The Republic goes to the polls on Friday for a referendum on repealing the Eighth Amendment of the constitution which restricts access to abortion.

A HOTEL at the corner of Donegall Street in Belfast city centre was the venue for a three-person meeting sparked by a woman battling alcoholism in the spring of 1948.

THE Southern health trust has become the first in the north to introduce a seven-day x-ray reporting service, in a bid to reduce waiting times in its emergency departments.

AN east Belfast man who helped set up an AA group in Cairo and has been sober for almost 40 years has credited the organisation with saving his life.

A CO Tyrone woman has issued an urgent appeal to those who stopped her son's prescription of life-saving drugs to explain their decision after it emerged he has just 19 days of medicinal cannabis left.

A COMPENSATION scheme is to be set up by the Department of Health for patients caught up in a major recall scandal - and whose misdiagnosis may have "profound implications".

A FATHER who lost his child to catastrophic hospital failings has said he is "disappointed" by the medical regulator's rejection of a key recommendation of an inquiry into her death.

A compensation scheme is being drawn up for those identified by the most complex ever patient recall in Northern Ireland, a senior civil servant said.

MORE than a quarter of Northern Ireland GPs feel they cannot cope with the stress every week, a survey showed.

A terminally-ill mother has accused health officials of drip feeding information about the cervical cancer controversy to "water down the effect of a cover up."

A SENIOR Northern Ireland civil servant has apologised after hundreds of neurology patients were recalled for further testing.

A group of consultant psychiatrists have criticised the Irish government for presenting abortion as "treatment" for mental health issues.

The acting boss of the Republic's Health Service Executive has apologised to women directly affected by the cervical screening controversy and to all women of Ireland who have been frightened and concerned.

A NEW technology that could transform the lives of thousands of diabetics is to be introduced in the Northern Ireland health service.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has released a plan to help countries wipe out trans fats from the global food supply in the next five years.

The Irish government's abortion proposal could lead to a potential "disaster" for the health service, anti-abortion doctors and nurses have claimed.

HEALTH chiefs have revealed plans which they admit are likely to be the last chance to save important services from collapse.

The Republic of Ireland's health minister has warned officials there will be no hiding place in the quest to find the truth around a deepening cervical smear test controversy.

PATIENTS of Dr Michael Watt held a rally at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast yesterday to show their support for the consultant neurologist.

MORE than half of babies diagnosed in the womb with Down Syndrome in Dublin's three main maternity hospitals are aborted, figures suggest.