An east Belfast housing scheme for people with dementia has won an international award for the quality of its services.

Absenteeism within Northern Ireland councils is costing more than £16 million a year. The average employee is off for more than 12 days a year on top of holidays, with almost 122,000 working days lost across the region’s 26 councils due to sickness, stress, depression and a range of other personal problems.

The Health Minister has praised the contribution of domestic staff in delivering excellent healthcare.

An autistic boy died after inhaling a latex glove while being cared for at a respite facility in the Republic of Ireland, an inquest heard.

The number of new nursing home places within the Western Health Trust has been cut to two a month due to a lack of funding.

Health Minister Michael McGimpsey has today revealed that treating drug and alcohol addictions costs over £7million.

The Northern Ireland Association of Social Workers (NIASW) has welcomed the conclusion of an investigation into the handling of a high profile child abuse case as a vindication of the excellent work carried out in the Western Health and Social Care Trust (WHSCT) by social work professionals.

The task of protecting children from on-line ‘predators’ has gone all-Ireland with news of an new initiative.

A patient with mental health problems has highlighted what she has described as the “horrendous conditions” where she is being treated in Belfast.

A successful scheme, which has seen children in care getting better help from independent social workers contracted to local authorities, will be extended to adult social care, Health Secretary Andrew Lansley announced today.