Tag Archives: news/events

Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccine catch up campaign

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Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccine catch up campaign

You may be aware parts of the UK and Europe are seeing an increase in measles cases. Measles is highly infectious, can have serious complications and can be life threatening.  Evidence is clear that the MMR vaccine is the safest way to help protect your child against measles, mumps and rubella.  To help protect your child and others the Public Health Agency (PHA) advise ensuring you are fully vaccinated with MMR.

Measles can cause very serious illness

Measles usually causes a runny nose, red eyes, cough, high temperature and rash. It can also cause complications including ear infections, diarrhoea, pneumonia and convulsions. It is more likely to be serious in pregnant women, people whose immunity is not working properly and babies under a year of age. Very serious complications, such as inflammation of the brain (encephalitis) are rare, but can be fatal. 

Measles spreads very easily

Measles is one of the most infectious diseases known. You can catch measles if you spend 15 minutes in the same room with someone who has the disease, or even less time if you are in direct contact. The measles virus is spread through the air and in tiny droplets that come out of the nose and mouth of an infected person.

MMR Vaccine

The MMR vaccine is given in two doses as part of the childhood vaccination programme. The first dose is given just after your child’s first birthday and a second dose is given at 3 years and 4 months, before your child starts school

Two doses of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine provides the best protection against measles.

Even if you may have previously declined vaccination we want to offer you the opportunity to get vaccinated to protect you against Measles infection.

MMR Catch up

Your GP will be running catch up for children aged 12 months to 5 years who have missed their vaccines. You will be contacted by your GP should your child be identified as requiring one or two doses of the MMR vaccine.

Your local Health and Social Care Trust is running an MMR vaccine catch up campaign for those aged 6 to 25 years of age.  The campaign will run from 5th February 2024 until 31st March 2024.  For further information go to www.nidirect.gov.uk/mmr-catch-up

Measles

Anyone can get measles if they haven’t been vaccinated or they haven’t had it before, although it’s most common in young children.

Adults and older children can be vaccinated at any age if they haven’t been fully vaccinated before.

Measles is very infectious so it is important that anyone with suspected measles avoids any situation where they can spread the disease, such as a GP’s waiting room or an emergency department waiting room. People should therefore phone there GP, out of hours service and phone first for A&E in advance and get advice rather than turning up to these venues Phone First FAQs – DOH/HSCNI Strategic Planning and Performance Group (SPPG).

 

Take a Healthy Selfie – Check in on Yourself

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Wednesday 7th February saw the online Launch of a new resource to support young people’s emotional wellbeing and mental health in the Southern Health & Social Care Trust Area. The “Take A Healthy Selfie” campaign includes 3 resources to signpost young people, parents/caregivers, school and youth work staff to support services in the Southern area. This resource was launched to coincide with Children’s Mental Health Week.

Originating from Banbridge Locality Planning Group (LPG) the aim was to work with young people to produce simple signposts to key quality-assured services and resources online. Young people from Futureproof, Crisis Café, New Bridge Integrated College and the Epicentre in the Southern area, advised on the themes, content and design for the resources.

The resources are available in electronic form (see links below) and paper copies. To order copies of this free resource, or to learn more of this campaign, contact Darren Curtis, Locality development Officer (Southern Area), at localityplanning@ci-ni.org.uk

 

Young Carers School Poster Launch

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ALL SCHOOLS IN NORTHERN IRELAND URGED TO HELP IDENTIFY AND
SUPPORT YOUNG CARERS

 

Pictured (L-R) Young carers Joel, Kesiah and Aaron with their poster (right)

The Department of Education has partnered with Action for Children Northern Ireland to distribute a poster designed by Young Carers to all primary and secondary schools in Northern Ireland.

Download Poster Here

The Initiative comes in response to a campaign started by a group of Young Carers who wanted to create more awareness within schools of what being in a caring role is like and the impact it can have on their educational and social experiences.

The poster was designed by three siblings – Aaron (13), Joel (10) and Kesiah (9) – who are young carers for their older brother Christian (14). It was launched at an event on Monday (January 29) at Action for Children’s Head Office, Loughshore House, alongside colleagues from Barnardo’s NI.

A young carer is someone 18 years old or under who helps look after a relative with a disability, illness, mental health condition, or drug or alcohol problem. Some children begin giving care from a very young age, and others become carers overnight. There are also many young adult carers that try to juggle a caring role with their own education and early employment journeys, that also often need some extra support.

There are currently over 17,500 unpaid carers aged under 25 in Northern Ireland that we know of, however there are likely to be more because they are often hard to identify. This figure makes up roughly 8% of Northern Ireland’s carer population and includes more than 2,500 carers aged under 15, and 550 carers under the age of 10 years old1.

Surveying young carers across the Belfast, South and South-Eastern Trust, Action for Children found that less than one in six (16%) of young people who take on a caring role feel that their schools support them2. Many of them feel that most teachers don’t know what a young carer does each day or how it impacts their ability to learn.

For most children, getting into school is a case of rolling out of bed and hoping to grab a slice of toast on the way out the door, but for a young carer their day often starts hours before the school bell rings.

But a young carer takes on an average of 25 hours of unpaid work per week to support their family through various duties and tasks that keep a household running. They often forgo extra-curricular activities, struggle to find time to do homework and carry worries and concerns many other children may not need to manage.

Aisling Reynolds, Services Manager for Action for Children Young Carers, has taken the lead in ensuring schools better understand and support the role of young carers. Aisling said: “It’s evident that a school’s awareness and level of support for a young carer can make a huge difference to not only their experience in education, but their confidence, self-esteem and ability to progress further.

“By launching this school poster, our hope is that young carers can recognise their caring role and see that there is support in the community for them. Educators can also access and receive information on how to support young carers in their classrooms, enhancing the experience of young people with caring responsibilities in schools across Northern Ireland.”

Welcoming the launch, Dr Mark Browne, Permanent Secretary for the Department of Education, said: “The challenges of balancing school with the demands of providing physical care, personal care and emotional support to family members on a daily basis cannot be underestimated.

“I hope that by providing this Young Carers in Education Digital Awareness Pack to educational settings and highlighting this issue, we can help to facilitate a better understanding around the role of young carers, the challenges they face and support available.”

Chloe, a Young Carer previously supported by Action for Children while still at school attended Monday’s launch. She was part of the original group that started the campaign and said: “If this poster was in school when I was in school, it would’ve made a difference for me”.

Eileen Maguire, Manager of Barnardo’s NI Young Carers service said: “Young people with caring responsibilities have all the challenges of being young, with all the responsibilities of being an adult, and they’re often left to face these alone.”

“The young carers we work with at Barnardo’s NI are an incredible bunch of people and I am reminded daily of their resilience and compassion. By getting this information into schools, we hope it will help identify more young carers who need support.”

ENDS

NI Rare Disease Partnership

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The Northern Ireland Rare Disease Partnership (NIRDP) are thrilled to introduce their newly devised education and upskilling programme, “Understanding Rare”. This initiative is designed to foster a deeper understanding and empathy towards the unique needs of the 1 in 17/110K individuals (many of which are children) living with rare diseases or conditions in Northern Ireland, and many of whom experience acute mental health/financial/work/housing or isolation needs alongside carers or family members who are also experiencing these challenges. Some of these “Rare Stories” can be found here

NIRDP understand that mental health providers and Helplines NI (of which we are also a member) play a pivotal role in offering support and guidance to these individuals. Therefore, we have crafted a free 1.5-hour remote learning Continuing Professional Development (CPD) session that aims to equip mental health or helpline and support staff with the necessary knowledge and skills to address their needs more effectively.

Through this short programme, participants will be better prepared to:

  • Understand the complex needs of those with rare diseases in our community.
  • Empathise with their unique challenges and experiences through the sharing of Rare Stories
  • Signpost more successfully to organisations like the NIRDP or other rare condition organisations, facilitating a network of comprehensive support.

NIRDP are pleased to inform you that this initiative is generously funded by the Community Foundation/DOH in Northern Ireland, a testament to the significance and potential impact of this programme. We kindly then encourage you to share this invaluable opportunity with your staff, colleagues, and those in your organisation responsible for supporting CPD initiatives. For further information or to express your interest, please do not hesitate to contact us directly or share this email with colleagues within or beyond your own organisation that may find this matter of interest, especially in training or HR departments.

 

 

CCP Regional Conference: Caring for yourself and others – Nurturing connections for wellness

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Working with young children is acknowledged as being challenging both physically and psychologically. Even so, Early Years Educators demonstrate very high commitment to the children in their care. However, you cannot pour from an empty cup, and in this Keynote Mary explains the impact of stress on our lives, and looks at how Educators can support their own wellbeing and avoid burnout. Participants will also have the opportunity to attend 2 of 3 workshops, details of all workshops are on page 2.

Download Conference Flyer 

Conference details: 
Date: Thursday 29th February 2024
Time: Registration from 9am, the conference will take place 9.30am – 3pm
Venue: Tullyglass Hotel, Ballymena