Find information on upcoming awareness days relevant to HSE staff.
January
QUIT month
About QUIT month
Stop smoking support is available to staff from the HSE QUIT team.
Quitting smoking for 28 days makes you 5 times more likely to quit for good.
You can avail of free stop smoking therapies or prescription stop smoking medication through your local stop smoking service.
HSE stop smoking advisors can provide you with personalised, free support by:
- phone
- in-person appointment
- secure video consultation
- SMS
Cervical Cancer Prevention Week 2026
Date
Monday 19 January to Sunday 25 January
About Cervical Cancer Prevention Week (CCPW)
Cervical Cancer Prevention Week (CCPW) is an annual and international awareness week that will run from Monday 19 to Sunday 25 January 2026.
During CCPW, we communicate with our target audiences using key messages, and patient and staff testimonials, that cervical cancer is preventable, how it can be prevented, and demonstrate the impact of HPV vaccination; HPV cervical screening; early treatment, and knowing the signs and symptoms of cervical cancer.
International Data Protection Day
Date
Wednesday 28 January
About
Wednesday 28 January is International Data Protection Day.
Providing information at the point of care is something that many healthcare staff do as a matter of course— and new guidance now supports this practice.
Our HSE National Data Protection Office recently launched Point of Care Access Guidance to help staff respond to service users’ requests for information in care settings.
You can usually provide information without needing a formal Data Subject Access Request (SAR) or Freedom of Information (FOI) request, where the request is:
- a low volume of information
- related to a current or recent episode of care
- readily available to staff
- easy to explain orally or via a simple copy (e.g. blood test results)
- free of third-party information
We encourage everyone to familiarise themselves with this guidance and continue putting service users at the centre of care.
Read the guidance and find out more about sharing information with service users in a care setting
Contact
You can email the dpo@hse.ie for more information on the guidance
February
LGBTQIA+ History Month
Date
1 to 28 February
About LGBTQIA+ History Month
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex and Asexual (LGBTQIA+) History Month takes place from the 1 to 28 February 2025. During this month, we recognise the achievements of LGBTQIA+ people of the past.
There are many reasons why LGBTQIA+ History Month is important:
- celebrate the contributions of LGBTQIA+ individuals to society
- raise awareness of challenges faced by LGBTQIA+ individuals
- encourage inclusivity and understanding in the workplace
The Reach Out network is the HSE network for LGBTQIA+ staff and their allies.
Listen to members discuss the benefits of the Reach Out Network with Panti Bliss
World Cancer Day
Date
Wednesday 4 February
About World Cancer Day
World Cancer Day is an international health awareness day held each year.
The Irish Cancer Prevention Network will host a live webinar for World Cancer Day.
The webinar will take place on Wednesday 4 February from 12pm to 1.15pm with the theme of Small Steps, Big Impact: Physical Activity for Cancer Risk Reduction.
The webinar content will be delivered by subject matter experts and recorded. If you cannot attend the live webinar, a recording of the event will be sent to all those who register.
Register for the World Cancer Day webinar
Cancer survivorship peer support service
Survivorship is about more than just getting through cancer: It’s about living well after diagnosis, during treatment, and beyond. It means addressing the emotional, social, and practical challenges that continue after the medical journey, and on return to work. The HSE, in collaboration with the Marie Keating Foundation, offers a peer support service designed specifically for HSE staff who are living with or recovering from cancer.
This confidential, non-clinical, one-to-one service offers compassionate listening, emotional support, and signposting to both internal and external resources to support survivorship.