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15/11/2023
Other News In Brief
Alliance Welcomes Action On Mental Health And Specialist Units In Maternity Care
The Alliance Party's Health spokesperson, Paula Bradshaw, has welcomed confirmation that community perinatal mental health services are now in place across all five Health and Social Care Trust areas, and that the City Hospital has been identified as the location for the proposed regional mother and baby unit.
The South Belfast MLA said: "It is naturally very welcome that perinatal mental health services are now available right across Northern Ireland. These will offer a significant enhancement to maternity services across all Trust areas, offering support through birth and up to one year afterwards.
"While it is also welcome that the City Hospital has been identified as the location for a proposed regional mother and baby unit, here yet again we face uncertainty around implementation because of the lack of clarity around budgets.
"So although there is welcome news announced today applying to the whole of Northern Ireland, it remains unfortunately the case that we are proceeding too slowly to reform services because the budget is inadequate and we cannot properly scrutinise how what money we do have is being allocated, due to continued political impasse at Stormont."
SDLP Calls For Urgent Action On 'Escalating Crisis' Of Drug Deaths In NI
The SDLP has called for urgent action on the escalating crisis of drug related deaths in Northern Ireland.
A report led by Professor Anne Campbell of Queen's University in Belfast, has shown that drug-related deaths here have almost trebled in a decade.
Calling for a meaningful way forward to address the escalating crisis of drug related deaths in Northern Ireland, Foyle MLA and Chair of the APG on Addiction and Dual Diagnosis Mark H Durkan said: "There is still some way to go in terms of destigmatising addiction and improving outcomes for the many people across our society who struggle with it. The vision of the APG in Addiction and Dual Diagnosis established by the SDLP in 2020, was to deliver cross-party and cross-departmental working that will ensure effective models of care that will properly support individuals during the lowest points in their lives.
"At the moment, there are too many vulnerable people falling through the gaps of addiction support services. As a result, we're witnessing a frightening trajectory in terms of the number of drug-related deaths. Last year, 212 people lost their lives due to drug and substance misuse - that's hundreds of families across the North grieving the loss of a loved one.
"This health crisis is wreaking havoc on communities, yet addiction and mental illness remain a harrowing feature in the lives of so many people here. It's a cycle that can prove difficult to escape, especially for those suffering a socio-economic disadvantage. Those brave enough to seek support often find they're forced from pillar to post, in efforts to find meaningful and appropriate services. That's why signposting in itself isn't enough. It's crucial that we tackle the siloed approach, not only within government departments but also in the way data observing drug trends, demographics and individual risk factors, are recorded.
"Collaborative work involving government departments, the PSNI, the public and local organisations is the only way to achieve tangible results for people suffering from co-occurring mental health and addiction issues - for their families and for our communities. People must be able to get the help they need, when they need it."
Greens Welcome NIPSO Report On Tree Protection
The Green Party NI has welcomed the publication of the Northern Ireland Public Service Ombudsman's Report into tree protection in Northern Ireland.
Speaking at the Ards and North Down Borough Council Planning Committee, Bangor West Councillor Barry McKee said: "I welcome that this investigation into TPO trees was undertaken by NIPSO and that the published report is shining a light on this important area of tree protection and the planning system. The findings are disturbing - that despite 369 tree protection breaches reported between 2019 and 2022, only one resulted in enforcement action being taken, and none led to prosecution.
"The Ombudsman has sought to increase public accessibility & engagement but the opportunity to contextualise this has been missed by the failure to align these aims with the pillars of the Aarhus Convention, two of which are, access to environmental information and entitlement of the public to participate in environmental decision making.
"We must have open and transparent decision making within our planning system, on environmental and tree protection too. Previous work by Green Party representatives have yeilded this report by NIPSO, and also resulted in the introduction of TPOs & works to trees applications being reported to Ards and North Down's Planning Committee on a quarterly basis.
"There is a strong argument that TPOs do constitute environmental decision making and if this is the case any failure to facilitate participation in that process could be a breach of the Aarhus Convention.
"With that context in mind, I am concerned that within the response from this Council, that there is a rejection of recommendations and divergence from the recommendations of the report on public access to information and environmental decision making. I am concerned that continuing down this path may lead us to be non-compliant within the provisions of the Aarhus Convention.
"I believe it would be prudent for this Council to be assured that we will not end up in the same predicament as the Department for Infrastructure, who in ended up in protracted and costly negotiations with the Aarhus Convention compliance committee.
"In that case the failure to make EIA screenings and habitats regulations assessments accessible on the planning portal resulted in breaches of the Aarhus Convention. Therefore, I believe there is a need to be assured that the same will not apply to TPO's if they are deemed to be environmental decision making. There is much to do, and this Report has assisted in showing the disparities and gaps, amongst other well known Reports into failings in our wider system."
The Alliance Party's Health spokesperson, Paula Bradshaw, has welcomed confirmation that community perinatal mental health services are now in place across all five Health and Social Care Trust areas, and that the City Hospital has been identified as the location for the proposed regional mother and baby unit.
The South Belfast MLA said: "It is naturally very welcome that perinatal mental health services are now available right across Northern Ireland. These will offer a significant enhancement to maternity services across all Trust areas, offering support through birth and up to one year afterwards.
"While it is also welcome that the City Hospital has been identified as the location for a proposed regional mother and baby unit, here yet again we face uncertainty around implementation because of the lack of clarity around budgets.
"So although there is welcome news announced today applying to the whole of Northern Ireland, it remains unfortunately the case that we are proceeding too slowly to reform services because the budget is inadequate and we cannot properly scrutinise how what money we do have is being allocated, due to continued political impasse at Stormont."
SDLP Calls For Urgent Action On 'Escalating Crisis' Of Drug Deaths In NI
The SDLP has called for urgent action on the escalating crisis of drug related deaths in Northern Ireland.
A report led by Professor Anne Campbell of Queen's University in Belfast, has shown that drug-related deaths here have almost trebled in a decade.
Calling for a meaningful way forward to address the escalating crisis of drug related deaths in Northern Ireland, Foyle MLA and Chair of the APG on Addiction and Dual Diagnosis Mark H Durkan said: "There is still some way to go in terms of destigmatising addiction and improving outcomes for the many people across our society who struggle with it. The vision of the APG in Addiction and Dual Diagnosis established by the SDLP in 2020, was to deliver cross-party and cross-departmental working that will ensure effective models of care that will properly support individuals during the lowest points in their lives.
"At the moment, there are too many vulnerable people falling through the gaps of addiction support services. As a result, we're witnessing a frightening trajectory in terms of the number of drug-related deaths. Last year, 212 people lost their lives due to drug and substance misuse - that's hundreds of families across the North grieving the loss of a loved one.
"This health crisis is wreaking havoc on communities, yet addiction and mental illness remain a harrowing feature in the lives of so many people here. It's a cycle that can prove difficult to escape, especially for those suffering a socio-economic disadvantage. Those brave enough to seek support often find they're forced from pillar to post, in efforts to find meaningful and appropriate services. That's why signposting in itself isn't enough. It's crucial that we tackle the siloed approach, not only within government departments but also in the way data observing drug trends, demographics and individual risk factors, are recorded.
"Collaborative work involving government departments, the PSNI, the public and local organisations is the only way to achieve tangible results for people suffering from co-occurring mental health and addiction issues - for their families and for our communities. People must be able to get the help they need, when they need it."
Greens Welcome NIPSO Report On Tree Protection
The Green Party NI has welcomed the publication of the Northern Ireland Public Service Ombudsman's Report into tree protection in Northern Ireland.
Speaking at the Ards and North Down Borough Council Planning Committee, Bangor West Councillor Barry McKee said: "I welcome that this investigation into TPO trees was undertaken by NIPSO and that the published report is shining a light on this important area of tree protection and the planning system. The findings are disturbing - that despite 369 tree protection breaches reported between 2019 and 2022, only one resulted in enforcement action being taken, and none led to prosecution.
"The Ombudsman has sought to increase public accessibility & engagement but the opportunity to contextualise this has been missed by the failure to align these aims with the pillars of the Aarhus Convention, two of which are, access to environmental information and entitlement of the public to participate in environmental decision making.
"We must have open and transparent decision making within our planning system, on environmental and tree protection too. Previous work by Green Party representatives have yeilded this report by NIPSO, and also resulted in the introduction of TPOs & works to trees applications being reported to Ards and North Down's Planning Committee on a quarterly basis.
"There is a strong argument that TPOs do constitute environmental decision making and if this is the case any failure to facilitate participation in that process could be a breach of the Aarhus Convention.
"With that context in mind, I am concerned that within the response from this Council, that there is a rejection of recommendations and divergence from the recommendations of the report on public access to information and environmental decision making. I am concerned that continuing down this path may lead us to be non-compliant within the provisions of the Aarhus Convention.
"I believe it would be prudent for this Council to be assured that we will not end up in the same predicament as the Department for Infrastructure, who in ended up in protracted and costly negotiations with the Aarhus Convention compliance committee.
"In that case the failure to make EIA screenings and habitats regulations assessments accessible on the planning portal resulted in breaches of the Aarhus Convention. Therefore, I believe there is a need to be assured that the same will not apply to TPO's if they are deemed to be environmental decision making. There is much to do, and this Report has assisted in showing the disparities and gaps, amongst other well known Reports into failings in our wider system."
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The 2005 Birthday Honours List for Northern Ireland
The full list of recipients of honours in the 2005 Birthday Honours list for Northern Ireland is as follows: Knighthood: Mr Hugh Orde OBE, Chief Constable, Police Service of Northern Ireland - for services to Northern Ireland. CBE: Mr Robert David Stewart Campbell, Belfast - For Political and public service.
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The full list of recipients of honours in the 2005 Birthday Honours list for Northern Ireland is as follows: Knighthood: Mr Hugh Orde OBE, Chief Constable, Police Service of Northern Ireland - for services to Northern Ireland. CBE: Mr Robert David Stewart Campbell, Belfast - For Political and public service.
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Northern Ireland WeatherThis Evening and Tonight:Rain clearing away east by early evening with some clear spells but a few showers likely to affect the North coast and other areas towards dawn, remaining breezy and mild overnight. Minimum temperature 9 °C.
