As you will know over the past few weeks we have spoken to many specialists from our stop smoking team and today we are chatting to Caroline who is going to talk to us today about the benefits of physical activity when quitting smoking.

Did you know that when a smoker starts their journey towards being smoke free, that there will be challenges along the way, especially withdrawal symptoms such as cravings, low mood, anxiety, irritability and possible weight gain. 

One of the most powerful, yet overlooked strategies, to help overcome all these challenges, is being physically active and moving more throughout the day.  

We have a podcast take over from Jan, Assistant Director of mental health services and Seamus, CEO of PIPS Hope and Support.  To mark Suicide prevention day they discuss hope through action and how YOU can get involved in training to help prepare you for those tough conversations. 

Smoking in pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage, placental abruption, intra- uterine growth restriction, premature birth and stillbirth.
Ursula Gaffney, our Smoking Cessation Specialist Midwife, joins us to talk through the help and support that she can offer throughout the Southern Trust to pregnant mums and their families.

Local comedian Jake O’Kane is urging everyone to get their vaccine and has words of support for health and care staff as they work through this latest Covid surge. 

We continue to experience severe pressure on our hospital beds due to increasing numbers of Covid patients needing admission.

Staff are working hard to discharge patients who are well enough as quickly as possible.

Our Deputy Medical Director Dr Damian Gormley explains how we are managing this latest surge and how patients and relatives can help.

You may be worried about piling on the pounds when you stop smoking, but there are steps you can take to keep weight gain to a minimum. 

Theresa from our Stop Smoking Team has some tips she wants to share.

 For advice and support contact: The Stop Smoking Service on 028 3756 4400 or email [email protected] 

Over the past few weeks we’ve seen an increase in the number of coronavirus infections amongst younger age groups, especially 18 – 40 year olds. 
27-year-old Emma Campbell tells us why she thinks it’s important for people her age to make safe choices to protect themselves and others.

In the past week half of the coronavirus cases in NI are believed to be linked to the Delta variant and the number of cases is rising. 

It’s mainly affecting people in the 18 – 40 age range and also young children.

Armagh GP Dr Frances O’Hagan is calling on young people to get the jab and has important advice for parents.

The COVID-19 pandemic has seen many health and social care services overwhelmed which has led to increased and sustained pressure and stress for health and social care staff. Nurses, midwives, AHPs, social care workers and social workers are on the frontline and have needed to respond to the increased need for reassurance and support for patients, women and their families while dealing with the additional challenge of wearing PPE and workload pressures. Some staff has been redeployed and all have had to quickly adapt to new ways of working including facilitating and managing visiting restrictions. In their personal lives, they have also had to cope with the challenges of changes in home life including home schooling and caring responsibilities. 

We are conducting research to explore the health and wellbeing of nurses, midwives, Allied Healthcare Professional’s (AHPs), social workers, social care workers, in UK during the Pandemic to formulate recommendations for improvements.
Take the survey here:  Online Survey Software | Qualtrics Survey Solutions 

For more information about this research project, please contact Patricia Gillen on [email protected].

Remember 1 in 3 people with Covid -19 have no symptoms.

Our staff can now take a rapid test which will give a result in just 30 minutes.

Order your free, easy to use kit today and help protect your colleagues and patients.
Listen for more details.