Figures published today by the Public Health Agency (PHA) have shown that in the five years since ‘Take Home Naloxone’ was introduced in Northern Ireland, the potentially life-saving medicine has been administered 112 times and has been successful in reversing an overdose on 98 occasions.

Naloxone is a medication designed to rapidly reverse opioid overdose. It can very quickly restore normal respiration to a person whose breathing has slowed or stopped as a result of overdosing with heroin or prescription opioid pain medications.

Over the summer holidays many families will be heading off camping, caravanning or boating, so the Public Health Agency (PHA) is reminding people of the danger of carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning in enclosed spaces.

A Supplier Engagement Meeting for the Lifeline Crisis Response Service (LCRS) was held on Monday 3 July 2017. The presentation, along with the minutes of the meeting, are now available on the PHA website.

The Public Health Agency (PHA) and Cancer Focus Northern Ireland have developed a short video, ‘Percy Piglet and the Summer’, to educate young children about how to take care in the sun.

Using puppets, the video is a fun tool for parents, nurseries and play groups to engage with children age 3-6 years on sun protection. The video, accompanied by a colourful book, is aimed at young children and early years groups and is available at https://careinthesun.org/resources/video/

The Public Health Agency (PHA) is reminding everyone of the importance of getting the MMR vaccine after it was notified of a small number of measles cases in Northern Ireland and an increase of cases in other countries.
The MMR vaccine can help protect against the mumps, measles and rubella. Children should receive one dose of the MMR vaccine just after their first birthday and a second dose at aged three years and four months. The vaccine is the safest and most effective way to prevent measles infection.