Author Archives: Valerie

SHSCT Step 2 Drug & Alcohol Service

Posted on by

PHA commissions a Step 2 Alcohol and Drugs Service for adults 18+ years across the Southern Trust area. It replaces the previous ‘Step 2’ service that was provided by Southern HSC Trust.

The Step 2 service offers intervention for adults who drink alcohol at hazardous or harmful levels (scoring 16-19 or 20+ on AUDIT) and adults with harmful drug use. The level of use can be indicated on the referral form or assessed by the Step 2 service.

A second component of the new Step 2 service is the provision of support for family members in their own right, whether or not their relative is accessing treatment for their use of alcohol or drugs.

All service details, including referral forms for individuals and for family members, are online at Alcohol and Drugs support for people in Southern HSC area.

Self referrals are accepted however I encourage you to refer people for whom this valuable service can provide professional patient centred support to meet their needs. The Step 2 service also provides interpreting support for those who require it while accessing the service. Consent is required from the patient and the referral form should be submitted with as much detail as known at the time of referral.

Should you wish to discuss the Step 2 service or signpost patients you can;

Email: step2Partnership@dunlewey.org or Telephone: 07591 834 468 (Katrina)

The Southern Area Drug and Alcohol Service Directory can be accessed here (https://drugsandalcoholni.info/the-ni-dacts/sdact/)

Should your practice wish to learn more about services available locally, you can contact our Connections team by emailing connections@sdact.info

Cancer Focus – Vaping – The Facts Training

Posted on by

A number of E-cigarette/Vaping Information sessions for professionals in healthcare, social care, education, youth work and others have been arranged for 2023 funded by the PHA and delivered by Cancer Focus NI.

Further information has been included in the Vaping – The Facts training dates poster below. This training will be provided via face to face sessions across various venues in Northern Ireland.

Note: There are currently dates available in June and additional dates will follow in due course

.

Tax Free Childcare Information Sessions

Posted on by

Hempsall’s consultancy, on behalf of HMRC, is running two upcoming information seminars in NI (via Zoom)  on Tax-Free Childcare.

 

The first session is if you come into contact with families through your work. For example, you could be a health visitor, social worker, housing officer, early years or childcare provider, holiday activity provider, schoolteacher, or work in children’s centres, early help, job centres. If you work with families across the public, private and/or voluntary sectors and want to find out more about increasing the take up of Tax-Free Childcare on 31 May 7-8 pm.

The second session is If you offer services to families across the public, private and/or voluntary sectors and want to find out more about increasing the take up of Tax-Free Childcare and how it can help your business in 2023 on 5 June 7-8.30 pm

For more information and to register for the event download flyers:

Tax Free Childcare Information for Providers

Tax Free Childcare information for Professionals

Are your Child’s Vaccines Up to Date

Posted on by

Immunisation is the safest and most effective way of protecting against serious diseases. The Public Health Agency (PHA) strongly recommends that babies and children are vaccinated according to the Routine Childhood Immunisations Schedule; and are urging parents to check their child’s red book to see if vaccinations are up-to-date.

Vaccination rates have seen a slight decrease over recent years and the additional disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic is likely to have caused some of the decreases in vaccine coverage. It is important vaccination coverage is improved as soon as possible to help prevent the spread of avoidable serious and sometimes deadly diseases such as measles and polio.

For more information visit Check your child’s red book to see if vaccinations are up-to-date | HSC Public Health Agency (hscni.net)

Also view Why the MMR Vaccine is important for you and your family at https://vimeo.com/797645270

Useful links for Safer Internet Day

Posted on by

This Safer Internet Day 2023, we invite you to check out our interactive resource, containing useful links for parents/carers and those who work with children & young people.

If you click on the logos included in the pdf, you will be taken straight through to the corresponding websites / webpages containing information & resources focusing on keeping children and young people safer online.

The weblinks collated are only a sample of the plethora of online internet safety information currently available in the public domain. We simply aim to raise awareness of key sources and further reading for yourselves and the children, young people and families with whom you work.

Please also share with colleagues, family members and friends, if relevant.