Hundreds of thousands of young people were referred to children's services in 2017, according to officials. The number is so high it's equivalent to one referral every 49 seconds, the Local Government Association warned.more
A 'red zone' map indicating where the influenza virus has hit Ireland has been released by the HSE. The map covers all strains of influenza, including the Aussie flu, shows that the entire country has been affected by the bug.more
Ireland has witnessed a surge in sexually transmitted diseases with the peak transmission period of the Christmas and New Year party season still to report. Rates of HIV, Syphilis, Gonorrhea, Herpes and Chlamydia are now soaring despite repeated sexual health education campaigns.more
Air quality alerts of the type used in London by Sadiq Khan are "inadequate" in protecting public health, researchers said today. They said tackling filthy air was best addressed by enforceable laws on cleaner fuel and emissions and by targeting polluting industries rather than leaving people to protect themselves.more
Motorists suffering from cold or flu have been warned "driving under the influenza" could be as dangerous as drink-driving. If you are not well enough to undertake a journey, it could be dangerous for yourself and other road users, Mayo County Council said in a statement.more
According to research by online bed retailer Time 4 Sleep, only 28% of Brits change their bedsheets once a week - the recommended time. 40% change their sheets every fortnight and 24% change them once every three or four weeks!more
Hospitals across the UK are telling patients to not go to A&E unless they need emergency treatment. Hospitals in England advised to cancel all non-urgent operations.more
Children should be given no more than two 100 calorie snacks per day in a bid to help cut childhood obesity, campaigners have warned. The latest guidelines from Public Health England (PHE) come as they warn that unhealthy snacks eaten by children contribute to half the sugar consumed by them each day.more
Life expectancy in Ireland has increased by two and a half years since 2005. Irish male life expectancy has been consistently higher than the EU average for the last decade. Life expectancy is now 79.6 years for men and 83.4 for women.more
he Royal College of GPs (RCGPs) has recommended Dr Google for the first time, as part of a new "three before GP" mantra to ease the pressure on surgeries.more
Health bosses have warned ambulances are only for real emergencies after taking 999 calls for complaints including constipation, hiccuping and after someone soiled themselves. North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) answered 4,111 emergency calls and attended 3,178 incidents on Christmas Day alone.more
More than eight million children live in areas of the UK with illegal levels of air pollution, according to an analysis by the Labour Party. Some 8.3 million under-18s live in local authority areas where levels of harmful pollutant nitrogen dioxide exceeded legal limits in 2015, according to the Party, which made its estimate using figures from the House of Commons Library.more
During the festive period, the risk of exacerbation of anxiety and depression is increasing. The expert indicates that this does not mean an increase in the number of suicides at that time. more
Dog owners should be wary of their pets eating festive treats as vets prepare for an increase in chocolate poisoning over the Christmas period. According to research published in Vet Record, more than 350 dogs have suffered the symptoms of chocolate exposure in the last five years.emore
The highest concentrations of harmful PM10 and PM2.5 dust on the night from Sunday to Monday and yesterday morning were recorded in Katowice, Krakow, Gliwice, Kielce, Rzeszow, Lublin and Warsaw.more
The NHS has launched a free app that shows how busy local services are in the hope of reducing waiting times. Called NHSquicker, the app enables people in Devon and Cornwall to view current waiting times for local emergency departments and minor injuries units, and estimates how long it would take people to get to a different treatment centres, based on their location.more
An investigation has been launched after the death of an 11th immigration detainee this year. Michael Netyks, a 35-year-old Pole, was serving a six-month sentence at Altcourse prison, a private jail in Liverpool run by G4S. He had been assessed to be vulnerable and is thought to have taken his own life.
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Minister for Health Simon Harris has said he would like to see a maximum charge of €10 for a child to attend a GP. Minister Harris appeared on TV3's The Sunday Show with Sarah McInerney when the topic of GP costs came up.more
A baby born with her heart outside the body has survived, a first for UK medicine. Vanellope Hope Wilkins was due to be born around Christmas, however discovery of the rare condition meant doctors delivered her prematurely by caesarean section on November 22 at Glenfield Hospital in Leicester.more
