As the festive party season gets in to full swing, the Public Health Agency (PHA) is reminding everyone of the potential dangers of mixing alcohol and drugs. Most fatal overdoses involve the use of more than one type of drug and any combination of prescription drugs, over-the-counter drugs, illicit drugs and alcohol can be dangerous. Kevin Bailey, Regional Lead for Drugs and Alcohol at the PHA, said: “All too often we see families affected by loved ones becoming seriously unwell or dying due to drugs. Particularly at this time of year, we are urging people to stay safe and avoid taking risks

With five specialist perinatal mental health care teams now operating, the Public Health Agency (PHA) is encouraging new and expectant mothers in need of support to avail of the service. Five Community Specialist Perinatal Mental Health Teams are in place across Health and Social Care Trusts in Northern Ireland with the aim of providing an holistic assessment and treatment plan carried out by a multidisciplinary specialist team. Deirdre Webb, Assistant Director for Public Health Nursing for Children and Young People at the PHA, said: “Perinatal mental health teams are actively accepting

The Boulevard Outlet in Banbridge has become the latest organisation to join the Public Health Agency’s (PHA) Breastfeeding Welcome Here scheme – a programme that aims to increase the number of premises which actively show support to breastfeeding mums. This new membership represents a huge support network to breastfeeding mums visiting the centre and becomes part of over 800 businesses, local government facilities and community organisations who have joined Breastfeeding Welcome Here. In joining this scheme, The Boulevard has pledged that: breastfeeding is welcome across all areas of its

Rosetta Primary School in Belfast got into the festive spirit by taking part in the Daily Mile Santa Run, complete with Christmas jumpers. The Daily Mile Network in Northern Ireland hosted an event on Friday 1 December encouraging schools across the region to get moving and talking about physical and mental health. The Daily Mile can be done alongside the Active School Travel (AST) programme which is funded by Public Health Agency (PHA) and Department for Infrastructure and delivered by Sustrans. Dr Hannah McCourt, Senior Health and Social Wellbeing Improvement Officer with PHA, said: “It’s

Living Well community pharmacies are backing a call for people to look after their mental health this December and January. Across the two months, the pharmacies involved are encouraging people to ‘take 5 steps to wellbeing’ and show the same level of care for their mental health as they do for their physical health. The ‘Take 5’ approach encourages building healthy habits into your everyday life to help bolster your emotional and mental wellbeing. Fiona Teague, Regional Lead for Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing at the Public Health Agency (PHA), said: “Looking after your mental health

An Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA) is a potentially fatal condition which can particularly affect older men, but can be detected with a simple ultrasound screening test. In Northern Ireland, the AAA Screening Programme offers this test to men in the year they turn 65. The success of the programme, in detecting and successfully managing this condition, has been highlighted at an event in Belfast attended by men who have taken part in screening. The AAA Screening Programme’s eleventh annual service user event in Belfast brought together a wide range of healthcare professionals and men who have

On World AIDS Day, the Public Health Agency (PHA) is celebrating the huge progress made with HIV. There are excellent treatments available for HIV which mean that someone who is diagnosed early can live a healthy life. Treatment for HIV also stops transmission – if you are on effective treatment, you can’t pass it on. This is known as U=U – an undetectable viral load means the virus is untransmissible. The latest figures, published today [1 December] in the ‘HIV surveillance in Northern Ireland 2022’ report, show there are 1,348 people in Northern Ireland living with HIV and accessed HIV

Those who have never received the measles vaccine are being encouraged to do so as soon as possible by the Public Health Agency (PHA) to reduce their risk in the lead up to Christmas. Following a rise in measles cases in England, the PHA is reminding everyone that if you’re planning on travelling this festive period to make sure you and your loved ones are up-to-date with your measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccination. Measles is an acute infection caused by a virus that spreads very easily. It used to be very common in children, but following the introduction of the MMR vaccine, cases fell