The Transforming Cancer Follow-up (TCFU) Project team has been awarded a prestigious Nursing Standard Award in cancer nursing. The TCFU team received the award at a special ceremony in London. Held annually, the Nursing Standard Awards identify exceptional nursing professionals, who have improved the quality of patient care through innovation and clinical excellence. Accepting the award, on behalf of the team of Macmillan Project Managers, PHA Nurse Consultant, Mary Jo Thompson, said:

Skin cancer is the most common type of cancer diagnosed in Northern Ireland, with around 3,550 cases every year. Today the Public Health Agency (PHA) and Cancer Focus Northern Ireland launched a new sun safety initiative to help people who work outdoors protect themselves from skin damage due to sun exposure.

Linking Generations NI (LGNI), with funding from the Public Health Agency (PHA), is coordinating a series of events to bring old and young people together to share their experiences. Over the next few weeks, almost 40 community and voluntary organisations are planning ‘Celebrating Age’ social activities in arts, cookery, bingo, tea parties, gardening and more to promote interaction between generations.

The Public Health Agency (PHA) has released the final report of the Outbreak Control Team (OCT) investigations into the outbreak of E. coli O157 associated with Flicks restaurant in Belfast during 2012. The response to control the outbreak was multi-agency, involving the PHA, Belfast City Council Environmental Health, Belfast Health and Social Care Trust and the Food Standards Agency. In addition, the OCT liaised closely with colleagues in the Health Protection Agency (now Public Health England).

The Public Health Agency (PHA) is launching seven new mobile breast screening units, the arrival of which marks the start of a new era for breast screening in Northern Ireland. They will be located across Northern Ireland and are fitted with the latest screening technology within a welcoming environment which will improve the overall breast screening experience for women.

Too much time sitting can be bad for your health and many of us spend a lot of our work hours at a desk, so the Public Health Agency (PHA) is encouraging everyone to get up and get more active throughout the day. Over three out of five of us are spending three or more hours in a sedentary position on weekdays, but with a few simple steps you can build moderate activity into your working day and reduce the amount of time sitting while still getting on with the job.

The Public Health Agency’s (PHA’s) Drug and Alcohol Monitoring and Information System (DAMIS) has been receiving reports of people across Northern Ireland experiencing unpleasant and potentially dangerous side effects after smoking synthetic cannabinoids, with a number of users having been hospitalised.The PHA is using its early warning system to raise awareness of the risks of this specific group of new emerging substances and is urging those who feel unwell after taking these drugs to seek medical help urgently.

An innovative learning programme is teaching parents that nursery rhymes aren’t just fun to sing with children but also have a positive impact on improving language skills. Developed by speech and language therapists in the South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust (SEHSCT) and funded by the Public Health Agency (PHA), the ‘2 Rhymes by 2’ project aims to encourage parents and carers to use rhymes like ‘Hey Diddle Diddle’ and ‘Round and Round the Garden’ as a way of interacting with their children to develop language skills.