facilitar a l'usuari habitual la millor selecció pels seus interessos.

Oral Health Strategy - General Dental Services (PDF 121 KB)

Equality Impact Assessments

Oral Health Strategy - General Dental Services - Preliminary Consultation Report (PDF 144 KB)

Equality Impact Assessments

Equality Impact Assessments - Oral Health Strategy - General Dental Services - May 2001 (PDF 72KB)

In 1998, a new law came into force in Northern Ireland – the Northern Ireland Act 1998. Section 75 of the Act places a legal obligation on each public authority to have due regard to the need to promote equality of opportunity: • between persons of different religious belief, political opinion, racial group, age, marital status or sexual orientation; • between men and women generally; • between persons with a disability and persons without; and • between persons with dependants and persons without. åÊ

Monaghan General Hospital - Proposals for further and future development

Monaghan General Hospital – Proposals for further and future development The Independent Review Panel recommended a review of the existing protocol for emergency obstetric cases presenting at Hospitals such as Monaghan which have no on-site obstetric expertise, and the implementation of a revised protocol. They also recommended that each maternity incident should be reviewed by a multidisciplinary team from the Cavan Monaghan Group. Click here to download PDF 49kb Appendix PDF 2.5mb

Monaghan General Hospital - Proposals for further and future development

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Listeriosis invasiva en un hospital general: rasgos diferenciales de los pacientes con cáncer

Aquest estudi es va dissenyar amb l’objectiu de comparar les característiques dels malalts amb càncer respecte als malalts sense càncer, amb listeriosis invasiva. No es van detectar diferencies en les característiques basals dels malalts. La forma de presentació més freqüent en els malalts oncològics va ser la bacterièmia, i en els malalts no oncològics, la infecció del sistema nerviós central. El grup de malalts amb càncer va tenir un mortalitat superior. Cap de les diferencies va ser estadísticament significativa, probablement pel baix nombre de malalts, però les dades coincideixen amb la literatura.

Evaluation of pilot initiatives undertaken in the North Eastern and South Eastern Health Boards on the provision of General Practitioner out-of-hours services in those areas

To assess the efficiency and effectiveness of the management, administrative and support structures for the General Practitioner out-of-hours pilot projects in the North Eastern and South Eastern Health Boards having regard to value for money and service enhancement considerations Download the Report here

Methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) in general practice or in specialized centers: profile of patients in the Swiss Canton of Vaud.

We studied profile of patients (n=1782) treated in specialized centers and general practice (GP) enrolled in methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) programs during 2001 in the Swiss Canton of Vaud. We found that GPs treated the majority of patients (76%). Specialized centers treated a higher proportion of patients with uncontrolled intravenous use of cocaine and heroin, and prescribed neuroleptics as concomitant medication three times more frequently than GPs. Patients treated in specialized centers were more likely to undergo screening for HIV, HBV, HCV, and receive complete HBV immunization. In conclusion, specialized centers are more likely to treat severely addicted patients and patients with a poor global assessment (physical, psychiatric, and social).