Acute Hospital Portfolio - Accicent & Emergency in Northern Ireland Regional Summary (PDF 80 KB)

October 2003 - main findings arising from the study and the key conclusions

Rehabilitation Services for Older People Regional Report (PDF 397 KB)

March 2004 - main findings, key recommendations and the way forward

Acute Hospital Portfolio - Day Surgery in Northern Ireland Regional Summary (PDF 80 KB)

October 2003 - main findings arising from the study and the key conclusions

Mental Health Services for Older People Regional Summary (PDF 217 KB)

June 2004 - study to examine service provision, early identification, information and support, co-ordination of services and strategic planning

Mental Health Services Follow Up Regional Summary (PDF 186 KB)

June 2004 - main findings on progress arising from follow-up, emerging issues, key conclusions

Mental Health Services in NI VFM Review Regional Summary (PDF 1650 KB)

June 2000 - to review whether the strategy for mental health services is based on clearly defined needs

Flexible employment and cross- regional adjustment

Employment flexibility is commonly associated to greater labour mobility and thus faster cross-regional adjustments. The literature however offers very little hard evidence on this and quite limited theoretical guidance. This paper examines empirically the relationship between employment flexibility and cross-regional adjustment (migration) at the regional and local levels in the UK. Employment flexibility is associated to higher labour mobility (but only at a rather localised scale) and at the same time seems to reduce the responsiveness of migration to unemployment. This suggest that rising flexibility may be linked to higher persistence in spatial disparities, as intra-regional adjustments are strengthened while extraregional adjustments weakened. Keywords: Employment flexibility, regional migration, labour market adjustment JEL Codes: R11, R23, J08, J61

Radiology Services in NI Follow Up Regional Summary (PDF 1243 KB)

Report Published June 2001 - Contains key recommendations and the way forward

District Nursing Services in Northern Ireland Follow Up Regional Report (PDF 1080 KB)

District Nursing Services in Northern Ireland Follow Up Regional Report

Regional Redesign of Community Nursing Project (PDF 447 KB)

Report describing the regional redesign of community nursing project commissioned by DHSSPS Nursing and Advisory Group in 2004

Regional Redesign of Community Nursing Project Final Report (PDF 467 KB)

Report on the regional redesign of community nursing project by Deloitte

District Nursing Services in Northern Ireland Regional Summary (PDF 1.92mb)

District Nursing Services in Northern Ireland Regional Summary Health Services Audit

Heterogeneity of human monocytes: an optimized four-color flow cytometry protocol for analysis of monocyte subsets.

Monocytes are central mediators in the development of atherosclerotic plaques. They circulate in blood and eventually migrate into tissue including the vessel wall where they give rise to macrophages and dendritic cells. The existence of monocyte subsets with distinct roles in homeostasis and inflammation suggests specialization of function. These subsets are identified based on expression of the CD14 and CD16 markers. Routinely applicable protocols remain elusive, however. Here, we present an optimized four-color flow cytometry protocol for analysis of human blood monocyte subsets using a specific PE-Cy5-conjugated monoclonal antibody (mAb) to HLA-DR, a PE-Cy7-conjugated mAb to CD14, a FITC-conjugated mAb to CD16, and PE-conjugated mAbs to additional markers relevant to monocyte function. Classical CD14(+)CD16(-) monocytes (here termed "Mo1" subset) expressed high CCR2, CD36, CD64, and CD62L, but low CX(3)CR1, whereas "nonclassical" CD14(lo)CD16(+) monocytes (Mo3) essentially showed the inverse expression pattern. CD14(+)CD16(+) monocytes (Mo2) expressed high HLA-DR, CD36, and CD64. In patients with stable coronary artery disease (n = 13), classical monocytes were decreased, whereas "nonclassical" monocytes were increased 90% compared with healthy subjects with angiographically normal coronary arteries (n = 14). Classical monocytes from CAD patients expressed higher CX(3)CR1 and CCR2 than controls. Thus, stable CAD is associated with expansion of the nonclassical monocyte subset and increased expression of inflammatory markers on monocytes. Flow cytometric analysis of monocyte subsets and marker expression may provide valuable information on vascular inflammation. This may translate into the identification of monocyte subsets as selective therapeutic targets, thus avoiding adverse events associated with indiscriminate monocyte inhibition.