The Community Practitioner and Health Visitor Association (CPHVA) NI is to host it’s first conference since the pandemic under the theme of ‘Rebuilding Communities: A public health conference celebrating 75 years of the NHS’ at Toomebridge on Friday [9th June 2023]. The CPHVA is a trade union and professional body for community health care staff in the UK and Ireland and part of Unite the Union.

The event will be open to the CPHVA’s membership and non-members which includes health visitors, school nurses, community nursery nurses and community nurses working in primary care.

The event brings together a range of speakers on key public health issues of interest to Community Practitioners and Health Vistors. Speaking at the event will be: Sonia Glendinning, Nursing Officer for the PHA NI, on ‘Shaping the Future of Public Health Nursing’; Kevin McArevey, Head of Holy Cross Primary School on the ‘Plato Initiative’; Jim Gamble, CEO Ineqe Safeguarding about Online Safeguarding; Fran O’Boyle of Women’s Aid on Domestic Violence; Louise Herron, Public Health Consultant on ‘Vaccination update report’; Siobhan Slavin, PHA, on ‘Enhanced School Nursing Project’; Jill Delaney, Positive Steps, on ‘Restorative Supervision’; and Stephen Hamilton, QUB, on ‘Health & Mental Well-being’.

Unite General Secretary Sharon Graham welcomed the conference’s focus:

“Unite the union welcomes this great initiative to mark 75 years of your NHS and to make plans for the future, especially the development of services in the community. In that way the CPHVA conference will mark our history looking to the past but also look to the development of future services and the determination to fight to save the NHS today.”

Addressing the conference will be the chair of the CPHVA NI Committee Dorothy Murray, CPHVA Executive Janet Taylor and Unite Regional Secretary for Ireland Susan Fitzgerald.