BBC NI Health Correspondent covering all aspects of health & social affairs. Lots to talk about including The Menopause. contact:Marie-louise.connolly@bbc.co.uk
Belfast, N Ireland
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I5 miles worth of women languishing on gynae hospital waiting lists in NI - that’s according to @RCObsGyn who say if those waiting were to stand shoulder to shoulder the queue would be two miles longer than in Nov 2024 = 15 miles. After my reports yday Caroline Cooper penned:
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Last night we celebrated & agreed to continue the momentum for a Mother & Baby Unit to be built in NI. It’s story involving many people. Great to see the women involved in @BBCSpotlightNI #MumsinCrisis taking part Special thanks to @Robinson_Linds @MMHAlliance @drjulespsych 🌈🏃♀️
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For this unit to open its doors in 2029 NI requires a budget! A longterm budget &stable government. The community mental health teams are on the ground but mums need a specialist unit with their babies. @RobinSwann_MP @mikenesbittni committed funding. @RobbieButlerMLA #onwards
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The Health Minister @RobbieButlerMLA says he’s committed to opening a Mother and Baby Unit in NI. It’s been 6 months since @mikenesbittni announced some funding to start the design work. 2029 is the date for its opening. But this will depend on a budget and stable government.
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RT @southern_fsu: Newry & District GP Federation GP, Dr Jonny Dillon, who has spent the past two years sharing his experience of bowel canc…
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Such a lovely, kind and generous woman - I’m delighted for you. 🌈⭐️
Privledged to receive King's Birthday Honours🏅for 'services to women living with breast cancer' at Hillsborough Castle today.
Prof Sir Michael Mc Bride, NI CMO, presented the 🏅& paid tribute to my tireless work as a stage 4 patient to improve cancer research & services for all.
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Marie-Louise Connolly retweeted
Glad to hear of the reduction in bowel screening age to 50 (though it ought to be done more quickly) But there is no plan to move to the same threshold of blood in a sample as other nations (NI is at 120, others at 80). So NI is not capturing potential cancers at the same rate.
While this expansion of cancer screening is to be welcomed – dig a little deeper into the small print and actually Northern Ireland will continue to lag behind the rest of the UK for several years. bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cjr4… @bowelcanceruk @IEColonCancer
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While this expansion of cancer screening is to be welcomed – dig a little deeper into the small print and actually Northern Ireland will continue to lag behind the rest of the UK for several years. bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cjr4… @bowelcanceruk @IEColonCancer
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Marie-Louise Connolly retweeted
A health trust has been criticised for not allowing a teenager with the mental age of four to be cared for on a children's ward ahead of a major medical procedure.
bbc.in/4xVwwGD
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“It’s been a very depressing weekend”, says SDLP’s @doloreskelly .
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“This dispute over a piece of road is not just a local problem. It has the potential to affect other parts of Northern Ireland and the power-sharing arrangements at Stormont.”
By @BBCMarkSimpson
bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckx2…
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There is a massive cost to not fixing social care - says @andyburnham He says “everyone will contribute” - The PM will set out his plans to tackle & pay for social care at party conference. If this PM tackles & fixes social care & it impacts NI’s system it will be a huge legacy.
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He tells @bbclaurak he will put his plan to the electorate at the next General Election.
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I ran At Queen’s Park run. .. isn’t it good to move, walk. Run. 🌈🏃♀️ @Queens_parkrun @ormeauparkrun @BelfastParkruns
Another beautiful day of movement & frienship at @5kYWBelfast, @ormeauparkrun. And those who couldn't make it, did a bit of @parkrunUK tourism at @StormontParkrun & Hunstanton Promenade.
#MovementIsMedicine 💙
@mlchealth
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This Chief Exec brings some straight talking to the NI health debate. He’s not local and appears not to be caught up in the politics of it all .. he also appears to be transparent and realistic about the extent of the crisis. Steve Spoerry. #womenshealth
What implications will there be for the Southern Health Trust if the closure of inpatient maternity services in Daisy Hill in Newry go ahead?
The Chief Executive of the Trust Steve Spoerry tells @MarkCarruthers7 "It's a difficult problem to deal with."
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. @ColinSDLP asks @RobbieButlerMLA why there is a culture within the @healthdpt against rural communities .. The Down H, SWAH, Daisy Hill & Causeway ..being stripped of services but not hospitals in other non rural areas ?So is there a palpable sense of bias against rural ? 1/2
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In the job 5 weeks @RobbieButlerMLA says he wakes with a knot of fear in his tummy..he says he took the job as he will inject something different into the role..& says “there is no politics in health”. Also suggests to MLA’s if they get the chance to be minister not to “shirk it”
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On Causeway Hospital - @healthdpt official tells health Cttee that delay in making a decision is not because the issue is a “ hot potato” but delay is because it takes time to ensure network will function properly and funding is required to make it all work.
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Breast cancer and on the availability of the life-extending drug Enhertu asked by @NualaMcAllister - @RobbieButlerMLA says while it’s good news his dept at this stage can’t overpromise and under deliver but further detail remains about full access to the drug. @annmcbrien_ 1/2
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On breast screening times ..@RobbieButlerMLA says waits still not good enough. And on the Women’s Health Action plan the minister says he’s asked for “more than injection of energy” in terms of reporting on where it’s at.
He says he hopes women’s voices &views have been captured
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.@NualaMcAllister says women have been shouting from the roof tops abt a WHAP… for years. “We need to see action - women’s health can’t be secondary to any other health “
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