SPECIALIST MENTAL HEALTH SERVICE Psychiatry of Old Age (POA) Service helping Sligo and Leitrim for over 20 years
The garden at Liscarney House which was a project during lockdown. Sharon McMorrow, Senior Occupational Therapist, Liscarney House and Gavin Sweeney, Team Coordinator, Liscarney House.
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he Psychiatry of Old Age (POA) Service in Sligo Leitrim with dementia that may have behavioural or psychological problems,” Mental Health Services is marking over 20 years serving she explained. the local community. “We have a multidisciplinary team, and it was my job to get the The POA service is a specialist mental health team service started from the greenfield site and to get a whole range of offering comprehensive, community oriented services for different disciplines involved from medical nursing, occupational people aged 65 years and over who develop functional mental health therapy, clinical psychology, social work. It's been really important to have a good evidence base for this service. illnesses or dementia with behavioural and psychological problems. The service, which was established in 2001, currently provides a “So from the very beginning, we've had a very strong research ethos range of consultant – led community and acute care for patients and we've been involved in a number of Interreg cross-border referred from Sligo, Leitrim, West Cavan and South Donegal with a European studies looking for example, at brain health and diabetes highly functioning Community Mental Health Team (CMHT) based to prevent depression and dementia. We're involved in a drug trial in Liscarney House, Sligo. for Alzheimer's disease, and we've done lots of services The specialist POA team has multidisciplinary based research to try to enhance the quality of care membership and includes doctors, mental health that we provide the right care, in the right way, at the nurses, occupational therapy, clinical psychology, right time, as close to the person's home as possible.” social work, administration staff and a multitask Dr Catherine Dolan, Consultant Old Age Psychiatry attendant, in line with National Mental Health Policy. Sligo Leitrim Mental Health Services, explained about To further explain what the service provides please The team operates using an assertive outreach the team at Liscarney House. see video here: HTTPS:// model, with rapid clinical response, and provides “I will be leading a new team that will be the full of YOUTU.BE/AJBTNH JZMYE specialised multidisciplinary psychiatric services multi-disciplinary professionals, including an through fixed and mobile clinics, domiciliary visiting occupational therapist, a social worker, psychologist, including Nursing Home/ Community Hospital visits a trainee psychiatrist and administration. It’s a very and Liscarney House Day Hospital attendance. exciting development, and it will improve services for older people This POA Service has an evidence-based practice emphasis and a in the area and build on the strong ethos of excellent culture of care strong research ethos with a focus on services based research leading for older people in the service. We will continue to in-reach to people's to continuous quality improvement of the clinical service provided homes into nursing homes,” she said. to service users and families. “We will continue to develop our day hospital, but the focus will Feedback from service users and families on the service provided really be on bringing care to people where they need it and where ever their home might be. And that isn't just that isn't just a hospital is encouraged through Care Opinion Ireland (careopinion.ie) to for us, it's in the community and linking in with all the services that facilitate ongoing service improvement. Professor Geraldine McCarthy, Consultant in Psychiatry of Old are already there, including voluntary services and community Age, established the service in 2001. “It's a community oriented mental services. It's a very exciting development and I'm looking forward to continuing with this and getting the team on board and we're in the health service for older people with mental health difficulties, mainly early stages of development.” functional psychiatric illness, depression or psychosis. And also people
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