The Minister for Health and Children, Mr Cowen, will open "Children in Hospital Awareness Week" in the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland this morning. The awareness week will highlight the different needs of children in hospital due to changes in the pattern of hospital services: the closing of the smaller hospitals and the development of major treatment centres. During the week a variety of fun activities will take place in hospitals around the country, with sporting and entertainment celebrities visiting sick children. Literature designed to help parents to cope with the stresses of having a child in hospital will be available at information stands in various hospitals or by contacting Mary O'Keeffe on 012882484.
The Royal Hospital, Donnybrook, Dublin is hosting an Integrative Energy conference on Wednesday and Thursday aimed at health care professionals which will look at maximising the skills of multidisciplinary teams to move from a purely medical approach to a more holistic one. The conference will be opened by President Mary McAleese and will be addressed by a number of leading speakers including Dr Michael Kearney MB FRCPI, consultant in palliative medicine, Our Lady's Hospital, Harold's Cross, Dublin and Dr Dan Murphy, senior lecturer in education, Trinity College, Dublin. Bookings on 01- 4972844 ext 285 or 296.
The Rutland Centre is holding a public seminar entitled "Women and Addiction: A unique struggle with alcohol, drugs, food and other dependencies" tomorrow in Milltown Park, Sandford Road, Ranelagh, Dublin at 7.30 p.m. Speakers will include Maura Russell, a director of The Rutland Centre, a residential centre that treats all addictions, and Carmel O'Dwyer, a director of Horizon House in Galway, a halfway house recently opened for women experiencing problems with alcohol. Admission is free, further information from 01-4946358.
"Depression: Support and Treatment Getting the best out of both" is the theme of Aware's monthly lecture on Wednesday in the Dean Swift Centre, St Patrick's Hospital, James's Street, Dublin at 7.15 p.m. Details 01-8308449.
The Dun Laoghaire branch of the Diabetes Federation of Ireland is holding its first AGM in the Tara Towers Hotel, Merrion Road, Dublin on Thursday at 8 p.m. Professor Gerald H. Tomkin, chairman of the Diabetes Federation, will speak and there will be a video showing "The Four Peaks Challenge" which documented a group of young people with insulin-dependent diabetes as they climbed the highest mountain in each of the four provinces. The branch urgently needs new members and is interested in meeting people who could commit to committee meetings eight times per year and several public meetings. Enquiries to Julie Brearley 01-2808162.
As part of its awareness- raising activities for "Blue Rib]bon" week (May 10th to May 17th) the ME/CFS Support Group has launched a new information pack on ME, a debilitating condition also known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS). The pack contains advice on treatment and illness management as well as several case histories. It costs £3.50 and can be obtained from the group, PO Box 3075, Dublin 2. Tel 01-2350965.
The Irish Paediatric Tracheostomy Association (IPTA) is holding its first meeting in the Beaumont Room, the Regency Hotel, Whitehall, Dublin on Saturday at 2 p.m. Interested parents and healthcare workers are welcome. Further information from Valerie McGrath on 018748763.
"Healing the Wounded Mother" is the title of a public lecture hosted by the Irish Analytical Psychology Association at the Dublin Writers Museum, Parnell Square, Dublin on Saturday at 11 a.m. The speaker is Benig Mauger, a Jungian psychotherapist and pre- and perinatal psychologist. Admission is £8; IAPA members free.