Although it’s not unusual to have cases of the winter vomiting bug also known as norovirus at this time of the year, the Public Health Agency (PHA) would like to remind the public of the simple, practical steps to minimise the risk of illness to others, especially older people and those with underlying conditions who may be more vulnerable. Dr Gillian Armstrong, Interim Head of Health Protection at the PHA, said: “The winter vomiting virus is a frequent hazard to health that causes unpleasant and brief illness for many people. The most commonly reported symptoms are nausea, vomiting and

Lifeline, Northern Ireland’s free-phone crisis counselling helpline, received over 44,000 calls in 2021, with approximately 3,670 calls per month - an average of one call to Lifeline every 12 minutes last year. Lifeline is the regional crisis intervention service that supports people experiencing distress or despair and is available for people of all ages, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, where all the calls are answered by qualified crisis counsellors. Over the past year, the top three issues that people called the Lifeline service for support for included experiencing thoughts of suicide

This winter, the Public Health Agency (PHA), in partnership with councils across Northern Ireland is encouraging everyone to take measures to reduce the risk of falls at home. Falls can be very serious, resulting in pain, injury and sometimes death. Therefore it is really important to identify factors that can increase the risk of falls and take action to reduce the risk of them happening. Hilary Johnston, Health and Social Wellbeing Improvement Manager with the PHA, said: “Falls can have huge consequences including pain, injury, distress, loss of confidence and loss of independence. “Many

Ahead of the introduction of new smoking regulations in Northern Ireland, the Public Health Agency (PHA) is urging smokers to use the upcoming change of rules as motivation to quit smoking. From 1 February, regulations will extend current smoke-free provisions to private vehicles where children and young people aged under 18 are present, when there is more than one person in the vehicle, and the vehicle is enclosed. It will be an offence to smoke in such a vehicle and will also be an offence for a driver to fail to prevent smoking in a smoke-free private vehicle. In addition, from the same

During Cervical Cancer Prevention Week (17-23 January), the Public Health Agency (PHA) is highlighting the importance of women attending for cervical screening when invited. Statistics show that between 2015 and 2020 in Northern Ireland, there was an average of 83 women diagnosed with cervical cancer each year and around 20 deaths per year. “It is really important for women to accept their invitation for the screening test – it could save your life,” Dr Tracy Owen, Interim Assistant Director of Public Health - Screening and Professional Standards at the PHA, said. “Cervical screening aims to

The Public Health Agency (PHA), together with charity Age NI and the Northern Ireland Frailty Network, have launched a major public information initiative targeted at boosting the health and wellbeing of older people in 2022. 140,000 householders aged 65-74 and individuals aged 75+ are being gifted a 2022 wellbeing calendar packed with expert advice, information and resources aimed at supporting older people to keep well. Aidan Dawson, Chief Executive of the PHA said: “The calendar is filled with information, from healthy eating guides to home-based exercises, and from winter wellbeing to

Changes have been announced on self-isolation for COVID-19 cases in Northern Ireland. Cases will now be able to end isolation after seven days instead of ten provided they have negative lateral flow results on day six and day seven, with tests taken 24 hours apart. The first test must be taken no earlier than day six of the self-isolation period. If the lateral flow tests are positive individuals must continue to isolate for the full 10 days. The Department of Health has agreed the new approach, which reflects latest evidence on how long cases shed the virus and can infect others and the

The Public Health Agency (PHA) is urging members of the public to only book PCR tests when necessary. The call comes as record numbers of people have been tested this week – for example, over 21,000 tests were done on Monday 27 th December. The agency has also put in place new PCR testing protocols to help protect the testing system in Northern Ireland and ensure availability of testing for those who need it. Dr Bríd Farrell, Deputy Director of Public Health at the PHA, said: “As Omicron continues to spread in Northern Ireland, we are seeing the expected rapid increase in the number of people

The Public Health Agency (PHA) is urging members of the public who test positive for COVID-19 over the festive period to work with its Contact Tracing Service (CTS) to help prevent further spread of the virus, particularly given the increasing prevalence of the Omicron variant. Dr Elizabeth Mitchell, Director of CTS at the PHA, said: “We know that the last thing people want to think about at this time of year is COVID-19, but unfortunately coronavirus doesn’t take a Christmas break. The Contact Tracing Service won’t be taking a break either though, and we will be here to work with people to