Donegal captain Michael Murphy officially launched a new health and well-being project which is being rolled out across County Donegal by Donegal Local Development Partnership. The project is ‘CoH-Sync’ which is short for Community Health Synchronisation. The CoH-Sync project is a cross border EU INTERREG VA funded programme and is now available to anyone who wants to begin their journey to getting healthier but doesn’t know where to start.  Whether it is help to quit smoking, lose weight, make new connections in your community or just generally feel better about life, CoH-Sync can help. Pictured at the launch Michael Murphy, […]

Ulster University’s 15th Annual Mental Health Conference highlighted the inherent challenges that exist within a modern society for young people and the potential adverse effects that this can have on their mental wellbeing. Pictured from L-R, Barry McGale, Lisa McCrystall, CAWT; Mark H. Durkan, SDLP; Marie O’Neill, Ulster University; Bobby Smyth, Trinity College Dublin; Edel O’Doherty, CAWT.         According to the Mental Health Foundation, half of all mental illness begins by the age of 14, but most cases go undetected and untreated. Excessive use of the internet and social media has also seen a rise in cyber-crime […]

Cross border conference highlights the costs of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) Leading experts speaking at the first cross border Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) conference highlighted that children who have been exposed to situations such as domestic violence, alcohol/drug abuse, mental illness and bereavement can experience negative impacts which last well into adulthood. Such impacts can include poorer educational achievements, employment status and health and well-being. The 650 plus attendees at the event were informed that ACEs are more commonplace than we think and that many of us will have experienced at least one ACE in our childhood. Funders and project […]

A new EU INTERREG VA funded project has recently commenced in the border region. Called CoH-Sync, the project is aimed at supporting people to improve their health and wellbeing and was developed by the CAWT cross border health and social care Partnership. A competitive tendering exercise was held and the Bogside and Brandywell Health Forum was successful in winning the £364,000 contract for the Derry-Strabane Council area.  Donegal Local Development Company CLG was successful in winning the €407,000 contract for the Letterkenny / North Donegal area, the €407,000 contract for the Ballyshannon / South Donegal area and, with the support […]

Once again in April 2018, a CAWT sponsored cross border Humanitarian Disaster Response Course was held in the United Nations Training School Ireland in the Curragh Camp in Co. Kildare. The annual event was organised in association with a number of statutory and non-Governmental bodies, north and south, including Irish Aid and the Department of Defence. Health service personnel, including some military reservist doctors and nurses, participated in an intensive 3-day intensive specialist course for those who may be deployed to international disaster zones worldwide. Commenting, CAWT’s Chief Officer, Bernie McCrory said: “Such specialist courses are valuable because they enable our […]

Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland to benefit from Community Paramedic services to enable care to be provided closer to a patient’s home Today sees the formal launch of the €1.1 million EU INTERREG VA funded cross border Community Paramedic Project. Tony O’ Brien, Director General of the HSE, was joined by representatives from the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service, Scottish Ambulance Service and the HSE’s National Ambulance Service at the launch in Dublin today. This new collaboration between the three national ambulance services has been warmly welcomed and has resulted in the establishment of Community Paramedic services in Ireland […]