Health – Page 10 – Slugger O'Toole

Sex, drugs and the moral soul…

Terry Maguire on July 15, 2020, 8:37 am

| Readers 1299

The human desire to alter mood will always be with us and no amount of effort will eradicate it. National experiments with drug liberalisation are mostly unsuccessful in the long-term in spite of the initial headline-grabbing claims of reduced harm. Tobacco is a legal drug and where it does not greatly impact mental function it is highly addictive and causes over 2,000 deaths in N. Ireland each year mostly from cancers, heart disease and lung disease. History gives us some …

#CargoOfBricks 8: Ruth Dudley Edwards on life in Lockdown London and getting “kettled” outside Downing Street

Mick Fealty on July 15, 2020, 7:02 am

| Readers 1176

Episode Eight of #CargoOfBricks is with the Dublin born, London based commentator on both Irish and British politics, and crime writer. Initially, Ruth started as a lockdown sceptic, so I asked how she had managed what was probably the oddest period of disruption in our post-war lives, and what changed during the lockdown, for her and for the rest of us… Powered by RedCircle In a free-flowing conversation, she talks about… Although she began defiantly anti lockdown, ‘when the orders …

‘A Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland is overdue’

Paul Gosling on July 13, 2020, 9:02 am

| Readers 3414

A Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland is overdue and would protect the interests and concerns of all the population, insists Colin Harvey, professor of human rights at Queen’s University, Belfast. He was talking in the latest Forward Together podcast from the Holywell Trust. The Good Friday Agreement provided the expectation that there would be a Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland that would safeguard citizens’ rights. And a committee of the Northern Ireland Assembly is, more than 20 years …

Cycling – One of life’s simple pleasures…

Ciaran Ward on July 4, 2020, 7:00 am

| Readers 1214

Normally at this time of the year, cycling fever would be in the air with the Giro d’Italia a recent memory (remember the year it started in Belfast?), and that other famous pharmaceutical warehouse on wheels (sorry, bike race) the Tour de France just about to start. This year it’s all different though, but it hasn’t stopped the Middle-Aged Men In Lycra (MAMILs, I believe the modern terminology is) – ie people like myself – from making the most of …

Today the pubs and restaurants can reopen – will you be back?

Brian O'Neill on July 3, 2020, 7:57 am

| Readers 1162

After 4 months of lockdown, our pubs and restaurants are now allowed to reopen – with the usual social distancing caveats. Some aspects of the ‘new normal’ just sound awful. Barriers between tables, masked staff and customers, allocated times etc. They don’t make for a relaxing night out. I have always tended to eat out at lunchtime and this will continue to be my strategy going forward. I never understand why more people don’t eat out more at lunchtime – …

Prescription drugs – The Opium of the People?

Terry Maguire on July 2, 2020, 8:29 am

| Readers 1258

Publication of the statistics on General Pharmaceutical Services in N. Ireland is not I suspect a much-anticipated annual event and this might go some way to explain the lack of media attention when the report was released last week except for a brief overview in the Irish News. The report provides the facts and figures on the medicines we used, misused and abused last year and, for me at least, it makes for interesting if not depressing reading. It would …

Social Distancing Hasn’t Gone Away, You Know…

Jason Conlon on July 1, 2020, 7:13 am

| Readers 6384

The Health Minister comes across as an extremely likeable fellow. Standing atop his podium, like an experienced but weary plumber, the civil and utterly decent Robin Swann is ever ready to plug any leaks in the flow of public compliance and adherence to Covid-19 guidelines. Despite having his feathers ruffled at the beginning of April, Swann took a dignified stance yesterday and opted not to weigh in with his own personal criticism of a certain someone’s attendance at a certain …

The curious case of the Department of Health

Sarah Creighton on June 30, 2020, 9:31 am

| Readers 2355

Abortion has been legal in Northern Ireland for over a year now. Under the Abortion (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2020, terminations up to 12 weeks are now lawful. Abortions after 12 weeks are heavily restricted. Terminations are available up to 24 weeks if there is a risk to the mental or physical health of the woman. There is no time limit where there is a fatal fetal abnormality. With the law firmly in place, it was expected that the commissioning of …

Is Mental Health the New Wave Post Covid 19?

Kevin McAteer on June 29, 2020, 7:02 am

| Readers 859

Covid 19 has presented many challenges since the inception of lockdown on March 23rd. An uncertain time with unwelcomed anxiety and disappointment that we were apart from friends and family. Although the relaxing of restrictions comes as a welcome relief it begs the question what other obstacles are potentially ahead of us post Covid 19? Lockdown was never going to be easy for anyone. However, consider the situation presented to someone struggling with mental health. Someone who was just about …

Is less medicine a bad thing?

Terry Maguire on June 26, 2020, 8:47 am

| Readers 1776

Medical consultants are anxious that too few acute medical cases are being reported at A&E departments during the on-going crisis. This they claim predicts a potential surge in morbidity and mortality from diseases such as; heart disease, lung disease, mental illness and cancers, once Covid-19 is dealt with. It seems a logical conclusion given that there was, for example, in one Health Trust, a 33% reduction in reported heart attacks in March and April. Consultants reason that people are having …

Normality returns; so why can’t I spend a penny?

Terry Maguire on June 24, 2020, 11:04 am

| Readers 980

Opening up our commercial and social lives we maybe but it’s still not much fun. Walking into town last week I struggled to sense that expected joy from the ending of lockdown. In spite of some hopeful optimism and open shop doors, many aspects of communal life remain shut and as I passed the doors of locked and shuttered pubs I yearned to visit inside, loiter with friends I haven’t seen for months, drink beer and talk rubbish. It will …

Northern Ireland records its first day with zero new COVID-19 cases since the beginning of the outbreak

Peter Donaghy (Salmon of Data) on June 20, 2020, 5:29 pm

| Readers 4864

The Department of Health COVID-19 dashboard has reported that today, the 20th of June, is the first day since the 10th of March with zero new COVID-19 cases. Over the last 7 days, 25 individuals tested positive out of the 5,964 that were tested, giving a positive test rate of 0.42%. This is low in an international context. For comparison, the chart below shows Northern Ireland’s positive test rate compared with the most recent data available for a range of …

Testing is our most effective Covid-19 intervention not dexamethasone…

Terry Maguire on June 19, 2020, 9:48 am

| Readers 696

Great news indeed that good old dexamethasone has proved so effective in reducing deaths in seriously ill Covid-19 patients. The drug was almost dismissed as a candidate for the Recovery trail since it proved relatively ineffective in treating SARS and MERS but it seems to effectively manage the ”cytokine storm” associated with Covid-19 severe respiratory syndrome. We await the peer-reviewed paper but the numbers need to treat to save one life is 8 for ventilated patients and 25 for patients …

‘There is something seriously and fundamentally wrong’ – Northern Ireland’s housing crisis

Paul Gosling on June 15, 2020, 9:02 am

| Readers 3409

Although the shortage of housing was a major issue in the recent Irish general election, it is also a major challenge in Northern Ireland. For some reason, there is much less focus on this north of the border. PPR – the Participation and Practice of Rights – is keen to correct this, as its housing activist Marissa McMahon explained in the latest Holywell Trust Forward Together podcast. It is important to consider the statistics when placing the housing crisis in …

Mask wearing rates in the UK are among the lowest in the world – it’s time for #MasksForAll

Peter Donaghy (Salmon of Data) on June 15, 2020, 7:30 am

| Readers 3967

As social distancing measures are relaxed in Northern Ireland and elsewhere, it is vital that everything possible is done to attempt to prevent a secondary wave of Covid-19 infections. Of the actions that citizens and policymakers can take to mitigate against the risk of another wave of the coronavirus, Northern Ireland and Great Britain are amongst the world’s laggards on what has been found to be the most effective intervention against the virus; the universal wearing of masks. The chart …

Should we all wear face masks? Read my lips…

John Kyle on June 15, 2020, 7:00 am

| Readers 1574

As understatements go it was a good one. “It would have been much better if there had been engagement….with devolved administrations ahead of this announcement” said Nichola Mallon referring, with impressive restraint, to the announcement by Transport Secretary Grant Shapps that face coverings would be compulsory on public transport in England from 15th June. Most people would assume that speaking to the other three Transport Ministers before announcing a significant change in policy was not only good manners but essential …

Dementia and my family…

Lynda Tavakoli on June 14, 2020, 7:15 am

| Readers 1124

It’s impossible to pinpoint the moment my father began to suffer from dementia. Nobody in the family questioned any momentary lapses of memory from time to time and even when these became more frequent I don’t think any of us really understood the significance of what was happening. Certainly, that word dementia was far from our thoughts at that stage. When dad retired he and mum had gone to live in a small Fermanagh village close to where dad had …

A letter to the Ministers of Education and Health on Childcare provision

Soapbox on June 11, 2020, 12:24 pm

| Readers 3223

Dr Orna Young & Dr Ciara Fitzpatrick write for us about their joint letter highlighting the issue of childcare provision We have written to the Ministers for Education and Health to urge them to provide clarity on the issue of childcare provision, and an indication of a road map to ensure children can return to childcare settings when appropriate and the risk has been proven to be reduced. The current situation is unsustainable, with parents and guardians continuing to provide …

‘My coping mechanism is talking, seeking peace and reconciliation’

Paul Gosling on June 8, 2020, 9:02 am

| Readers 1528

Alan McBride’s personal journey is well known, but remarkable nonetheless. It was in 1993 that his wife Sharon and her father Desmond Frizzell were killed in an IRA bomb attack on the family fish shop in Belfast’s Shankill Road. But with immense dignity, Alan has since dedicated his life to reconciliation and progress, as well as campaigning on behalf of victims. He is the latest interviewee in the Holywell Trust Forward Together podcasts. Alan admits that initially after Sharon …

This world will break your heart but kindness is everywhere, notice it…

Lisa Wells on June 7, 2020, 7:00 am

| Readers 1071

If you’re like me and regularly wake up at silly o’clock no matter the weather or time of year, you’ll have developed the best strategy for gently starting your day. I’m well practised in this art of either watching the sunrise or lying for hours waiting for the first touch of the day to show in the sky, depending on the season. Being awake early or having disturbed sleep isn’t a new thing for me, it revisited me as yet …