From sunrise, be sunwise

With holiday time approaching and the hope of better weather to come, the Public Health Agency (PHA) continues to encourage everyone to be aware of the dangers of the sun. Skin cancer is the number one cancer in Northern Ireland and accounts for more than a quarter of all individuals diagnosed with cancer. Research shows there has been an increase in cases over the years of malignant melanoma, the least common but most serious form of skin cancer, with cases nearly trebling in 25 years.¹

Service development

PHA staff provide particular expertise on service evaluation and review, assessment of the health and wellbeing needs of the population, and evidence-based practice. They also have a key role in supporting the development, implementation and evaluation of regional service frameworks.

Screening

Population screening programmes have a key role to play in early detection of disease and a range of programmes are currently available in Northern Ireland. The PHA has responsibility for commissioning, coordinating and quality assuring these programmes.

NICORE

Neonatal Intensive Care Outcomes Research and Evaluation (NICORE) has been routinely collecting data on neonatal units in Northern Ireland since 1994. We use this data to monitor a number of key quality markers and to ensure consistently high standards of care so that all babies admitted to a neonatal unit in Northern Ireland will benefit. The NICORE database is an important source of information which allows:

NIMACH (Northern Ireland Maternal and Child Health)

NIMACH (Northern Ireland Maternal and Child Health) collects and analyses data in support of Clinical Outcome Review Programmes.

The Clinical Outcome Review Programmes (previously known as confidential enquiries), are designed to help assess the quality of healthcare, and stimulate improvement in safety and effectiveness by systematically enabling clinicians, managers and policy makers to learn from adverse events and other relevant data. The programmes have a key role in supporting local, continuous improvements to service quality.

Newborn screening

Newborn screening in Northern Ireland

During the first few weeks after your baby is born, they will be offered a blood spot screening test and hearing screening test. These tests form the Northern Ireland newborn screening programmes.

  • Newborn hearing screening programme (NHSP)
  • Newborn blood spot screening programme known as 'Heel prick'
  • Physical examination
     

Click below for more information on the screening programmes:

Cervical cancer screening

The aim of the cervical cancer screening programme is to reduce the number of women who develop cervical cancer and the number of women who die from it.

It tries to do this by testing as many women as possible, examining the test results and referring the women for further treatment if any early warning signs are present.

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