NEWS

Wednesday 16 September 2026 Northern Ireland has just 154 registered dental hygienists — around half the number per head of population recorded in England — as North Antrim MP Jim Allister calls for urgent action to expand training and make greater use of hygienists within Health Service dentistry. The TUV leader has challenged Health Minister Robbie Butler after being contacted by dental professionals concerned that there is no dental hygiene training course available in Nor

Hannah Buchanan, Haematology Clinical Nurse Specialist Blood cancer can affect people of all ages and its symptoms can sometimes be mistaken for other illnesses, prompting the Northern Health and Social Care Trust to urge people to know the warning signs and seek medical advice if something does not feel right. September marks Blood Cancer Awareness Month, with health professionals using the campaign to highlight symptoms including unusual bruising or bleeding, extreme tire

Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal attended the School of Nursing & Midwifery at Queen's University Belfast on Wednesday where she met with midwifery students, lecturers and midwives. Student midwives preparing to care for women and babies across Northern Ireland have shown The Princess Royal how simulated practice helps them build clinical skills and confidence before facing the demands of maternity care. Princess Anne met students, lecturers and midwives at Queen’s Unive

Wednesday 16 September 2026 Fewer than half of people in Northern Ireland are now registered with a dentist for publicly funded care after more than 389,000 patient registrations disappeared in less than three years, a Department of Health-commissioned independent review has revealed. The report warns publicly funded dentistry may be “approaching a tipping point” and concludes current levels of public sector remuneration are unlikely to remain sufficient to attract and retain

Baby Saoirse with proud parents Emma Walsh and Adam Martin Baby Saoirse has become the first baby born in Antrim Area Hospital’s new £5.7 million Midwifery-Led Unit, which gives women with straightforward pregnancies another choice over how they give birth. Parents Emma Walsh and Adam Martin welcomed their daughter safely on Friday 11 September, marking the first birth in the purpose-built facility. For Emma, the experience was everything she had hoped for: “The whole experie

Inset: North Antrim DUP MLA Paul Frew Home care workers across the Northern Health and Social Care Trust are set to have average overtime earnings included when their holiday pay is calculated, with retrospective payments also expected to be made before the end of the year. North Antrim MLA Paul Frew has welcomed the commitment after raising concerns with the Northern Trust on behalf of constituents who said they were losing out because of the way their holiday pay was calcul

Almost 900 complaints were made to the Northern Health and Social Care Trust during a nine-month period, as new figures reveal a sharp rise in complaints across Northern Ireland’s health service. The Northern Trust recorded 896 complaints between April and December 2025 — 17% of the 5,222 received by all six Health and Social Care Trusts, including the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service. Across Northern Ireland, the total was up by 1,208 — or 30% — from 4,014 during the same

Fewer than one in three cancer patients in Northern Ireland began treatment within the recommended 62 days following an urgent GP referral in the first three months of 2026, newly corrected figures have revealed. The revised Department of Health data shows just 29.6% of patients started their first definitive cancer treatment within 62 days between January and March — against the official target of at least 95%. Macmillan Cancer Support described the figures as a “worrying pi

Inset: North Antrim MP Jim Allister Ballymena GP practices face a wait until at least 2029 for the rollout of Multi-Disciplinary Teams designed to ease pressure on doctors and give patients greater access to physiotherapy, mental health and social work support. North Antrim MP Jim Allister has called for the timetable to be reconsidered after being contacted by local GPs concerned that Ballymena remains without the additional primary care support. Mr Allister subsequently rai

People affected by cancer are set to receive more practical, emotional and wellbeing support closer to home as a £1.25 million funding scheme opens to charities and community organisations across Northern Ireland. Health Minister Robbie Butler and Macmillan Cancer Support have confirmed a second year of the Cancer Charities Grant Scheme, with applications opening today, Thursday 10 September. The scheme is aimed at supporting services beyond hospital treatment — from rehabili

Women across Northern Ireland are being urged not to ignore unusual bleeding, persistent bloating, pelvic pain or other changes in their bodies which could be signs of gynaecological cancer. The Public Health Agency (PHA) has issued the reminder during Gynaecological Cancer Awareness Month, stressing that women of all ages can be affected and that finding cancer earlier can improve the chances of successful treatment. Five main types of cancer affect the female reproductive s

MLA’s join with cancer survivors, sufferers and members of Cancer Focus NI on the steps of Stormont to call for cancer services to be funded and protected. Cancer services must become a protected and fully funded priority after the next Northern Ireland Assembly election, a leading charity has said as figures expose the scale of the waits facing patients. Cancer Focus Northern Ireland has launched its 2027 Election Manifesto, calling on every political party to commit to fast

Pauline O’Neill with her mum, Emer McBride and family A Ballymena woman has spoken movingly about the peace her mother found during her final days at Antrim Area Hospital, as patients and families are invited to use their own experiences — good or bad — to help improve palliative and end of life care. Pauline O’Neill said her mother became “very settled, very calm” after entering the Macmillan Unit, describing the care provided by staff as something that “meant everything” to

The controversial proposal to move emergency general surgery from Causeway Hospital to Antrim is set to face a tougher ministerial test after Northern Ireland’s new Health Minister pledged to challenge the evidence behind major hospital changes and warned that reform cannot simply mean centralisation. Robbie Butler has also put proposed new hospital categories on hold and announced plans for an independent expert committee to scrutinise major or controversial changes to Healt

A “significant improvement” in lengthy ambulance handover delays at Antrim and Causeway hospitals has been highlighted by the Northern Health and Social Care Trust. Figures presented to a recent Trust board meeting show the number of patients waiting more than two hours to be handed over to hospital staff fell substantially compared with earlier in the year. Interim chief executive Suzanne Pullins acknowledged the “commitment and hard work of the emergency teams”. Two-hour wa

The Northern Trust has agreed £50 million of savings and confirmed it is now working to wind down Phone First — but says much of the detail showing what its wider financial plan will mean for patients and frontline staff is still being worked through. Love Ballymena put 12 detailed questions to the Northern Health and Social Care Trust after examining its 2026/27 Savings Plan, seeking clarity on a 23% reduction in winter planning funding, a targeted 25% reduction in enhanced

North Antrim MLA Paul Frew Failures to tell GPs that hospital referrals had been rejected affected 44,657 referrals in Northern Ireland, including 1,423 for suspected cancer and 16,366 classified as urgent, a ministerial letter has revealed. The figures were disclosed to North Antrim DUP MLA Paul Frew by former Health Minister Mike Nesbitt in correspondence dated 17 August, before his resignation. Mr Nesbitt said the referrals had been received and clinically assessed within

Antrim Area Hospital Monday 31 August 2026 The Northern Trust is preparing to reduce winter-pressure funding by 23%, target a 25% reduction in enhanced patient observation hours, move selected surgery between hospitals and seek the closure of Phone First as it attempts to make £50 million of savings this year. Millions more are being targeted through reductions in agency and locum spending, tighter controls on vacant posts, changes involving care-home costs and almost £600,00

Antrim Area Hospital The Northern Health and Social Care Trust has approved £50 million worth of savings as it attempts to balance its books by March 2027, amid warnings from trade unions about the potential impact on patients, services and an already stretched workforce. The savings plan was approved by Trust board members at a meeting at Antrim Area Hospital on Thursday (August 27), with members reminded that the organisation has a statutory duty to break even by the end of

Paula Byrne, Bereavement Support Call Coordinator, and Leona Laverty, Bereavement Co-Ordinator. The Northern Health and Social Care Trust is looking for volunteers to provide a listening ear and compassionate support to families following the death of a loved one. Volunteers joining the Trust’s bereavement support call service will make sensitive telephone calls to the next of kin of patients who have died in its acute and community hospitals. The calls give families an oppor