NEWS

Mental Health Champion Professor Siobhan O'Neill with Philip McGuigan MLA, Chair of the Health Committee and Danny Donnelly MLA, Deputy Chair of the Health Committee. Expanding community mental health support and tackling mounting pressure on crisis services have emerged as urgent priorities after frontline organisations warned politicians about growing strain across Northern Ireland’s mental health system. More than 50 people from across the sector gathered at Parliament Bui

Patients across Northern Ireland are being encouraged to recognise the family doctors and practice teams who have made a real difference to their lives as nominations open for the Royal College of General Practitioners Northern Ireland’s GP and Practice Team of the Year Awards 2026. The annual awards, launched by the Royal College of General Practitioners Northern Ireland (RCGPNI), aim to shine a spotlight on GPs and surgery teams who have gone “above and beyond” to support p

Nuala O’Connell, a Ward Sister at Antrim Area Hospital A nurse leading one of Northern Ireland’s busiest hospital teams has been recognised for transforming both staff wellbeing and patient care after introducing a workplace support initiative designed to help struggling colleagues reach out in confidence. Nuala O’Connell, a Ward Sister at Antrim Area Hospital, was named winner of the Team Manager Award at the RCN Northern Ireland Nurse of the Year Awards, with four other Nor

Sue Ellen McAuley (right) pictured with Grainne Whyte and Leon Whyte. More than 100 children with disabilities across Northern Ireland are currently waiting to be matched with a short breaks foster carer, as one County Antrim woman urges others to consider what she describes as “the most rewarding thing that you’ll ever do.” With growing pressure on families caring for children with complex needs, foster carers are being asked to provide vital short breaks that give parents a

Hundreds of thousands of extra appointments, scans and operations have been delivered across Northern Ireland’s health service in a major drive to tackle some of the country’s worst waiting lists, with ministers claiming significant progress for patients left waiting years for care. New year-end figures released by the Department of Health show more than 385,000 additional assessments, diagnostics and treatments were carried out during 2025/26 as part of an intensive elective

Anne Campbell, Kevin Cassidy and Paddy Graffin pictured at an event celebrating 25 years of Causeway Hospital. Causeway Hospital has marked 25 years since opening its doors, with health leaders using the milestone to underline renewed commitments to the future of acute services on the north coast. Staff, former colleagues, patients, volunteers and members of the Causeway Hospital Partnership Forum gathered on Monday for a special anniversary event celebrating the hospital’s q

Teams from PHA and the Health Trusts have been engaging with the public at the 'This is our health' roadshows. People across Northern Ireland are being urged to speak up about the future of the health service this summer as a major public engagement campaign rolls out to more than 120 events and community venues. Health Minister Mike Nesbitt says the new “This is our health” initiative is about more than hospital waiting lists or GP appointments — it is an attempt to redefine

The Public Health Agency (PHA) and the Republic of Ireland’s Health Service Executive (HSE) have issued a major cross-border warning over dangerous drugs circulating ahead of the busy summer festival and concert season, with officials raising serious concerns about high-strength MDMA, ketamine-related harms and the spread of so-called “pink cocaine” across the island of Ireland. Thousands of people are expected to travel north and south for concerts, festivals and nightlife e

NIO Minister Matthew Patrick; Secretary of State, Hilary Benn MP; Cathy Harrison, Chief Pharmaceutical Officer at the Department of Health; Health Minister Mike Nesbitt; deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly; Finance Minister John O'Dowd; Leah O’Donnell, Pharmacist at Carryduff Pharmacy; Marie Smith, Chair of Community Pharmacy NI. A major £42 million investment to replace paper prescriptions with a fully digital system across Northern Ireland has been unveiled as part o

Hundreds of thousands of people across Northern Ireland could be living with dangerously high blood pressure without realising it — and a free health event coming to Ballymena aims to change that before lives are put at risk. Northern Ireland Chest Heart & Stroke (NICHS) has launched a public awareness campaign highlighting what it describes as the hidden danger of undetected high blood pressure, a condition linked to one in every two heart attacks and strokes. As part of the

Ballycastle beach, County Antrim Northern Ireland’s bathing water system could face its biggest overhaul in years under new proposals that may change how swimming sites are identified, monitored and protected across the country. The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) has launched a 12-week public consultation examining whether current bathing water rules are still fit for purpose as outdoor swimming surges in popularity and more people use coasta

An urgent regional appeal has been launched to recruit more foster carers for children with disabilities across Northern Ireland, as more than 100 young people remain waiting for vital short break support. Health Minister Mike Nesbitt has announced the first ever region-wide campaign for Short Breaks foster carers for children and young people with disabilities, amid growing demand across all five Health and Social Care Trust areas. There are currently 109 children and young

Patients across Northern Ireland who have spent years waiting for surgery and treatment are set to benefit from a major new funding commitment after Health Minister Mike Nesbitt confirmed £80 million will be ringfenced next year to expand elective care capacity and cut some of the health service’s longest waiting lists. The funding package, confirmed during a visit to the Mater Hospital’s Elective Overnight Stay Centre in Belfast, will support waiting list reduction work duri

Emergency Department at Antrim Area Hospital Emergency departments across Northern Ireland are becoming dangerously overcrowded as a result of a new ambulance handover policy designed to speed up patient transfers, according to frontline emergency medicine leaders. A snap survey carried out by the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) has revealed that more than half of Emergency Department Clinical Leads believe the policy is worsening conditions inside already stretche

Nine-year-old Ballymena boy Joshua Mairs who underwent emergency surgery in the Royal Victoria Hospital after being hit by an e-scooter in Cullybackey A nine-year-old boy has undergone surgery for a shattered elbow after being knocked down in a collision involving an e-scooter in Cullybackey — forcing his family to cancel a long-planned holiday and prompting a fresh warning to parents about the dangers of the illegal machines. Joshua Mairs was walking back from Cullybackey Pa

At the launch of the new Chatty Bench at Devenagh Way, Ballymena: Mid & East Antrim Mayor Jackson Minford; Councillor Brian Thompson; Roy McClean, Housing Executive; Marjorie Hawkins, Chair of the Loneliness Network; Councillor Bréanainn Lyness; with some local residents. Two new ‘Chatty Benches’ have been installed in Ballymena as part of an ongoing effort to tackle loneliness and social isolation across Mid and East Antrim. The latest benches — located at The Rectory Estat

Communities Minister, Gordon Lyons, Economy Minister, Caoimhe Archibald and Health Minister, Mike Nesbitt with Commission Chair, Alan Milburn (second from right). More than 315,000 working-age people in Northern Ireland are currently economically inactive — the highest rate anywhere in the UK — with disability and long-term ill health now driving more than a third of those cases. The stark figures come as Stormont ministers unveiled a new cross-government Commission on Work a

Parents across Northern Ireland who have experienced the heartbreak of losing a baby before 24 weeks of pregnancy are set to receive formal recognition of their loss for the first time under new legislation approved at Stormont. Finance Minister John O’Dowd confirmed the Assembly has now approved the Baby Loss Certificate Regulations, paving the way for a new scheme expected to launch before the end of June. The move marks a major change for bereaved families who, until now,

Colette Sloan from Coleraine People across Northern Ireland are being urged not to ignore unusual moles or skin changes as the Northern Health and Social Care Trust marks Skin Cancer Awareness Month with a fresh warning about the dangers of delayed diagnosis. The Trust has teamed up with a local woman who discovered a suspicious mole after returning from holiday, as health professionals stress that early detection of skin cancer can save lives. Melanoma, while less common tha

The RNLI is urging people across Northern Ireland to remember a simple piece of advice that could save their life this summer as warmer weather and the Bank Holiday weekend are expected to bring large crowds to beaches and inland waterways. The charity has launched its annual ‘Float to Live’ campaign ahead of the busy summer season, warning that panic can quickly become deadly if someone gets into difficulty in the water. With thousands expected to head to the coast over the