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

GRAPHIC MESSAGES There are over 2,000 smoking-related deaths in Northern Ireland every year. These are avoidable. The government is now running a consultation around creating a smoke-free generation and tackling youth vaping. Make your voice heard and complete the survey at www.pha.site/smokefreeconsultation Have you had your say? The government is running a consultation on creating a smoke-free generation and tackling youth vaping. Don’t miss your chance to give your input. Find out more at www.pha.site/smokefreeconsultation Make your voice heard on the government’s ‘smoke-free generation’