Health Board: Upcoming conferences, talks, campaigns and events

1) The 15th National Health Summit, "Ireland's longest running healthcare management conference", takes place on Thursday, February 7th, at Croke Park, Dublin. Topics on the agenda include "Delivering universal healthcare", "Patient care and safety" and "The future of hospitals". Speakers include Prof Mary Horgan, president of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland; Joe Rafferty, chief executive of Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust; Laura Magahy, director, Sláintecare Programme Office; and Ciarán Devane, designate chairman of the board of the HSE. Tickets €430.50 (discounts for groups). healthsummit.ie

2) The Student Medical Summit takes place at University College Dublin on Saturday, February 9th. Attending the conference, which is a chance for students to present and engage with research, is free. Register at studentmedicalsummit.org

3) If you have a mental health condition, perhaps a weekly self-help meeting could help. Recovery Self Help Method Ireland is a charity that provides a specialised form of cognitive-behavioural training to its members. There are no fees and weekly meetings are held in various locations in Dublin, as well as Armagh, Donegal, Kildare, Kilkenny, Longford, Meath, Waterford and Wicklow. recoveryireland.ie

4) As part of "Healthy Ireland at Your Library" – a programme of books, ebooks, online magazines, online courses and events – dietitian Sarah Keogh will be talking at Raheny Library on Tuesday, February 5th at 6.30pm. For other parts of the programme – which continues until February 20th – see dublincitypubliclibraries.ie. Admission is free to all events, but check with the relevant library for booking requirements.

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5) The Dublin Rape Crisis Centre is seeking volunteers to train as telephone counsellors to staff its 24-hour national freephone helpline outside office hours and to support those attending the Sexual Assault Treatment Unit at the Rotunda Hospital. Volunteers come from every walk of life – no previous experience or training in this field is required, as full training and ongoing mentoring is provided. Applicants must be a minimum of 25 years old and reside in the 01 telephone area. For further information, contact Dublin Rape Crisis Centre on 01-6614911 or email volunteerservices@rcc.ie. Closing date for applications is Friday, February 15th.

6) Mental health organisation Aware is holding a lecture, Nutrition and Mental Health, at St Patrick's Hospital on March 13th, with performance nutritionist Shane O'Rourke. The Aware lecture series is held on the second Wednesday of each month at 7.30pm in the lecture theatre, Swift Centre, St Patrick's Hospital, James's Street, Dublin 8. Lectures are open to the public and free of charge. aware.ie.

7) A competition to find Ireland's next young food entrepreneurs has opened for registration. Grow2CEO is a collaboration between Cully & Sully and GIY (Grow It Yourself) and supplies students in secondary schools with free growing kits, which will be delivered to teachers who register by February 15th; the competition starts on March 4th. The kits include seeds, pots, soil and expert tips. In the final phase they will be asked to come up with a soup recipe and business plan. Three classes will then be selected for the competition finale, which will involve a Dragon's Den-style pitch scenario in Waterford on Wednesday, May 15th. The top prize includes a €3,000 food garden for the school and hoodies for the winning class, with the winning teacher receiving an overnight trip to Ballymaloe. Details at grow2ceo.ie

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