From tomorrow, Wednesday 9 March, Health and Social Care (HSC) sites across Northern Ireland will go smoke free. The move coincides with No Smoking Day, and means that smoking will not be allowed by staff, patients, contractors or visitors on any HSC premises. This major step by the Health and Social Care system is leading the way, helping to change the culture and highlight where smoking is unacceptable.

Improving palliative care services for everyone living with an advanced progressive condition in Northern Ireland was in the spotlight at Stormont with the announcement of the Regional Palliative Care Programme Priorities for the next 12 months. The event, hosted by the Public Health Agency (PHA), the Health and Social Care Board (HSCB) and supported by Marie Curie, outlined the key priorities and processes proposed to advance the delivery and understanding of palliative care.

The Public Health Agency (PHA) today [Tuesday 08 March] launched three new research studies which aim to reduce suicide and parental alcohol misuse. The studies are part of the PHA’s Research and Development (R&D) Division’s commissioned programmes and were carried out by researchers in the Bamford Centre for Mental Health and Wellbeing at Ulster University and at Queen’s University Belfast.

It’s Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, so the Public Health Agency (PHA) is highlighting the key signs and symptoms of ovarian cancer and is urging women to talk to their GP if they think something is wrong.

The Public Health Agency (PHA) is using Self-Harm Awareness Day (1 March) as an opportunity to encourage people who are affected by self-harm to seek help. Self-harm is when a person harms themselves through injury or poisoning. People self-harm for various reasons and are usually experiencing severe emotional distress. For some people, self-harm is a way of coping with and communicating their distress but for others it can be associated with a wish to end their lives and therefore it should always be taken seriously.

On this extra day of the leap year, the Public Health Agency (PHA) is launching a new obesity prevention campaign making people aware of the consequences of eating ‘extras’. A new TV ad will be on our screens from tonight showing how eating just an extra 100 Calories each day more than your body needs – around one and a half digestive biscuits or just six extra chips – could add up to 10lb of weight gain per year, impacting on your health and wellbeing.