Health Matters Spring 2025

1 Chief Social Worker Amanda Casey talks about safeguarding, and a policy update recognises young people’s rights to consent

2 Meet the winners of the 2024 Health Service Excellence Awards

6 Spotlight on climate action, and the steps we can all take

10 Digital for Care – highlights from last year, plans for 2025 and the new tools that are helping us improve care for all service users

14 Updates from the Health Regions Programme team and Organisational Change Unit

16 Updates from HSE Dublin and South East

22 In focus: Diabetes

24 HSE Brand Strategy and Identity/Branda FSS: Straitéis agus Féiniúlacht

26 Updates from HSE South West

32 Data and cybersecurity: minimising risk and what to do in the event of an alert

34 Boosting vaccination uptake: supporting the National Immunisation O ce Strategic Plan 2024-2027

36 Updates from HSE Mid West

42 Spotlight on screening

44 Meet two clinical specialist speech and language therapists working with ear, nose and throat services

45 2024 National Inpatient Experience Survey findings

46 Updates from HSE Dublin and North East

52 Launch of the National Genomic Test Directory for Rare and Inherited Disease, and a look back at the National Integrated Sta Records and Pay Programme (NiSRP) implementation

Contents Editor’s Letter

53 Ireland’s first Medically Supervised Injecting Facility opens; and National Cancer Control Programme launches new guideline to support people diagnosed with skin cancer

54 Nationwide implementation of the Standardised Clinical Care Plans for the PHN service

55 In focus: Dementia

56 Updates from HSE West and North West

62 Understanding penile cancer

63 A day in the life of a Women’s Health Service social care leader, supporting women in the sex industry

64 Galway nurse and activist Aoife Commins on living with HIV and how we can all create a supportive environment for everyone

66 Updates from HSE Dublin and Midlands

72 In other news… Updates, events, awards, celebrations and milestones

79 Competition: Share a snap of Health Matters and be in with a chance of winning a €100 One4All voucher

80 Your Opinion Counts: Actions in response to the 2023 Sta Survey

Thank you to everyone who has submitted stories for this edition. If you would like to see your initiative or work featured, you can submit your ideas through our online form at bit.ly/HealthMattersForm

Meet

the team

Welcome to the spring issue of Health Matters. As the daffodils and tulips push their way through the soil and the sun remains in the sky that little bit longer, we look ahead to brighter days and the chance to boost our vitamin D intake with a brisk walk in nature at every opportunity. Looking after our own wellbeing allows us all to better support those in our care, something the Happy Heart Healthy Eating Award initiative is working to promote across our catering services with its mission to create a healthy food environment for staff and visitors in every healthcare site in Ireland; learn more on page 73.

In this edition of Health Matters, we take a look at some of the campaigns raising awareness of issues that impact the lives of people across Ireland and the world. In our cover story on page 64, Galway nurse and activist Aoife Commins, who features in the You, Me and HIV campaign, shares her experience of living with HIV, the stigma she’s witnessed, and her unique insight as a service user working in healthcare and supporting patients.

Elsewhere, we highlight the advancements in treatments and screening for a number of common and rare conditions, alongside the latest procedures and the promotion of vaccinations to protect more people from preventable diseases. Plus, on page 6, we look at the many ways we can all take part in climate action.

Meanwhile, our Digital for Care feature, on page 10, looks at the many tools that are furthering our support reach to service users across the country, especially as the HSE Health App is launched nationwide. While on page 32, you’ll find essential advice on taking responsibility for data and cybersecurity in your everyday work. And on page 80, you’ll discover the actions taken in response to the Your Opinion Counts – 2023 Staff Survey. Finally, we’d love to see all the many places the spring issue of Health Matters is enjoyed – see page 79 for details of how you could be in with the chance of winning a €100 One4All voucher.

We hope you find a wealth of inspiration in this issue to fuel your workday and add a little joy to your break time.

Meg Walker Editor

Published by Ashville Media, Unit 55 Park West Road, Park West Industrial Estate, Dublin 12, D12 X9F9. Tel: (01) 432 2200 ISSN: 0332-4400

All rights reserved. Every care has been taken to ensure the information contained in this magazine is accurate. The publishers cannot, however, accept responsibility for errors or omissions. Reproduction by any means in whole or in part without the permission of the publisher is prohibited. © Ashville Media Group 2025.

HSE Internal Communications Manager: Yvonne Costello Internal Communications Team: Ann McLoone, Frances Plunkett, Shane Larkin, Emily Torsney, Gale Gilbert Ashville Media Group Editor: Meg Walker Art Director: Áine Du y Creative Director: Jane Matthews

A new Chief Social Worker and research policy update are just two of the ways in which we’re supporting the rights of everyone using our services

Meet Chief Social Worker

Amanda Casey Since becoming the HSE’s first Chief Social Worker in August 2024, Amanda Casey’s focus has been on improving adult safeguarding structures to better support the rights of those using our services.

The key focus for me since taking on the position has been adult safeguarding, leading the reform of the adult safeguarding structures within the HSE and preparation for the new Department of Health National Policy on Adult Safeguarding. Key targets for the next 12 months include agreeing membership and terms of reference for the senior HSE oversight group; continuing work on the reform programme; developing a business case for six regional directors of safeguarding; completing a workforce plan to support the new policy; and conducting a training needs evaluation for both staff working

within safeguarding and the wider health and social care staff. We need to look at what training and support is needed for people working within adult safeguarding and those who provide adult safeguarding services within the newly established regional structures. Then there are the recommendations from the McIlroy report around embedding a culture of safeguarding and a culture of learning, and increasing the visibility of safeguarding within all of the HSE services.

One of the key findings that struck me has been the universal desire to improve – people really want to get this right. They understand the importance of supporting rights for people using our services. I’ve found a great

energy in any of the staff I’ve met to try and improve things. I think the greatest challenge we’ll face is trying and deliver a reform programme within the current environment in terms of staffing and finances, and the best way I can overcome this is by ensuring that people feel they have that opportunity to be heard and their concerns are listened to – to have that open communication between my office, the national safeguarding office and safeguarding teams and all staff who are involved in protecting people who are at risk of harm. Safeguarding is about ensuring and promoting human rights, enabling choice, and creating an environment where abuse isn’t tolerated. My message to anyone working with patients is, if you see something, if something doesn’t feel right, don’t assume someone else will deal with it –act on it yourself. Talk to somebody.

Find out more about safeguarding vulnerable adults at bit.ly/SafeguardingVulnerableAdults

Research policy update recognises young people’s rights to consent

To

Celebrating Excellence

Introducing the winners of the 2024 Health Service Excellence Awards

The Health Service Excellence Awards is an opportunity to showcase and celebrate examples of the great work that happens every day across our health service. 2024 marked the 8th year of the awards, which aim to promote shared learning for other teams through our awards success stories. The 2024 awards ceremony took place on Thursday, 28 November in Farmleigh House in Dublin’s Phoenix Park.

“These awards create the opportunity to show innovation and creativity, which ultimately improves the services that we provide,” says HSE CEO Bernard Gloster. “Well done and thank you to all those shortlisted as well as the winners. It is your work that helps pave the way to a brighter future for Ireland’s health service.”

“As well as providing an opportunity to recognise the great work of staff and teams across our wide range of services, the Excellence Awards is an important channel to share learnings with our colleagues across the health service,” adds Anne Marie Hoey, Chief People Officer. “Through this pooling of knowledge and expertise, the projects inspire a sense of staff pride, teamwork and collaboration. This will positively impact the overall environment for our staff whilst improving outcomes for the people who rely on our care and support.”

From left: Bláthnaid Mealy, Service Improvement Lead; Kate Bentley, Service Improvement Lead; Orla Fitzpatrick, Patient Flow ADON; Joe Ryan, National Director Public Involvement, Culture and Risk Management; Ricardo Sampaio Paco, Service Improvement Lead; and Deborah Cross, Assistant Director of Nursing of Surgical Inpatients.

Engaging a Digital Solution

St James’s Hospital, HSE Dublin and Midlands won the Engaging a Digital Solution award for the Visual Hospital Management System project.

The Visual Hospital Management System is a real-time digital platform that gives staff insights into patient flow, bed availability and discharge progress from around the hospital. This centralised platform empowers St James’s staff to make quick data-driven

decisions, ensuring patients receive the care they need, when they need it.

“It has transformed how we manage patient flow, enabling real-time decision-making and fostering better collaboration across teams,” says Service Improvement Lead, Ricardo Sampaio Paco. “These improvements are not just about technology; they represent a shift in how we work together to deliver better outcomes for our patients.”

For more details on the awards, visit hse.ie/excellenceawards

Right Care, Right Place, Right Time – Sláintecare (joint winners)

Mid West Community Healthcare, HSE Mid West was jointly awarded in this category for the ‘My Perinatal Self Care –Taking Care of Me’ project.

A cross-service collaboration between Mid West ARIES and the Specialist Perinatal Mental Health Service (SPMHS), University Maternity Hospital Limerick (UMHL) began in April 2023 with a wellbeing workshop for women attending SPMHS. Participants requested practical support on how to implement a daily self-care routine. A follow-up survey identified needs and resources including a co-produced self-care workbook.

From left: Dr Mas Mahady, Consultant Perinatal Psychiatrist and SPMHS Lead at UMHL; Pauline Walsh, Advanced Nurse Practitioner, SPMHS, UMHL; Anne Marie Hoey, Chief People Officer; service user Fiona McAteer and her daughter Penelope McAteer; Nuala Kelly, Head of Service, Mental Health, HSE Mid West; Margaret Keane, Education, Training and Development Officer, Mid West ARIES; and Mike O’Neill, Manager, Mid West ARIES.

Meath Specialist Lymphoedema Clinic, HSE Dublin and North East was jointly awarded in this category for the ‘Proof of concept initiative – establish community-based Specialist Lymphoedema Clinic’ project.

Speaking about this project, Thelma Dunne, Senior Physiotherapist, Specialist Lymphoedema Clinic said, “The aim of this service as per the model of care was to assess, treat and manage patients with lymphoedema living in County Meath and improve their quality of life, while reducing GP visits, public health nurse visits, hospital admissions and risk of cellulitis.”

From left: Maria O’Grady, Physiotherapy Manager; Kay Morris, Project Lead for Lymphoedema; Thelma Dunne, Senior Physiotherapist; Sara Long, REO, HSE Dublin and North East; Karen Nash Greally, Clinical Nurse Specialist; Michelle Adair, Clerical Officer; Siobhan Stafford, Director of Public Nursing.

Excellence in Quality and Patient Safety

Public Health Nursing Primary Care, Corporate/National Services won this category for standardised maternal postnatal care in the Public Health Nursing Service. Public health nurses are mandated to visit families within 72 hours of discharge from the maternity services. This encompasses a comprehensive assessment of the postnatal mother. Preceding the development of this initiative, practices varied in relation to this assessment. There was no national guideline on maternal postnatal care and there were 13 different maternal postnatal records in use in the country.

Improving Patient Experience

CARE Community Virtual Ward, HSE West and North West was awarded for the ‘CARE –Community and Acute Respiratory Excellence Healthcare’ project. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) hospital care in Ireland costs €90m annually, with multiple readmissions and little alternative to hospital care available. A proof of concept for a Community Virtual Ward ICT system, incorporating respiratory rate trends, was designed with a small cohort of patients and was highly successful, achieving 100% hospital avoidance. Sláintecare funded the model’s expansion to all COPD patients in Donegal in May 2023.

. From left: Brian Ferry, Assistant Chief Ambulance Officer; Celine Croarkin, Programme Lead, Project Management Office; Claire McRory, Operations Lead, CDM Hub; Antoinette Doherty, Registered Advanced Nurse Practitioner; Jackie Nix, Assistant National Director, HR; Sonya Murray, Respiratory Advanced Nurse Practitioner; and Brian Gillespie, Community Paramedic.

From left: Mary O’Connor, Director of Centre of Midwifery Education, Cork University Hospital; Grainne Ryan, National Lead for Public Health Nursing; Sinead Lawlor, National Practice Development Coordinator for Public Health Nursing; Anne Marie Hoey, Chief People Officer; Virginia Pye, National Lead for Public Health Nursing (retired); and Barbara McMahon, Director of Public Health Nursing, Carlow Kilkenny.

Working Together for a Greener Health Service

Prosper Group, HSE Dublin and North East won the Working Together for a Greener Health Service award – a new category this year – for the Energy Management and Sustainability (EMS) initiative.

Prosper Group provides supports to 530 adults with intellectual disabilities across Fingal and Meath. The issue of climate action came to the fore, with growing concerns of the organisation’s carbon footprint, energy costs

and the disproportionate impact that climate change has on the individuals they support.

“The Energy Management Sustainability initiative within the Prosper Group has been monumental,” says Pat Lacey, Procurement Officer, Prosper Group. “In so many ways, it has helped staff and service users in entering into a world where service users not just believe they can be involved in a movement to change but that they can actually drive it.”

Innovation in Service Delivery

The team from the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, University Hospital Galway, HSE West and North West won this award for minimally invasive vessel harvesting for coronary artery bypass grafts surgery.

Describing this project, the team says, “Our unit’s leg wound infection rate was up to 7% with open vein harvesting. We have reduced the wound infection rate from 7% to 0% with the introduction of minimally invasive vessel harvesting while maintaining our excellent clinical outcomes and improving patient satisfaction from the cosmesis of their wound and the avoidance of postoperative complications.”

left: Andrew Reen, Sustainability Officer, Energy Management and Sustainability Team Lead; Pat Lacey, Procurement Officer, Energy Management and Sustainability Team; Owen Hall, service user; Brian O’Connell, National Director Head of Strategic Health Infrastructure and Capital Delivery; David King, Social Care Worker and Green Team Member; Emer Wilde, Estates Manager; and Bill McMahon, IT Coordinator.

From

From left: Niamh McDermott, Clinical Nurse Manager 2; Professor Alan Soo, Consultant Cardiothoracic Surgeon; HSE CEO Bernard Gloster; Dr Sadiq Siddiqui, Associate Specialist in Cardiothoracic Surgery; Fabio Bartolozzi, Consultant Plastic Surgeon; and Sharon Collins, Clinical Nurse Manager 1

Spotlight on Climate Action

HSE Climate Action Strategy

The health service-wide strategy aims to reduce the negative climate impacts of the health service on the environment, achieve net-zero emissions for the HSE by 2050, and deliver healthcare that is environmentally and socially sustainable. The new regionalised approach will be central to effective implementation of the HSE Climate Action Strategy at local, regional and national levels. Six senior operational managers have been identified to act as regional climate action leads. These regional leads are to establish and chair six regional green committees on behalf of the REOs, to coordinate local actions and feed into national climate action working groups. This approach aims to strike the right balance between national efforts for a sustainable healthcare system and regional and local ownership to drive change.

Achievements:

1. Strategy delivery: Frameworks for action of how the health service will achieve net zero for each strategy priority are nearing completion. Over 200 members involved in working groups.

2. Partnerships: Ongoing engagement and collaboration is underway with many international colleagues such as the WHO Climate and Health European Network, NHS England and Scotland and industry partners.

3. HSE Capital and Estates Infrastructure Decarbonisation Roadmap (updated June 2024): This is being implemented, with over two-thirds of implementation actions fully or substantially achieved at the end of 2024.

Communications

Other successes:

• A Spark Innovation call resulted in 8 projects being funded, some of which are:

» Implementation of RCSI Green Theatre Compendium in a number of sites.

» Partnership with Royal College of Emergency Medicine to implement GreenED programme in a number of sites.

» Partnership with My Green Lab to support over 25 HSE labs to achieve green lab accreditation.

» Partnership with GPs to work on a social prescribing project and information for patients on sustainable diets and chronic diseases.

• 15 pilot green space projects are underway, with the aim of

exploring opportunities to improve biodiversity and provide a health-promoting and environmentally sustainable environment for service users, staff and the public.

• Tele-health: Acute Care (video and telephone) – over 30,000 consultations delivered monthly.

• 138 energy and green teams are in operation and set to grow over 2025.

• Delivery of three internal staff campaigns providing staff with information on real actions staff can take to make a difference.

• Regions are setting up regional green teams and holding network events where green teams can come together to share and learn from each other.

The last HSE Your Opinion Counts Staff Survey showed that 6 in 10 staff are interested in being involved in activities to support positive climate action. A staff information campaign was launched in 2023 and received positive feedback. The next phase took place in autumn and winter 2024. The campaign focuses on individual actions across the priority areas to empower staff and assist in behavioural change. The aim is to build a climate action and sustainability community across our HSE and wider healthcare staff and to share good practice. A podcast was released recently to give a broad overview of HSE work in this space; see hsepodcasts.podbean.com

Simple ways to reduce your environmental impact in work

Climate and Sustainability Training

Over 800 HSE staff recently engaged in Sustainability 101 online training. In addition, a senior leadership training day for 60 leaders within the HSE was provided last October. As part of the government action plans, all public sector bodies are required to provide senior leadership training.

Development of an HSeLanD Sustainability Hub is underway. There will be a wide offering of broad modules for all staff and a speciality specific module. A training programme for regional green teams and training for senior clinical leaders are to be rolled out later this year.

• Advocate for change

• Talk to your colleagues and manager

• See what you can do

• Get involved with your local green team

HSE Climate

Action

Strategy priority areas 1. Sustainable buildings and the green environment

Transport and mobility

Sustainable procurement

Greener models of healthcare

Water and waste management

Adaptation and resilience

Successful first-of-its-kind HSE and Climate and Health Alliance event

“Change is already taking place across many areas that we identified in the HSE’s Climate Action Plan,” according to Dr Philip Crowley, National Director of Wellbeing, Equality, Climate and Global Health, HSE, speaking at the first-of-its-kind conference involving the HSE’s Climate Action Programme and the Climate and Health Alliance recently. Entitled “Making Ireland’s healthcare sector more sustainable and resilient in a warming world”, the event attended by over 300 people in person and online involved discussions and interaction on the important initiatives to make Ireland’s healthcare sector more sustainable and resilient. According to Dr Crowley, “Caring for the health of the environment goes hand-inhand with caring for the health of

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patients. It will support and protect the health and wellbeing of future generations.”

The conference brought together 32 organisations that signed up to a Joint Declaration on planetary and human health. These organisations are members of the Climate and Health Alliance and include public and private healthcare providers, colleges and professional bodies. Signatories have made a

Members of the HSE, Irish Doctors for the Environment, and Climate and Health Alliance at the conference held at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI).

commitment to work together, with immediate effect, to transition to a clean, healthy, sustainable, carbonfree and socially-just environment. A further HSE climate and sustainability conference is planned for September this year.

HSE Capital and Estates National Workshop on Energy and Sustainability

HSE Capital and Estates held a Workshop on Energy and Sustainable Infrastructure in Tullamore on 21 and 22 November. Attended by Capital and Estates regional energy officers, sustainability officers and the Sustainable Infrastructure Office team, the meeting provided an opportunity for regional officers to share what they have accomplished over the year, their plans for 2025 and information and learnings from the projects they have completed to improve energy efficiency, water conservation, green spaces and waste infrastructure in the health service.

Brian O’Connell, Interim National Director, Capital and Estates, joined the workshop for an opening address, confirming the support of management through which a great team has been developed to support the provision of sustainable healthcare and achieve the requirements of the government’s Climate Action Plan.

Our Infrastructure Decarbonisation Roadmap outlines the actions HSE Capital and Estates are taking to reduce carbon emissions from our buildings and their operation and achieve an estate that is net zero by 2050.

Sustainability Day in Sligo University Hospital

On 23 October, Sligo University Hospital (SUH) held its annual sustainability day, which forms part of the hospital’s Green-Campus Programme. SUH has been involved in the An Taisce Green-Campus Programme since 2015 and was awarded its second Green Flag in February 2024. The Sustainability Day focused on Green-Campus themes, and this year’s themes were energy, waste, water, biodiversity and transport, including active travel. A number of internal and external exhibitors were invited to take part and throughout the day there was a great deal of interest, with information for staff on a varied set of topics that all linked back to the wider concept of sustainability.

The purpose of the day was to inform staff of what has been done within the hospital in terms of sustainability as well as educating them on what they can do to help. The Green-Campus committee and Healthy Ireland committee held a joint stand promoting the hospital’s Green-Campus Programme and active travel initiatives. Other contributors included representatives from An Taisce Clean Coasts, the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI), Churchfield Home Services and local bicycle company Chain Driven Cycles.

“The purpose of the day was to inform staff of what was been done within the hospital in terms of sustainability as well as educating them on what they can do to help.”

The HSE Capital and Estates regional energy officer and sustainability officer also attended to highlight the work and funding supports offered by Capital and Estates Sustainable Infrastructure Office to assist healthcare facilities to reduce energy use, conserve water and improve green spaces. The hospital is one of 15 pilot sites in the HSE Capital and Estates green environments improvement project, which aims to explore opportunities to improve biodiversity and provide a health-promoting and environmentally sustainable environment for service users, staff and the public.

Joint approach sees HSE awarded for energy e iciency e orts

The HSE has achieved certification to the ISO 50001 global energy management standard for its approach to continuously improving energy efficiency and performance. Creating sustainable facilities helps to reduce emissions and lower air pollution from fossil fuel usage which will assist in mitigating the harmful health impacts of climate change including cardiovascular disease, respiratory diseases and mental health, which are strongly impacted by climate and adverse weather conditions.

This certification builds on the work done to date by HSE Capital

and Estates, in partnership with the Department of Health and the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) to establish the systems and processes necessary to improve energy performance. These include monitoring consumption, conducting energy audits, setting energy performance targets and identifying opportunities for energy improvement.

ISO 50001 is the world’s leading Energy Management Standard and provides a systematic approach for organisations to achieve continuous improvement in terms of energy performance.

“Energy efficient healthcare facilities have positive consequences for human health, creating a more comfortable and controllable environment for patients and staff, and can improve the quality of patient care,” says Peter Smyth, Assistant National Director, HSE Capital and Estates Sustainable Infrastructure Office. “Achieving ISO 50001 certification provides an important recognition of the work undertaken by HSE Capital and Estates to integrate energy management into operations and continually improve energy efficiency and reduce emissions from our buildings.”

Digital for Care

Driving safer, connected and patient-centred care, improving healthcare delivery for both staff and patients in Ireland

Digital for Care is transforming healthcare in Ireland by harnessing technology to improve patient outcomes and operational efficiency. Key innovations, such as the Electronic Healthcare Record (EHR), the launch of Virtual Wards, and the rollout of the HSE Health App highlight a significant shift toward seamless, connected and patientcentred care. The establishment of a Centre of Excellence for AI and Automation, coupled with robust cybersecurity advancements, displays a forward-thinking approach to healthcare delivery. This progress, alongside strengthened partnerships and a focus on staff empowerment, sets the stage for an exciting future in digital health. Reflecting on 2024, Digital for Care has made significant strides in modernising healthcare delivery in Ireland, bringing us closer to realising our vision of seamless, safe and connected healthcare for all.

“I am proud to reflect on the progress we have all made together in 2024. Since

the publication of the

Department’s

Digital Health Framework and the HSE’s Digital Health Roadmap, we have continued to advance our mission of delivering safer, connected care for all. While many of these programmes are only being established, we are already looking at how we can accelerate these programmes to support our staff and ultimately improve services to patients.”

Damien

McCallion, Chief Technology and Transformation Officer and Deputy CEO

Key Highlights from 2024

• The EHR programme was established in 2024 with a preliminary business case developed for submission or approval in Q1 2025.

• The HSE Health App is now live with a particular focus on supporting maternity patients and a marketing campaign scheduled for Q1 2025.

• The National Laboratory Information System went live at Beaumont Hospital with significant patient safety improvements and operational efficiencies.

• A case management logging system was implemented nationally to Safeguarding Protection teams to provide a person-centred service for adults at risk of abuse.

• A national Enterprise Wi-Fi programme across all six health regions was established.

• The rollout of HealthIRL was completed within the HSE, now allowing all staff to work under a single domain, improving communication and efficiency of service delivery.

• Insights from the HIQA Public Digital Survey reaffirmed public support and requirements for digital transformation.

• An AI and Automation Centre of Excellence was established using robotics to automate 750,000 hours of repetitive tasks over the last two years.

• Robust investment in our cybersecurity programme was progressed and the HSE’s first permanent Chief Information Security Officer was appointed.

• The HSE and HealthTech Ireland signed a Memorandum of Understanding, strengthening collaboration for patient-centred innovation and links between industry and healthcare.

• Virtual Wards have been launched at St Vincent’s University Hospital and University Hospital Limerick, receiving positive feedback and coverage.

Digital for Care

As we prepare to embark on another year of transformative change, collaboration will be at the heart of our success. Strengthening partnerships across clinical, technological and administrative teams will ensure we can overcome challenges and deliver on our ambitious goals. By fostering an environment of innovation, resilience and shared purpose, Digital for Care aims to create a sustainable and forward-looking healthcare system that meets the evolving needs of patients and staff alike.

Focus areas for 2025

• Getting approval for our EHR Preliminary Business Case and commencing the procurement process.

• Completing the rollout of an EHR to our dedicated maternity hospitals.

• Awarding a contract for development of a shared care record and completing development of the solution.

• Increasing the range of services available to patients through the HSE Health App with four releases in 2025 while integrating all standalone apps to one access point for the public.

• Improving our diagnostic services by completing the National Integrated Medical Imaging System (NIMIS) programme and accelerating our medical laboratory system rollout.

• Commencing the rollout of a foundation system in our community services to support staff working outside hospitals.

• Strengthening cybersecurity resilience against evolving threats and working towards meeting NIS2 standards.

• Developing a framework for AI in healthcare and implementing AI in radiology, HSE Live and other priority areas.

• Rolling out enterprise Wi-FI for all our staff and patients right across all public healthcare facilities.

• Scaling virtual care models and remote healthcare solutions.

• Introducing modern workspace and productivity tools.

• Establishing stronger regional technology and transformation functions aligned to Digital for Care to support delivery.

• Launching the Digital Health Passport and a Digital Health Leadership Programme to enhance staff capabilities.

Electronic Healthcare Record (EHR): transforming healthcare delivery

A key pillar of the Digital for Care framework, the EHR system will provide a single access point for patient health information, ensuring continuity of care and reducing medical errors. The implementation of EHRs represents a major step towards achieving integrated care, making it easier for healthcare providers to collaborate and make data-driven decisions. In 2025, one of our top priorities will be securing approval and commence the procurement process.

Digital for Care remains committed to driving digital health transformation across Ireland. With continued investment, strategic partnerships and a shared vision, we are poised to deliver better health outcomes through innovative, connected care.

HSE Health App puts your health in your hands

The HSE Health App, which is one of the first projects delivered under Digital for Care, is giving people a simple and secure way to access information about their health and a range of HSE services. It puts patients and the people who use our services at the centre of their own care journey and enhances their experience of the health service by providing secure access to their health information.

The app is now available to download from the App Store and Google Play. Over time, the app will become the main channel for people to securely access their health information and a range of services online, with an initial focus on enabling people to access their hospital appointments for maternity services, carry a list of their self-declared and reimbursed medication, COVID-19 and flu vaccination records and digital versions of their European Health Insurance Card and Medical Card.

The team worked with patients and clinicians to design the app and a pilot ran with a group of expectant mothers in Cork University Maternity Hospital in June. Feedback from the pilot helped us to refine and improve the app’s functionality before its wider release. To support the rollout, the project team engaged with maternity services around the country.

The app will be further enhanced over the coming months. Appointments for other acute services, waiting times for care, support to quit smoking and access to more health information will be added over the course of 2025. This is a significant programme of work, but while challenging, success is a key priority to ensure the app continues to evolve and makes a positive difference to patients and the public.

The launch of the app is an important step towards putting your health in your hands and a great example of how the HSE is delivering Digital for Care. For now, the HSE Health App is available in English and Irish. Other languages are being explored for future versions. Any member of the public aged 16 and over can use the HSE Health App.

You can find more information on the HSE Health App at hse.ie/health-app

Virtual Wards

The HSE Virtual Ward programme is growing fast, giving more patients the chance to be treated at home. Virtual Wards offer patients a safe and effective alternative to hospital stays, allowing them to receive medical care, monitoring and treatment from home. Using medical devices and a secure patient app, patients can check and submit vital signs – like heart rate and blood pressure – without returning to the hospital. This means they get the same high-quality care in a familiar and comfortable environment.

Key updates:

• Expansion – more patients are transferring into the Virtual Wards in University Hospital Limerick and St Vincent’s Hospital with numbers steadily increasing. Both sites reached a key milestone of 25 patients in each ward in January.

• Great feedback – 100% of patients rated the service “good” or “very good”.

For more information on Digital for Care, email digitalforcare@ hse.ie or visit hse.ie.

Minister for Health, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill and Minister of State for Digitalisation and eGovernment, Emer Higgins with expectant mother Roxana Vanessa Vasquez Arenas. Photo: Mark Stedman.

Digital for Care

PPSN collection – streamlining identity management

Collecting Personal Public Service Numbers (PPSNs) in healthcare is an important step in accurately identifying patients and connecting their healthcare records. PPSN collection supports government policy and the HSE’s Digital for Care goals. Many HSE services, including screening programmes, medical cards and vaccinations, already collect PPSNs during registration.

From Monday, 3 March 2025, all healthcare services can ask patients for their PPSN during registration. Patients and service users support this change, recognising the role of the PPSN in improving healthcare service connectivity. Importantly, those without a PPSN or who choose not to provide it will continue to have full access to HSE services.

“Collecting PPSNs across our health services helps with identity verification, supports Individual Health Identifier matching, and establishes a strong foundation for Ireland’s

Electronic Health Record system,” says Damien McCallion, Chief Technology and Transformation Officer and Deputy CEO. “For patients, this means their health information can be safely connected and shared between healthcare providers, improving care coordination.”

What happens next?

In preparation for PPSN collection changes, services should:

• Update systems to record PPSNs, where possible.

• Remind patients to bring their PPSN in appointment letters.

• Educate staff to ask for and record PPSNs correctly.

Recognising that not all services will be ready by 3 March, local adjustments to processes, systems and forms may be needed.

The National Health Identifiers Team (HIDS) has been leading the PPSN project. HIDS have developed dedicated HSE webpages, easy-to-follow FAQs, and a short explainer video to help staff prepare for PPSN collection. HIDS will work closely with regional PPSN leads to provide guidance, answer questions and support the rollout of this new process. For more information, visit hse.ie/staffppsn or email PPSNID@hse.ie

Paving the way for an improved digital health service

The HSE and HealthTech Ireland have put in place a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to build and formalise their ongoing collaborations, with the shared aim of enhancing the health and wellbeing of the people of Ireland. HealthTech Ireland represents a variety of companies in Ireland, including those in the areas of medical device, diagnostic, information technology and digital mental health. These companies provide products, solutions and services to the HSE. Through this new collaboration, the HSE together with HealthTech experts will examine how best to use existing and emerging products and solutions such as AI and other innovative pathways, to improve patient outcomes, increase efficiencies, and meet the challenges faced across the health service.

“The HSE, HealthTech Ireland and its members are building on years of collaboration and a joint purpose on how to best deliver these technologies and innovations for the benefit of patients,” says Damien McCallion, HSE Chief Technology and Transformation Officer and Deputy CEO. “Work is already underway, with discussions taking place examining how to tackle the challenges facing our health service, and this

formalised relationship will help drive our Digital for Care strategy even further.”

“By sharing the international and national experience of our member companies with Ireland’s health service, and aligning our objectives with the goals of the Department of Health digital healthcare framework Digital for Care, and Sláintecare, we believe it will make a real difference for patients and staff across Ireland,” adds Susan Treacy, CEO, HealthTech Ireland.

Damien McCallion, Chief Technology and Transformation Officer and Deputy CEO, and Susan Treacy, CEO, HealthTech Ireland.

The Health Regions Programme is set to introduce key changes to some structures and ways of working in 2025, as part of the wider Sláintecare Reform Programme.

HSE Health Regions

Integrated Service Delivery (ISD)

A key development in the early part of the year will be the implementation of the ISD model across health regions. This will strengthen organisational structures at the IHA level and help provide a service delivery structure that is focused on integrated care and supports a population-based approach.

Recruitment

Leadership appointments at the Executive Management Team (EMT) level in health regions will draw to a conclusion.

Recruitment for 6 regional patient and service user lead roles will be completed.

The purpose of these roles is to:

• Implement the agreed approach to patient and service-user partnership within and across the health regions.

• Build a strong partnership between patients, service users, healthcare providers and other key stakeholders in designing and delivering care across their region.

• Focus on measuring, tracking and improving the patient and service user experience.

• Set up and manage processes where patients and providers can work together to improve care.

• Work closely with patients and service users to shape the goals and operations of the Regional Patient and Service User Partnership (PSUP) office.

Change and Innovation Hubs

The regionally-based Change and Innovation Hubs will support frontline services and teams in the implementation of the reforms, including new ways of working for delivery of person-centred care that is more integrated. The regional hubs will work closely with and be supported by the Organisational Change Unit and the Strategic Transformation and Innovation Unit in the HSE Centre.

Voluntary Organisation Partnership

HSE Centre

The HSE Centre is continuing to move to its new role supporting the regions in Planning Enabling Performance and Assurance (PEPA). This includes the development of operating models and new ways of working between the HSE Centre, health regions and the government departments (Department of Health and Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth).

The restructuring of the health system and the implementation of health regions is an important opportunity to deliver a health system that works in partnership with the voluntary organisations within each region. The current focus on building a better and more integrated health system must install the building blocks for diverse, meaningful, and sustained voluntary organisation partnerships. Recognising their importance in delivering care and key role in governance and leadership is also important. The health regions restructuring will provide an opportunity to create the conditions for a culture change to give effect to this. Based on the partnership principles, the health regions programme has worked with voluntary organisations in developing an agreed approach to partnership within health regions. This will be progressed during 2025.

Organisational Change Unit Supporting teams for integrated care

On Thursday, 12 December 2024, 482 healthcare professionals participated in the ‘Supporting Teams for Integration’ webinar, a key event in the health regions Webinar Series. The session delivered an overview of integration tools and resources, equipping teams with methodologies to translate theory into practice and drive effective, integrated care.

By adopting these evidencebased tools, healthcare teams can assess readiness, identify development areas, and implement transformative changes, fostering a more cohesive and effective healthcare system. The HSE Organisational Change Unit is customising these resources for the Irish healthcare context. These will be available in the coming months. Embracing these tools will empower our teams to deliver coordinated, patient-focused care that adapts to the evolving needs of our local communities.

Providing supports for teams

Recognising the many successful integrated care practices already in place across health and social care services, our goal is to support and enhance these efforts by raising awareness of existing, evidence-based tools. Building on the work of colleagues nationally and internationally, the HSE Organisational Change Unit is adapting the following integration self-assessment tools to help evaluate and improve readiness for integrated care across different levels of the healthcare system:

SCIROCCO Self-Assessment Tool

Evaluate your region’s readiness for integrated care

Developed by the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing (EIP on AHA), the SCIROCCO assessment tool assesses a region’s readiness for integrated care using the Maturity Model for Integrated Care. It identifies strengths and weaknesses, promotes best practices, facilitates multistakeholder dialogues, and supports twinning and coaching activities.

Stepping Up to the Place: Integration Self-Assessment Tool Strengthen leadership for integrated care

Developed by the UK Local Government Association, this tool enhances leadership and governance in integrated care, fostering collaboration and shared goals.

IPAT (Integrated Practice Assessment Tool)

Track your progress towards full integration

Created by Dr Waxmonsky, Dr Auxier, Dr Romero, and Dr Heath, IPAT uses a decision tree model to assess collaboration and integration levels based on the Standard Framework for Integrated Healthcare. It helps teams identify their current integration stage and provides direction for practice improvements.

SCIE Logic Model for Integration

Map your path to integrated care success

Developed by the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE), this visual framework guides the planning, implementation and evaluation of integrated care initiatives. It maps enablers, activities, outcomes and impacts to ensure all essential elements are addressed for successful integration.

Updates from HSE Dublin and South East

Southside Intellectual Disability Services: Service user engagement supporting transition

A recent patient engagement project took place in Quilca, a residential support service for individuals in South Dublin. The project was led by Padraig, a service user and Colm Harty, Patient and Service User Engagement Officer, HSE Dublin South and Wicklow healthcare area.

Quilca, a community house located in Terenure, provides residential service for adults with an intellectual disability. It was established in 2012 as part of HSE Southside Intellectual Disability Services and was part of a de-congregation plan in the HSE to align with best practice guidelines. As part of this, Padraig, Tony, Noel and Frank moved from their former congregated setting to Quilca, a place they now call home. They were later joined by another young man, Brian, who had previously been in a hospital setting. To help support the new residents’ transition to Quilca, Colm held two engagement sessions with them. These sessions covered a multitude of topics ranging from the activities they like to do, to the importance of setting boundaries.

Speaking about the project, Colm said, “Part of the work of a patient engagement officer is to bring the voice of those less heard to the foreground. Engaging directly with patients can really help staff and service users work together to facilitate change, develop new ideas, capitalise on what works well and address what areas could be improved.”

“Talking directly with service users and listening to their feedback helps instil a partnership culture that encourages continuous service

improvement,” he continues.

“In this instance, it also gave the residents of Quilca a voice in the change happening around them and made them feel heard and valued.”

Following on from the success of this project, Southside Intellectual Disability Services were represented at the annual HSE Patient and Public Partnership Conference by service user Padraig alongside Colm Harty.

“Engaging

directly with patients can really help staff and service users work together to facilitate change, develop new ideas, capitalise on what works well and address what areas could be improved.”

To find out more about engaging with patients in your service, contact your local Patient and Service User Engagement Officer.

Colm Harty, Patient and Service User Engagement Officer, HSE Dublin South and Wicklow healthcare area with Southside Intellectual Disability service users Noel, Padraig and Frank alongside Emilia Lazar and Kathleen Barry Murphy from Quilca.

Updates from HSE Dublin and South East

Christine’s Cycle fundraiser benefits rehab unit in Cashel

The HSE’s Rehabilitation Unit at St Patrick’s Hospital in Cashel, Co Tipperary has been the beneficiary of a stroke awareness fundraiser, which involved a sponsored cycle from Bristol in the UK to Miltown Malbay in Co Clare.

Staged in August 2024 and organised by Tipperary man Martin Daly, it raised €16,000. The proceeds for the Cashel unit were presented at an afternoon tea recently hosted at St Patrick’s Hospital. An education session on stroke awareness took place in conjunction with the occasion.

The Daly family has been impacted by stroke in recent years. Martin’s sister, Christine Daly, was a nurse who lived and worked in Bristol for many years before retiring to Miltown Malbay, a place she had loved and visited throughout her life. Sadly, Christine passed away last year, following a stroke.

Minister Donnelly formally opens Wicklow Community Unit

Then Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly TD and REO of HSE Dublin and South East Martina Queally recently opened the newly refurbished Wicklow Community Unit in Wicklow Town. The Minister took the opportunity to tour the facility and meet with staff and service users. The Wicklow Community Unit has benefitted from a €1.5m investment, and has been extensively refurbished to meet the needs of older adults in the Wicklow community. The unit offers 18 beds for Wicklow’s elderly community and specialises in short-stay services including rehabilitation, convalescence, respite and day services. In addition, there is also a Day Care Centre for the Elderly adjacent to the unit, which can accommodate 20 attendees daily and links closely with both the onsite Integrated Care Programme for Older Persons (ICPOP) and nursing teams to provide additional support to the unit.

From left: Elaine Wilkinson, Advanced Nurse Practitioner/ Dementia, HSE; Martin Daly; Ann Prendergast, Activities Coordinator, Cashel Residential Older Persons Services; Eileen Currivan, Activities team, Cashel Residential Older Persons Services; Alan White, Healthcare Assistant, St Patrick’s Hospital; Betty Crowe, Healthcare Assistant, St Patrick’s Hospital; Yvonne Daly; Ms Priyanka Pannicadu Anauth, Medical Officer, Cashel Residential Older Persons Services; and Anne Ryan, Clinical Nurse Manager 2, Cashel Residential Older Persons Services; with Mrs Rita Daly (seated).

Dublin South and Wicklow; John O’Donovan, Head of Service, Older Persons, HSE Dublin South and Wicklow; Martina Queally, REO, HSE Dublin and South East; former Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly TD; and Cathaoirleach of Wicklow County Council, Cllr Paul O’Brien.

Happy Heart Award for Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital

Congratulations to the catering team at the Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital (RVEEH), led by Ann Gillick, on their recent Happy Heart Healthy Eating Gold Level Award. The award recognises the hospital for healthy catering practices and promoting a range of healthy choices. The Healthy Eating Award is run by the Irish Heart Foundation in conjunction with the HSE.

From left: John Lavelle, General Manager, Older Person Services, HSE

Carlow/Kilkenny Diabetes team wins improvement award

Congratulations to the Diabetes team in Carlow/Kilkenny on their recent award for Best Use of a Process Improvement Methodology in Health Systems at the 11th annual Lean Healthcare Symposium (Mater Lean Academy) for their improvement initiative, ‘Optimising Patient Pathways by Integrating Acute and Enhanced Community Care Diabetes Services in Carlow/Kilkenny’.

The Carlow/Kilkenny diabetes service identified a gap in the full implementation of the integrated pathway for Type 2 diabetes, as outlined in the new diabetes service delivery model. In response, the team collaborated to streamline the process, integrating hospital and community services to enhance the care provided to diabetes patients. In May 2024, key stakeholders were invited to

participate in a 5-day Rapid Improvement Event (RIE), which was led jointly by St Luke’s General Hospital, Carlow/Kilkenny and the Diabetes Community Specialist Ambulatory Care service, with facilitation from the Improvement team from HSE Dublin and South East.

This improvement initiative was aimed at developing an integrated diabetes pathway and setting clear referral criteria. Following this, 38% of patients that had previously attended acute services will now have their care expertly delivered in the community, a great example of ‘shift left’, as per Sláintecare.

Diabetes staff received further specialised education and training, which will enhance awareness and promote self-management education and support programmes for patients.

Le Chéile Child and Adolescent Integration Project

Le Chéile is a primary care project for children and adolescents, funded by the Sláintecare Integration Innovation Fund.

The project is running in Community Healthcare Network (CHN) 4 (Dún Laoghaire, Louglinstown, Sallynoggin and Dalkey). It aims to test an enhanced integrated multidisciplinary team model of working within Primary Care, for children and young people with more complex presentations. The project aims to showcase the benefits of a number of interconnected initiatives aimed at enhancing communication and collaborative working with families and between disciplines, within a single CHN area. The project team recently presented at the Health and Social Care Professionals Conference on the theme of ‘Working in Partnership’.

Disability Day Opportunities team host information day for local school-leavers

The Disability Day Opportunities team hosted an information day in Bray in November to raise awareness for school-leavers and their families about options available on leaving school. The event aimed to support young adults with disabilities to make informed choices about their futures, and provided information on HSE-funded day services and rehabilitation training programmes (in line with New Directions supporting the core values of personcentredness, community inclusion, active citizenship and high-quality service provision). Information stands on disability day service providers were available to students and parents and presentations took place with autism initiatives, Gheel Autism Services and the National Learning Network. Expert speakers covered important topics such as Assisted Decision-Making, Dublin Bus Travel Assistance programme, disability advocacy groups, STAGG (St Aidan’s) and Viewpoint (Sunbeam House Services). A parent and past pupil were among invited guests who also shared their experience of the school-leaver process.

HSE Dublin South and Wicklow Disability Service would like to thank all participants, including future school-leavers, families, schools, children’s disability network teams and disability providers whose participation and engagement were key to ensuring that individuals with disabilities and their families have access to the information and supports they need to thrive.

Updates from HSE Dublin and South East

Yellow

Days

– a new

poetry pamphlet by the Harbour Poets

The HSE’s Memory Harbour service and Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council were delighted to launch Yellow Days – a new poetry pamphlet by the Harbour Poets.

The Memory Harbour is part of a national network of HSE Memory Technology Resource Rooms (MTRRs). These are assistive technology and memory enablement demonstration sites where people with memory concerns or dementia and their families, when referred, can meet with an occupational therapist for a consultation. Each member of the Harbour Poets was seen in the Memory Harbour and then invited to participate in the poetry group. Through this project, they navigated the brain health challenges of planning, organising, and meeting new people as well as challenging their language skills to reflect and write. The project was designed and facilitated by poet Grace Wilentz and Catherine Daly, Senior Occupational Therapist.

Welcoming the launch of the Yellow Days poetry collection, Fiona Hammond, Head of Service for Primary Care, HSE Dublin South and Wicklow, said, “Since the Memory Harbour was established in 2019, its value to the wider community has been greatly enhanced through the dedication of our occupational therapists and the engagement of service users and their families. This collaboration is beautifully credited and showcased through the Yellow Days collection of poetry. It also demonstrates the importance of HSE Primary Care and Older Persons Services supporting and promoting brain health while encouraging creativity of service users.”

Yellow Days was funded by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, the HSE and supported by the Memory Harbour. Anyone interested in receiving a copy can contact the Arts Office at arts@dlrcoco.ie or (01) 236 2759.

For more information about a Memory Technology Resource Room in your area, visit bit.ly/MemoryTechnologyResourceRooms

Dr Aoife Carroll, Consultant Paediatrician, University Hospital Waterford speaking at the Children’s Outpatients Centre open day, where members of the hospital’s paediatrics team, parents and children and representatives of the Juniors for Juniors Foundation gathered to mark its coming into operation.

New Children’s Outpatients Centre open at University Hospital Waterford

The HSE hosted an open day in December at its new Children’s Outpatients Centre serving University Hospital Waterford (UHW).

Previously, paediatric outpatient appointments were facilitated within the hospital building. The new standalone facility, situated on the grounds of the hospital, now enables UHW’s paediatrics team to double its capacity in outpatient appointments and reduce waiting times in this regard.

Separate to the renovation works to accommodate children’s outpatient appointments at its new location, the decoration and play equipment was generously supported by the Juniors for Juniors Foundation.

Speaking at the open day, Consultant Paediatrician Dr Aoife Carroll at UHW said, “Access to the new space makes a big difference to everyone. It has always been an aim to have treatment sessions for children located away from where general outpatient services are accommodated in UHW. At our new, dedicated and child-friendly location, from Wednesday to Friday we are now seeing in the region of 30 to 40 children a day in our eight clinical rooms –whereas 15 to 20 would have been the norm previously. When our ophthalmology colleagues join us in here on Mondays and Tuesdays, we are getting up to 60 or 70 attendances.”

“The paediatrics team have worked closely with hospital management to bring this development about and we are all looking forward to the significant effect all of this will have on reduction of waiting times for appointments,” she continues. “We are also very grateful to the Juniors for Juniors Foundation, whose continued efforts towards supporting young patients and their families at UHW are very much appreciated.”

Co-founder and Director of Juniors for Juniors Foundation, Emer Kelly added, “We know it is hard to be in hospital, especially as a child. Juniors for Juniors has worked with the paediatrics team to ensure that little visitors to the new centre get a colouring book, a toy, a ‘brave cert’ and stickers. The whole experience occurs in the presence of child-friendly wall art and a waiting room donned with colour and filled with toys donated by Juniors for Juniors.”

“Feedback from parents is that a fun environment is vital for kids and the set-up in the new centre provides pleasant distraction,” continues Emer. “Because it is so bright, colourful and fun, they tell us it allows the children to just be children. I also hear back that a lot of the children don’t necessarily associate it with ‘hospital’ and they really have great fun here. So, taken with the positive effect on delivery of services, we are all very pleased with what has been achieved!”

Thank you to sta for e orts during recent adverse weather

HSE Dublin and South East would like to thank all healthcare staff across our region, both at hospital and community level, for the incredible work and commitment shown during, and in preparation for, this winter’s adverse weather events.

The efforts shown to protect communities and keep patients safe, while maintaining operation of as many services as possible were extraordinary.

We are also extremely grateful to the local authorities, An Garda Síochána, the voluntary emergency services (Irish Red Cross, Order of Malta, SEMRA and Civil Defence) who assisted HSE services over this period and in difficult conditions. Their local knowledge, professionalism, specialist skills and equipment were invaluable.

Local businesses in our region also supported HSE services with food deliveries, the provision of meals and transport assistance.

A very special thank you is also due to all those in the region who checked on vulnerable people in their neighbourhoods and supported HSE staff to deliver essential home visits or to travel to work.

The Technical Services team at Tipperary University Hospital maintaining access to the hospital for patients, staff, emergency services and local volunteers.

Updates from HSE Dublin and South East

‘Hey You – Listen, Hear’ Safeguarding Conference for South East held in Kilkenny

To coincide with Adult Safeguarding Day on 8 November, over 200 delegates attended a conference in Kilkenny entitled ‘Hey You – Listen, Hear’: Learning from South East Safeguarding This Year, organised by the HSE Safeguarding and Protection team, Amber Women’s Refuge and the School of Applied Social Studies in University College Cork. The conference was addressed by a range of national and international experts drawn from academic, practice, community and lived experience. Adult Safeguarding Day is an initiative of Safeguarding Ireland and is supported by the HSE.

Opening the conference, Prof Eleanor Bantry White (Applied Social Studies, University College Cork) said, “Without awareness raising, there can be no recognition of abuse. That really is the first step. Our conference today marks National Safeguarding Day here in Ireland and as part of this, we are very proud in the South East to be the ones raising awareness about the area of adult safeguarding and contributing to embedding a safeguarding culture that promotes openness, has a zero tolerance approach to any form of abuse and gives voice to those who may be suffering abuse.” Jean Murphy (Assistant Manager, Amber Women’s Refuge) added, “Amber is delighted to be

the community partner for this year’s South East Safeguarding conference. Over the last year, we have seen an increase in the number of women over 60 years of age seeking support, especially in our emergency refuge service. The conference presents an important opportunity to spotlight these women’s experiences and communicate how best to support victim-survivors of domestic violence and abuse from this age profile.”

Rob O’Connor (Principal Social Worker on the HSE Safeguarding and Protection team in the South East) said he was delighted with the success of the conference this year and remarked, “Events like today and talking about the rights and welfare of adults at risk of harm are so important. The abuse of adults is unfortunately an issue that is on the rise in Ireland and across the world. The HSE National Safeguarding Office figures for 2023 tell us that almost 18,000 safeguarding concerns were reported to HSE Safeguarding and Protection teams nationally and this was an increase of almost 20% from the year before. However, a positive that we can take from this increase in numbers is that it also shows that more adult abuse is being recognised and reported on an annual basis to the services that can help those that need them.”

The importance of the healthcare assistant role showcased at Day Centre for Older Persons in Clonskeagh

Staff and clients of the Day Centre for Older Persons in Clonskeagh Community Hospital were recently profiled in an HSE ‘Our Health Service’ story. The piece highlighted the dedicated care being provided by the multidisciplinary team, with Healthcare Assistant Paula Curran to the fore. The story focused on the role of the healthcare assistant as a key member of the team, and the importance of the role for the clients attending the service. Paula was also featured in an Irish Examiner article, speaking about her role and how rewarding she finds it. Congratulations to Paula for shining a light on the fantastic commitment of staff and the work that is provided to older people in the community.

You can watch the video on YouTube at bit.ly/HealthcareAssistantClonskeaghHospital

Read the Irish Examiner article here: bit.ly/HealthcareAssistantForOlderPersons

Dublin South East ICPOP Quality Improvement Project

Congratulations to Clonskeagh ICPOP team members Ruth Harrington (SNR Physiotherapist) and Ramya Ravikumar (interRAI Care Needs Facilitator) who graduated with an RCSI Postgraduate Diploma in Quality Improvement and Leadership in Healthcare. Ruth and Ramya initiated and implemented a project to reduce the median wait time of priority 1 clients in the programme.

Diabetes

Fostering connections in Type 1 diabetes healthcare: HSE National Clinical Programme for Diabetes and UCC School of Public Health knowledge exchange DAFNE event

On 25 October, the HSE Diabetes National Clinical Programme and School of Public Health, University College Cork (UCC) hosted a knowledge exchange event entitled “Building on experience: practice and progress in DAFNE diabetes education” in the Radisson Blu Hotel, Athlone. DAFNE (Dose Adjustment For Normal Eating) is a structured skills-focused education programme which improves outcomes in Type 1 diabetes, and has recently seen a 250% increase in availability in Ireland to 22 sites.

The event was attended by healthcare professionals, research partners and the diabetes community. Speakers included Dr Rose Stewart covering “Being human in the age of digital diabetes care”, Dr Sheena McHugh on tailored strategies to support DAFNE implementation in the HSE from the CUSTOMISE study, and Dr Jackie Elliott on the future of DAFNE. Two engaging panel discussions with DAFNE graduates and educators rounded off the day. The event was funded by the Health Research Board Knowledge Translation Award (KTA-2022-018).

Back row, from left: Dr Cathy Breen, Dr Claire Kerins, Dr Kate Gajewska, Dr Michael Lockhart, Dr Sheena McHugh, Prof Sean Dinneen, Ms Margaret Humphreys, Ms Julia Banasiak, and Dr Aoife O’Mahony. Front row, from left: Dr Jackie Elliott, Dr Rose Stewart, and Ms Louise Holland.

“One significant outcome of this initiative has been the patient’s ability to fully participate in day services without interruption or anxiety.”

National Clinical Programme for Diabetes Technology Networking Event

Funded by the Integrated Care Programme for Chronic Disease and coordinated by the National Clinical Programme for Diabetes, and Marie Gatley, Diabetes Care West, the National Clinical Programme for Diabetes Technology Networking Event, held on 10 October at the Sheraton Athlone, involved multidisciplinary specialist acute care diabetes teams aiming to increase confidence and competence in integrating diabetes technology and e-health solutions into care pathways.

The event featured 20 speakers with a strong emphasis on real-life case studies, illustrating how technology and collaborative multidisciplinary approaches enhance outcomes. Topics included local implementation of insulin pump and glucose sensor pathways, procurement, lived experience, alignment with structured education and telehealth.

There were 110 delegates from all 6 health regions with representatives from dietetics,

medicine and nursing. Evaluation showed improvements in knowledge, with 90% intending to implement changes locally as a result of the event. As diabetes technology and e-health evolve, events like this play a crucial role in bridging geographical disparities and advancing world-class diabetes services throughout Ireland.

The role of continuous glucose monitoring in supporting individuals with Type 1

diabetes and Down syndrome

Olivia McCabe, Advanced Nurse Practitioner in Diabetes

Examples of CGMs and transmitters

Dr Kevin Moore, Dr Michael Lockhart, Dr Abdullah Abdullah, Dr Ridhwaan Salehmohamed, Dr Cathy Breen, Ms Kate Hourigan, Ms Jane Baillie, Prof Derek O’Keeffe, Ms Marie Gatley, Ms Georgina Doyle, Ms Yvonne Moloney, and Dr Wan Aizad Wan Mahmood.

Branda FSS: Straitéis agus Féiniúlacht

Táimid go léir freagrach as muinín an phobail as seirbhís sláinte poiblí na hÉireann a chosaint. Bealach amháin is féidir linn é seo a dhéanamh ná úsáid a bhaint as amharc-aithne FSS ar shlí shoiléir agus sheasmhach. Tar éis athstruchtúrú na seirbhíse sláinte, tá an deis againn simpliú agus neartú a dhéanamh ar an gcaoi a gcuireann muid daoine i dtreo sheirbhísí FSS agus an chaoi a samhlaíonn muid an bhaint atá againn lenár n-eagraíocht féin.

Léiríonn ár dtaighde:

• Aithníonn 92% lógó FSS

• Ceanglaíonn 55% an dath glas leis

• Aontaíonn 84% go n-aithnítear gur seirbhís sláinte poiblí na hÉireann é nuair a chuirtear ainm agus lógó FSS ar ábhair

Bunaithe ar fhianaise, comhairliúchán agus dea-chleachtas, tá treoirlínte nua maidir le hainmniú agus amharc-aithne forbartha againn chun leanúnachas agus soiléireacht ár mbranda a chur i bhfeidhm. Cabhróidh na treoirlínte lena chinntiú go dtabharfar tús áite do leasanna agus riachtanais na n-othar agus an phobail

Trí úsáid a bhaint as brandáil FSS mar a leagtar amach inár dtreoirlínte, is féidir linn:

• Caighdeánú a dhéanamh ar chuma agus ar bhraistint ár gcumarsáide

• Comhsheasmhacht a chruthú thar ár seirbhísí éagsúla

• Muinín a chothú lenár n-othar, leis an bpobal agus le páirtithe leasmhara

• Úsáid ár gcuid seirbhísí agus faisnéise a dhéanamh níos éasca

Treoir bhrandála inghníomhaithe – lógó FSS amháin

• Úsáid lógó FSS chun ionadaíocht a dhéanamh ar gach seirbhís, saoráidí cúraim sláinte, foireann, oifigí, córais, táirgí agus cumarsáid.

• Ná ceangail grafaic ná téacs leis an lógó.

• Cuir an lógó sa chúinne ar barr na láimhe clé, nuair is féidir.

• Bíodh meas agat ar an limistéar eisiaimh timpeall an lógó.

• Más gá duit ábhair chumarsáide inmheánacha nó sheachtracha a logánú, tá marcanna aitheantais náisiúnta, réigiúnacha agus áitiúla ar fáil agus is féidir le d’fhoireann cumarsáide áitiúil iad a sholáthar i nGaeilge agus i mBéarla.

Táimid ag obair ar chultúr nua a fhorbairt maidir le saothar ealaíne a roinnt chun cabhrú le caitheamh dearadh FSS a laghdú. Ní gá ábhair a athbhrandáil ach amháin nuair atá siad críochnaithe. Níor chóir seanfhéiniúlachtaí eagraíochta , seirbhíse, foirne agus córais a chuireann mearbhall ar an bpobal a úsáid a thuilleadh . Is féidir le d’fhoireann cumarsáide cabhrú leis an bpróiseas seo.

Le haghaidh a tuilleadh treoracha, déan teagmháil le: comms.support@hse.ie

Cinntigh go bhfuil do shíniú ríomhphoist inchurtha lenár dtreoirlínte. Féach thíos sampla den chaoi ar cheart do gach ball foirne a síniú ríomhphoist a thaispeáint.

HSE Brand Strategy and Identity

We are all responsible for guarding the public’s trust of the Irish public health service. One way we can do this is by using the HSE’s visual identity in a clear and consistent way. Following the restructuring of the health service, we have the opportunity to simplify and strengthen how we signpost HSE services and identify with the organisation we are a part of.

Our research tells us:

• 92% of people recognise the HSE logo

• 55% associate the colour green with it

• 84% agree that the inclusion of the HSE name and logo on materials identifies it as the Irish public health service

Based on evidence, consultation and best practice, we have developed new naming and visual identity guidelines to bring consistency and clarity to the implementation of our brand. The guidelines will help ensure the interests and needs of patients and the public are considered first.

Ensure your email signature is consistent with our guidelines. See example of how each member of staff should display their email signature.

Using HSE branding as outlined in our guidelines, we:

• Standardise how our communications look and feel

• Create consistency across our di erent services

• Build trust and confidence with our patients, the public and stakeholders

• Reduce the mental load on people who use our services and information

Actionable branding guidance – one HSE logo

• Use the HSE logo to represent all services, healthcare facilities, teams, offices, systems, products and communications.

• Do not attach graphics or text to the logo.

• Position the logo in the top left hand corner where possible.

• Respect the exclusion area around the logo.

• If you need to localise internal or external communications materials, national, regional and local identity marks are available and can be supplied by your local communications team in Irish and English.

We are working on developing a new culture of sharing artwork to help reduce HSE design spend. Materials only need to be rebranded when due for natural replacement. Old organisation, service, team and system identities that cause confusion with the public should be retired. Your communications team can assist with this process.

For further guidance, contact: comms.support@hse.ie

Updates from HSE South West

Dr Andy Phillips

HSE South West Regional Executive Officer

It has been a busy and challenging few months across HSE South West with huge storms, the big snow and the flu surge alongside all the usual pressures that winter puts on our service. I could not be more proud of how we have responded.

Firstly, a sincere thank you to everybody for their work during the weather event in early January. We had a big dump of snow across north Cork and Kerry in particular, and I was really quite emotional about the way everybody came together to keep our communities safe.

It was a great effort from the farmers, the Coast Guard, Mountain Rescue, the Defence Forces, the Ambulance Service – everybody really came together to make sure that we could get our staff and patients into hospitals, and then our staff out again. It’s a real tribute to the community spirit that there is in Cork and Kerry, so thank you so much for that.

I also want to acknowledge the unwavering commitment of our staff, who truly went above and beyond during the big freeze and Storm Éowyn. Hundreds of staff stayed overnight to ensure our patients were safe and cared for. Your dedication has been vital in ensuring that our critical services were delivered amidst these unprecedented challenges. Your efforts have made a huge difference, and I am deeply grateful for everything you have done.

As always, the winter months keep all our services very busy –particularly our acute hospitals. The

new HSE South West Urgent Virtual Care (UVC) telehealth service has had a very successful start, preventing hundreds of attendances at emergency departments across Cork and Kerry since it launched in November.

“I’m very grateful for the high compliance rate as we sought to protect our patients and each other.”

The upsurge of influenza, COVID-19 and RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) cases also presented significant risks to patients and services in hospitals and care settings across Cork and Kerry. So, we implemented compulsory use of masks in all clinical and residential areas from staff and visitors. I’m very

grateful for the high compliance rate as we sought to protect our patients and each other.

Every week we open some more facilities, our friends in the private hospitals are taking more patients, and we will be opening some more beds in Cork. Hopefully, we’ll get some beds in Kerry in a couple of months. We’re also looking at some new places on the Cork University Hospital (CUH) campus. Our Section 38 organisations are coming in and opening new spaces in the Mercy University Hospital and we’re opening new community beds all the time.

Finally, as we move towards full integration, I appreciate the positivity and openness to change from staff across Cork and Kerry. As always, I welcome ideas and feedback. You can contact me at Andy.Phillips@hse.ie

Updates from HSE South West

Urgent Virtual Care goes live

The HSE South West Urgent Virtual Care (UVC) service, running since 4 November, is a telehealth service allowing GPs and paramedics to consult directly by phone or video call with a senior medical decisionmaker in emergency medicine or geriatric medicine.

This is a regional integrated initiative supported by staff from Cork Kerry Community Healthcare (CKCH) and colleagues across HSE South West. The service is run by a team of senior clinicians and support staff who provide virtual consultations and assessment from a centralised hub at Cork University Hospital (CUH). The service runs Monday to Friday, 10am-6pm. Referrals can be made by GPs and paramedics only via Healthlink, email or by phone.

In its first month, UVC dealt with hundreds of referrals and some 69% of those patients were helped to

from left: Ger Moloney, IT Manager, CUH; Aideen O’Riordan, Unscheduled Care Manager, CUH; Dr Mike O’Connor, Consultant Geriatrician; and Ann-Marie Dineen,

avoid emergency departments by being directed to another pathway.

“Supporting GPs and paramedics to find alternative ways to access care for their patients is paying

Connecting for Life conference

The Connecting for Life initiative, Ireland’s National Strategy to Reduce Suicide, officially concluded in 2024. To mark this milestone, the Connecting for Life Cork Kerry Conference took place on 8 October, leading into World Mental Health Day.

The conference marked the significant achievements made across the region during the seven years of the Connecting for Life strategy, while also looking ahead to the future as Cork and Kerry come together as part of the new HSE South West region. Attendees included key stakeholders and individuals who had played a vital role in supporting the strategy throughout the years. The event provided an opportunity to reflect on the collaborative efforts with Resource Officers for Suicide Prevention and the ongoing work to reduce suicide rates.

Jim Coughlan.

dividends,” says Priscilla Lynch, HSE Integrated Healthcare Area Manager. “A huge thank you to the team involved and we look forward to extending it even further.”

HSE Seven Years of Connecting for Life Conference in the Oriel House Hotel, Ballincollig. Photo: Darragh Kane.

The event was opened by Dr Andy Phillips, Regional Executive Officer, HSE South West. Speakers included members of the HSE, An Garda Síochána and Sharon Gregg, who shared her personal story of losing a loved one to suicide. Those present also heard from John Meehan, Assistant National Director – Access and Integration and Head of National Office for Suicide Prevention and Prof Ella Arensman, Chief Scientist with the National Suicide Research Foundation and Professor of Public Mental Health at University College Cork.

Back row, from left: Prof Conor Deasy, Clinical Director of Emergency and Acute Care, CUH and Fiona Foynes, Project Manager. Middle row, from left: Elmar Cronin, Community Support; Dr Isweri Pillay, Geriatrician; Mari O’Donovan, Acting Head of Primary Care; and Mary Rose Dennehy, ICT Lead. Front row,

ICT, CUH. Photo:

Partnership in Practice: Empowering communities in health and social care

Ballincollig buzzed with energy as health and social care staff gathered for Cork and Kerry’s Partnership in Practice conference.

Hosted by Lee-Ann Scott, the region’s Patient and Service User Engagement Officer, the event focused on practical tools and resources to foster partnerships with service users, carers and families. The event encouraged continuous improvement and meaningful collaboration, with speakers presenting key learnings from work in community settings.

A central theme was patient empowerment and keynote speaker Tiberius Pereira, co-founder of Patients for Patient Safety Ireland, highlighted the transformative potential of simple, practical steps to enhance a patient’s role in their healthcare journey: “We were delighted to participate and share the People Empowerment and Health Literacy initiative. Every healthcare professional can empower people with the knowledge, skills and confidence to be active partners and advocates for their care.”

The conference featured diverse contributors, each offering insights into building stronger partnerships. Marion Hurley, organiser of the COPD Peer-Led Support Group in Cork City North, noted the value of communication and tailored supports: “Working with Maeve [Carmody, Self-Management Support] has been a great asset. We have all benefited from the educational talks she organises on our behalf.” Despite initial nerves as a first-time speaker, Marion found the event uplifting: “It’s important to share our stories. I found my fellow speakers amazing and can’t wait for the next event.”

Other speakers were Dr Rebekah Brennan and Mark Wright, whose work with Recovery Academy Ireland and Boxing Clever Cork provides life-saving supports for people with substance use, mental

health and co-occurring disorders. They spoke candidly about avoiding tokenism, listening to constructive feedback, and embracing a truly personcentred approach.

Joining the panel, Katherine Harford (Let’s Grow Together) shared creative ways to hear the voices of young children and, in coordination with the region’s Community Work Departments, Mary Carroll (Tralee International Resource Centre) emphasised the need for cultural sensitivity, empathy and inclusivity: “By listening to and understanding the unique journey of each service user, we can tailor our approach to meet their needs. We can empower people not just to survive, but to thrive.”

In the final panel, Network Manager Martina Corkery joined Lee-Ann to discuss partnership in committee spaces and inclusive working practices in the region’s Child Health Governance Group.

The conference was more than just a day of learning; it was a call to action for staff across the region and attendees left inspired, committing to steps that would put strategy into practice. As the conference drew to a close, one message was clear: the future of health and social care depends on partnership, and strengthening these connections benefits us all.

In her closing speech, Lee-Ann encouraged services to face outward, share successes, and draw on the wealth of enthusiasm and experience within the HSE: “Partnership cannot exist in a vacuum; it thrives on shared learning. The excitement here today, hearing about projects beyond our day-to-day work, shows the power of stepping outside our silos. Let’s keep this momentum going by showcasing our work, and by embracing the inspiration that comes from connecting with others.”

From left: Lee-Ann Scott, Dr Rebekah Brennan and Mark Wright.

Updates from HSE South West

A pop of colour as Glenwood House opens

Glenwood House opened to residents on 1 October as a modern, 10-bed mental health community rehabilitation residence with single en-suite bedrooms and enhanced living accommodation. The property is located in the thriving town of Carrigaline, within walking distance of all shops, amenities and opportunities for exercise.

It is part of moves to address the shortcoming in the stock of modern, fit-for-purpose mental health residential facilities in the region. The extensive upgrade works have transformed the property into a modern, bright, welcoming community residence, designed to be as homely as possible.

“Glenwood House is a fantastic and much-needed addition to the limited stock of community residential mental health units in the Cork region,” says Acting Head of Mental Health Services Deborah Harrington. “The refurbished facility is making a real, positive difference to the people living there. The deficits in the building stock

Healthy Habits for Children: Promoting wellness among young people

The Healthy Weight for Children Regional Implementation Working Group of Cork and Kerry hosted an exciting event aimed at promoting healthier habits for children. Over 200 healthcare, community and voluntary staff joined together on 19 November for the Healthy Habits for Children launch and staff networking event.

One in 4 children in Ireland are overweight or live with obesity, so it is imperative to equip ourselves with the knowledge and tools to support children as well as their parents or caregivers.

Experts joined together on the day to discuss a wide range of supports on offer. A key feature of the event was a panel discussion on healthy weight and growth, where experts shared valuable insights on how to foster positive attitudes toward nutrition, physical activity and overall health for children.

Participants had the opportunity to browse through exhibitor stands, including local children’s services such as public health nursing, ophthalmology, dentists, and Barnardos. Attendees could also explore the

available for mental health residential facilities in the Cork area are well known. Glenwood House could have been a replacement for a number of buildings that are not of the quality we wish to provide for the people we support.

“We have worked to raise the standard considerably with the replacement of Glenmalure with Glenwood; so that the buildings where people live match the high quality of care and support provided by our staff,” she continues. “We are pleased that Glenwood House is available and is making a difference, but there is more work to do. We will continue to develop and implement plans to improve community residential housing for the people we support.”

Residents and staff of Glenwood House share their experiences of this new mental health services facility in a video featured on HSE Cork Kerry Community Healthcare’s YouTube channel.

informative staff poster display and ‘children’s voices’ poster display, which provided additional resources on supporting children’s health.

The highlight of the morning was the launch of the Healthy Habits for Children eBook. This digital resource, created to empower professionals working with children and families, offers evidence-based strategies, practical tips and resources for promoting healthy weight, nutrition and active lifestyles. The event concluded with a chance to network further and explore more of the stands and poster displays, and was a great success in promoting healthy lifestyles for children and fostering collaboration among those dedicated to improving the wellbeing of future generations.

Find the new eBook for healthcare professionals at bit.ly/HealthyHabitsStaff For guidance and support for parents and caregivers, visit bit.ly/HealthyHabitsForChildren

Navigating parenthood with HSE supports

Killarney was the location for a recent parenting event organised by a number of HSE departments (Public Health Nursing, CHN3 and Community Work) working in collaboration with Listowel Family Resource Centre.

Parent Kind aims to provide people with the tools, resources and emotional support they need to navigate the challenges of parenthood by creating a welcoming environment where parents could connect, share experiences and receive expert guidance.

Services available on the day included perinatal and postnatal mental health, psychology (including the promotion of good infant mental health), public health nursing, lactation consultants, maternal physiotherapy, community parent programme, family resource centres, language and play, child safety and more.

Topics discussed included infant nutrition, balancing parenthood, mental health and wellbeing, parenting strategies, peer support and navigating the services.

“We

are encouraging mothers and parents to reach out to their HSE services and community supports for guidance and support.”

“The goal was to provide a strong support network, which is extremely valuable in the early years of parenthood,” says Public Health Nurse Caitriona Shanahan. “We are encouraging mothers and parents to reach out to their HSE services and community supports for guidance and support. It was our first year hosting the event and we were delighted to meet with over 30 parents and grandparents on the day. There was a lovely atmosphere of social connection and most importantly, a sense of kindness and care to support people on their parenting journeys.”

Community Families Programme Kerry

The Public Health Nursing (PHN) Department in Kerry is proud to provide the Community Families Programme to parents and families in Kerry. Community Families has its origins in the Community Mothers Programme, adapted from the Childhood Development Programme developed by Walter Barker in Bristol University in 1979. Public Health Nurse Brenda Molloy established the first Community Mothers Programme in 1983 in Dublin. At that time, the programme recruited and trained volunteers who, supported by a PHN, visited local families monthly to share structured knowledge and support on a peer-to-peer basis. Kerry soon followed suit. Luckily, the home visitors are now valued employees of the HSE in Primary Care. Community Families is under the governance of the HSE and Tusla – The Child and Family Agency. Kerry is one of only seven locations delivering the Community Families Programme along with Dublin Docklands, Limerick, Laois/Offaly, Longford/Westmeath, North Tipperary, and South Tipperary. The programme connects parents with a home visitor who guides and supports parents through those precious early stages of raising a family.

The new evidence-based guidebook forms the core material for the delivery of the programme, which was funded through Sláintecare and a private donor. It was developed following a national review in 2019 conducted by the Katharine Howard Foundation, leading to the creation of Community Families. Families are supported during pregnancy up to their child’s third birthday.

Community Families was launched by the Public Health Nursing Department in Kerry on 5 December during a celebration in Manor West Hotel, Tralee. Stands and posters were available to view on the day and guest speakers included Helen Sweeney DPHN, Kerry; Julie O’Neill, Integrated Healthcare Area Manager, HSE Kerry; Alice Moore, PHN Coordinator of Community Families Kerry; Anne Pardy, Programme Manager, National Healthy Childhood; and Breda Lynch, Area Manager, Tusla Kerry. There was also representation from service users as two parents spoke about their experience of having a home visitor and the positive influence the programme had on building their confidence

Updates from HSE South West

and parenting skills. Another great aspect of the day was the attendance of so many interagency and interdisciplinary professionals who came together to collaborate and network.

At the core of Community Families is the provision of regular home visits by a trained, consistent home visitor. There is great communication with the many disciplines who refer, and the coordinator links back to the referrer with updates. The home visitor meets parents where they are and visits are parent-led. The visits allow for discussion on topics raised by parents such as breast- and bottle-feeding support, child development, immunisation advice, importance of play, tummy time, safety, weaning/ fussy eating, potty training, sleep, parental health and wellbeing and parenting strategies. The home visitor provides support, reassurance and where necessary, signposting or referral to other supports in the community. Additional virtual support is also offered if necessary.

row, from left: Pauline Collins, ADPHN; Michael Moriarty, General Manager, Primary Care; Breda Lynch, Area Manager, Tusla Kerry; Ann Moynihan, Senior Manager PPFS, Tusla; and Alice Moore, PHN Coordinator, Community Families. Front

from

Ann Pardy, Programme Manager, National Healthy Childhood Programme; Helen Sweeney,

Also provided and run in conjunction with PHN and family resource centres/ voluntary services are:

• Baby and Us – a 6-week programme covering topics such as weaning onto family foods; play and tummy time; safe sleep and bedtime routines; speech, language and song; toilet training; and parental health and wellbeing.

• Baby massage – run over 5 weeks

• Breastfeeding support group

• Parenting courses –Parents Plus ADHD programme and Circle of Security

“Just seeing my home visitor provided reassurance; and if you have issues, you can talk about them.” –

one mum who availed of the programme

More information at communityfamilies.ie

From left: Mary Collins; Noreen Geaney, Home Visitors; Pauline Collins, ADPHN; Helen Sweeney, DPHN; Alice Moore, PHN Coordinator, Community Families; Margaret Brosnan; Patricia Guerin; and Loretta Kenny, Home Visitors.

Back

row,

left:

DPHN, Kerry; and Siobhan Broderick, Community Families.

Remember, in the HSE, data protection is everyone’s responsibility

How to avoid common email data protection breaches Email is a very effective communication tool but it can also be the source of a number of common data protection breaches. Typically, most data breaches involving email tend to be a result of human error.

The vast majority of the HSE’s data processing activities are safe and secure but despite the best efforts of our staff, things can go wrong occasionally and data can be shared inappropriately by email.

In those situations, the most important thing is to act swiftly to take the necessary steps to correct the error and enable us to prevent similar issues arising in the future.

How can I reduce the risk of a data breach using email?

• Before you send the email, especially where personal or confidential data is transmitted, double check that the email address is correct.

• Don’t insert personal data in the subject line of emails.

• Make sure the appropriate attachments have been selected before sending an email.

• Only use your work email address, not your personal email. Data should only be transmitted on HSE networks (using HSE email addresses).

When should I use BCC?

• By using the BCC option, you’ll reduce the risk of a data breach.

• BCC allows you to send an email to many people without revealing the email addresses of others contained within the recipient list.

• So if you need to send an email to multiple people where it is necessary to keep all recipients’ email addresses private, always use the BCC field.

• Using CC allows everyone who receives the email to see the email addresses of all other recipients. It also allows recipients to hit ‘reply all’. This increases the risk of a data breach by email. There is a greater chance of the recipients hitting reply all and disclosing additional, possibly sensitive, personal information. Using BCC is a safer option.

What if I send an email to the wrong person or group of people?

If you send an email to someone you shouldn’t have and the email contains personal data, you should BCC a follow-up email to the people you just emailed incorrectly (the affected data subjects) – apologise and tell them that the offending email should be deleted, and advise them that they don’t have the right to further use the email addresses identified to them.

What to do if you suspect a data breach has taken place

The GDPR section of the HSE website provides the necessary guidance for staff to report and manage data breaches. If you are ever in doubt or suspect a data breach, stop, think and ask for help from your line manager and from your local Deputy Data Protection Officer (DDPO). You will find a list of HSE DDPOs at hse.ie/GDPR and they are happy to advise and help so get in touch. Remember that data protection in the HSE is everyone’s responsibility.

What are the most common email errors?

• An email sent to the wrong person because the recipient’s email address was predicted based on the first characters entered.

• Email sent to the wrong person or group of people due to human error.

• Attaching an incorrect document or hyperlink to an email.

• Forwarding an email chain to an unintended/ unauthorised recipient.

• Sending an email to multiple recipients using the ‘To’ or ‘CC’ fields instead of the ‘BCC’ field.

Time to spring clean devices

A new initiative has been launched to tidy up our workspaces. If you have any HSE mobile devices that are not currently in use, please contact your line manager, who will then reach out to the regional mobile admin team for guidance on the next steps. This effort is not only about creating a more organised and efficient workspace but also contributing to a greener environment. By ensuring that unused devices are properly managed, we can reduce electronic waste and promote sustainability within our organisation. Your cooperation in this matter is greatly appreciated. Let’s work together to make our workspace tidier and our environment greener.

“Every individual plays an important role in our cybersecurity response”

Neal

Mullen, Chief Information Security Officer (CISO)

What has been the key focus for you and your team since you came onboard as CISO last year?

Returning to healthcare and the HSE has been a long-term ambition of mine. To some extent, I wasn’t certain if there would ever be a CISO role within the HSE. My key focus since joining has been listening and learning from my team and the wider community. Now it’s time to deliver our roadmap and further develop my team.

What are the main targets for the next 12 months?

My targets within the first 12 months include understanding the as-is, learning from my colleagues and delivering a comprehensive cybersecurity programme; working closely with my stakeholders both inside and outside the HSE; and aligning with regulations.

Have there been any key findings these last couple of months that have surprised you?

Broadly speaking now, my previous experience in healthcare has reaffirmed that we are blessed with staff who are passionate not just about their role, but about the impact

their roles have on our wider services to the Irish public.

What are some of the primary challenges an organisation like the HSE faces as regards cybersecurity and being fully prepared for potential risks? Any similar sized organisation to the HSE has challenges around managing their attack surface, meaning the size of the assets which could potentially be attacked. When we add this to a healthcare setting, the risks are amplified, due to the complexity of our infrastructure, sensitivity of our data, criticality of our services and our regulatory obligations.

Is there a particular message you would like to share with staff about personal responsibility when it comes to cybersecurity?

Every individual plays an important role in our cybersecurity response, being vigilant to suspicious activity and emails, maintaining their cybersecurity training and reporting cybersecurity concerns to the National Service Desk. Every click counts – take a moment to check before actioning on an email.

By focusing on collaboration, equity and innovation, the NIO will work to ensure that every person in Ireland has the opportunity to live free from the burden of vaccinepreventable diseases. Follow us: @hseimm

Boosting vaccination uptake

The National Immunisation O ice Strategic Plan 2024-2027 aims to ensure everyone in Ireland is protected against vaccine-preventable diseases

Achieving Equity and Excellence: National Immunisation Office Strategic Plan 2024-2027

The National Immunisation Office (NIO) presents its Strategic Plan 2024-2027, reaffirming its mission to provide equitable, high-quality immunisation for all in Ireland. Immunisation remains a powerful tool against preventable diseases, safeguarding people across all life stages.

Lessons from the pandemic COVID-19 highlighted the importance of vaccines, showcasing remarkable achievements in uptake and collaboration. However, challenges persist – we have seen a concerning decline in childhood vaccination rates, a pattern echoed across the world. Emerging threats like Mpox, and global challenges such as population displacement due to conflict have placed additional pressures on public health services.

“Emerging threats like Mpox, and global challenges such as population displacement due to conflict have placed additional pressures on public health services.”

Find more information at immunisation.ie

Strategic objectives

The plan is built around 6 core objectives, each designed to address critical needs while preparing us for future challenges:

1. Childhood immunisations: Achieving a 95% uptake rate is crucial for community protection. Partnerships with GPs and public health nurses will target underserved groups.

2. School immunisations: Schools will help meet World Health Organization (WHO) targets for vaccines like HPV.

3. Adult immunisations: Priorities include higher influenza vaccine uptake among older adults, pregnant women, and healthcare workers, alongside tailored outreach for at-risk groups.

4. COVID-19 integration: Routine vaccination programmes will ensure continued protection through boosters.

5. Emerging threats: Scalable vaccination systems and community engagement will enhance resilience.

6. Data and technology: A National Immunisation Information System (NIIS) will provide real-time insights to close coverage gaps.

2040.

COVID-19 spring vaccinebooster

The COVID-19 booster vaccine increases people’s immunity against COVID-19 infection, and gives them ongoing protection from serious illness.

Who can get a booster vaccine this spring?

A COVID-19 spring booster vaccine is recommended for:

• People who are aged 80 and over

• People aged 70 to 79 years who did not get a COVID-19 vaccine in the last 12 months

• People aged 6 months and over who are immunocompromised

• Older adults living in residential care facilities.

Achieving

95% UPTAKE

is crucial for community protection

COVID-19 spring booster vaccines will be available from participating GPs and pharmacies from the beginning of April.

Find out more at hse.ie or call our HSELive team on 1800 700 700.

Dr Lucy Jessop, pictured signing the pledge to achieve elimination of cervical cancer by Ireland’s target date of

Updates from HSE Mid West

Innovative thumb-joint replacement surgery puts patients on path to recovery within weeks

Innovative hand surgery introduced at Croom Orthopaedic Hospital in 2024 is providing a new lease of life to dozens of patients who had all but abandoned hope of living a life free of debilitating hand pain.

A first for Ireland, introduced by orthopaedic surgeon Mr Johan van der Stok, the procedure was pioneered in France and used across Europe and the UK. It involves replacement of the affected joint with a ball-and-socket implant, a mini version of the implants used for hip replacement for many years.

Previously consigned to either painful trapeziectomy surgery, or years of pain management, patients are now on the path to recovery within weeks.

Catherine Doherty from Adare, Co Limerick and John McGuire from West Clare had all but given up on ever finding a solution before referral to Mr van der Stok. They each had surgery on both thumbs in 2023, as the problem typically afflicts both hands. Due to the relatively short recovery time, the second procedure can be performed three months after the first.

New mental health initiative launched at Glór, Ennis

A new initiative aimed at building social connectedness for mental health wellbeing was recently launched at Glór Café in Ennis, supported by HSE Mental Health Engagement and Recovery, Healthy Clare and Mental Health Ireland.

Comparing the new surgery to previous solutions, Mr van der Stok explained, “The trapeziectomy, which is a different procedure for the same problem, is more invasive, with a recovery time of three months, and very few patients would be keen to repeat that process for 12 months if the other hand needs treatment.”

At the vanguard of thumb-joint replacement surgery in Ireland, Mr van der Stok has been involved in the training of his peers nationally, and he predicts that within the next 5-10 years, the procedure will be available everywhere.

The peer-led Wellness Café model provides a safe, supportive environment through a drop-in weekly café at Glór Arts Centre, where adults who wish to connect socially can meet for a chat over a cup of tea or coffee. Ennis is the first such development outside Donegal, where 14 Wellness Cafés have opened since the first in 2019, at An Grianán Café in Letterkenny. The Glór initiative was developed locally, with training provided by Wellness Café founder Sharon Ferguson, Mental Health and Wellbeing Project Officer at Atlantic Technological University (ATU) Donegal.

Mr Johan van der Stok (centre) with John McGuire, Co Clare, and Catherine Doherty, Co Limerick, who each underwent the innovative thumb-joint replacement surgery in both hands. Their lives have been transformed by the procedure.

From left: Hellen Kawilila, Staff Nurse; Mary O’Grady, CNM2; Mr Johan van der Stok, Orthopaedic Consultant; Saleh Ayyd, Staff Nurse; Kate Houlihan, Staff Nurse; Ashley Rajkoomar, Orthopaedic Registrar; Laura Mackessy, Staff Nurse; Annamaria Soda, Orthopaedic SHO; and Orla Daly, Clinical Specialist Occupational Therapist.

Cllr Tommy Guilfoyle; Sam McCarthy, Healthy Clare Coordinator; and Cllr Rita McInerney.

HSE Mid West CAMHS nurses champion innovative social farming initiative to support young people

HSE Mid West’s Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) in North Tipperary and Social Farming Ireland have joined forces in an innovative approach to supporting young people receiving mental health treatment by bringing them closer to nature through social farming.

Social farming is an initiative where people, particularly those with higher health or social needs, are immersed into the daily life of a family farm in a safe, supportive and inclusive environment. In Shallee, North Tipperary, the CAMHS nursing team joined seven young people for hands-on experience with calves and cows on Michael and Oonagh O’Connor’s suckler farm over a 10-week period.

Clinical Nurse Specialists Theresa Tierney-Bugler and Bianca Greer prepared individual support plans with the youths, and worked side-by-side with them doing daily tasks on the farm, including preparing and installing cattle fencing, vaccinating calves, preparing feed, bagging meal, cleaning the farmyard and cutting timber.

Clinical Nurse Specialist Theresa Tierney-Bugler, who has 20 years’ experience, said: “The social farming initiative has been a game-changer and an eye-opener in how we interact with and support our young people with mental health difficulties.

Working alongside these brilliant and bright young people, we were able to model positive behaviour and social communication, have the banter, share a laugh, and create a positive, productive, and inclusive environment.”

Brendan Clifford, 14, one of the seven young people who attended Michael and Oonagh’s farm, said he loved the experience: “Social farming was a really enjoyable experience. It opened my mind to alternative support measures that can help me. I looked forward to Wednesday afternoon with anticipation, and the two hours went by rapidly. It gave me great enjoyment and confidence.”

Updates from HSE Mid West

Suckler farmer Michael O’Connor said the young participants were exceptional: “Some tasks on a farm are two- or three-person jobs, as some of the calves can be very lively. But there was nothing these young people couldn’t do. I only wish I was that good when I was their age. I really admire their enthusiasm,” he said.

Social Farming Ireland facilitates and supports placements on farms, trains and develops social

farmers and operates a national network for farmers and professionals in health and social care services. Their mission is to create inclusive community opportunities for people to experience the everyday activities and environment of a working family farm, enhancing their lives and wellbeing in the process.

An anonymous survey among parents and young people who took part in this unique initiative showed positive results for the CAMHS social farming initiative. Parents reported the benefits of their child participating in the programme were improvements in their mood, trying a new experience, and getting on better with family and others.

Benefits reported by the young people:

• All reported improvement in mood.

• All reported it as a new experience they enjoyed.

• 2 reported reduction in anger.

• 4 reported increased motivation.

• 1 reported improved sleep pattern.

• 3 reported getting on better with family and others.

Above: Theresa Tierney-Bugler, Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS), North Tipperary CAMHS with suckler farmer Michael O’Connor and Bianca Greer, CNS, North Tipperary CAMHS. Left: Brendan Clifford, 14, with cattle medicine: “Social farming was a really enjoyable experience.”

Anna Marie Nagle A DAY IN THE LIFE OF...

Operational Team Lead, Integrated Care Programme for Older Persons (ICPOP), HSE Acute and Older People Services in the Mid West

I am based with ICPOP in the Clare hub, a single point of access for specialist assessments, investigations and outpatient rehab for older people with complex needs. We work to ensure that older people who experience

challenges such as frailty, falls, changes in cognition, memory, mobility, or independence receive the comprehensive support they need.

Our team has a consultant, GP, admin support, advanced nurse practitioners, case manager,

clinical nurse specialists, community connector, dietitian, multitask attendant, occupational therapist, occupational therapy assistant, physiotherapist, physiotherapy assistant and speech and language therapists.

Each patient receives a comprehensive assessment, which allows us to tailor care for their individual needs and work to support them, where possible, to live safely and independently in their own communities. Where appropriate, we provide an alternative to Emergency Department admission and support early discharge from hospital.

I love seeing the positive impact of our work on people’s lives, and the improvements in our patients’ physical, psychological, and social wellbeing. The feedback gives us all a great sense of accomplishment.

A typical day involves coordinating with colleagues on scheduling and patient care, following up on feedback and outcomes with patients, while ensuring high standards of care are provided.

Working with the interdisciplinary team is particularly satisfying; each team member brings unique expertise, allowing us to deliver truly integrated care to patients.

Interacting with patients, hearing their stories and feedback on the service is such a privilege. The opportunity to witness each person’s progress as they regain independence and confidence, and return to activities they previously enjoyed is a pleasure.

Anna Marie Nagle, ICPOP Operational Team Lead in Clare (centre) with Dr Zaheer Iqbal, Consultant Physician (left) and Dr Ken Deegan, GP (right).

Updates from HSE Mid West

Patient conversations

John Wall, a prominent healthcare advocate and campaigner from Lahinch in Co Clare, was a recent guest on the HSE Talking Health and Wellbeing Podcast, speaking to host Noreen Turley about his role on the HSE Mid West Programme Improvement Board.

The podcast is one of a series of interviews with health and wellbeing personnel, and their partners, on efforts to deliver on the Healthy Ireland ambition to support, protect and empower individuals and their families and communities to achieve their full health potential.

On the episode ‘Patient Voices Shaping Healthcare’, John spoke about his journey from the margins as a vocal critic of healthcare services, to a Patient Partner role that has since grown out of an evolving atmosphere of greater inclusiveness for patient voices, and deeper mutual respect between healthcare professionals and service users.

“In the past, the only avenue was to take to social media, and I had a very big mouth and had to learn to engage with the system,” John admits of his new role as Patient Partner on the HSE Mid West Programme Improvement Board, to which he was appointed last autumn by Sandra Broderick, HSE Mid West Regional Executive Officer.

“We’ve all changed, and my own MO is a lot more responsible as I’ve learned how to effectively utilise opportunities. Things are changing. There is an element of trust, a belief that Patient Partners can contribute in a meaningful way; to be part of a decision-making process where you can also be yourself – this is invaluable,” John says.

John has been receiving cancer treatment at University Hospital Limerick since 2017, and along with his own experiences, has been inspired by lessons learned from his friendship with the late health advocate Vicky Phelan. “There is no pathway for this,” he says. “I was very good friends with Vicky and we had lots of conversations about how to utilise your own lived experience, along with others’, acting as conduits through which others can articulate their views.”

John also credits Ms Broderick and HSE CEO Bernard Gloster as key figures in emphasising the Patient Partner role. A key moment for John was in 2023, after he posted a critical Tweet about CervicalCheck, to which Mr Gloster responded directly. This led to a meeting and a “very honest and frank conversation”, and an invitation for John to address the HSE senior leadership team for one hour, with no agenda. “This was the point where things started to change for me, when I realised, there is something in this,” John explained.

In his role on the Programme Improvement Board, John says Sandra Broderick has placed “a lot of faith” in his contribution to the effort to establish a fit-for-purpose structure for Patient Partnership. John sees himself as a connector between the system and the people who use it, engaging with all service users and groups and having the conversations with service users that senior HSE managers might find more difficult.

As a person who says what he means and means what he says, John asserts he is as vocal as he needs to be on the important issues, while also navigating the

“I can see the changes that are happening at the moment. It is slow, and will be slow for the time being, because there is a lot to change.”

complexities of the relationships between the HSE and the Department of Health and public representative stakeholders. Having recovered from Stage 4 prostate cancer, John is driven by a sense of the importance of not taking good health for granted. “I look forward in life. I’ve been given a second chance, and have no intention of wasting it – carpe diem!”

“I genuinely believe there is hope for the future, and that hope will lead to change, and a system that we can be a lot prouder of than perhaps we have been in times past. I can see the changes that are happening at the moment. It is slow, and will be slow for the time being, because there is a lot to change, but there is a lot to be hopeful for as well,” John adds.

For a full list of all podcast episodes, see the HSE Talking Health and Wellbeing Podcast homepage at bit.ly/TalkingHealthWellbeing Listen to the full ‘Patient Voices Shaping Healthcare’ episode featuring John Wall wherever you get your podcasts, or on the HSE Health and Wellbeing YouTube Channel at youtu.be/OM7jK-1Ds7c

John Wall

A

rousing UHL critical care reception for Paralympic silver and bronze medal-winning swimmer Róisín Ní Riain with her parents, Dr Marian Conroy and Dr Seosamh Ó Riain.

UHL homecoming for double Paralympic medallist Róisín Ní Riain

Chaplain at University Hospital Limerick, Fr Sean Harmon led a mid-October gathering of the hospital’s critical care staff in a homecoming reception for Limerick-based double Paralympic medallist Róisín Ní Riain, 19-year-old daughter of lead ICU/HDU consultant Dr Seosamh Ó Riain and palliative care consultant, Dr Marian Conroy.

Róisín happily allowed staff to hold the prized medals she won at the Paris 2024 Paralympics for the 100m backstroke (silver) and 200m individual medley (bronze).

Amid presentations of flowers, and encouraging all to enjoy the beautiful celebration cake made for the reception, Fr Sean remarked on the excitement among staff around the young swimmer’s races in Paris, and their pride in Drs Ó Riain and Conroy for supporting Róisín towards this magnificent sporting achievement.

Primary schools sign up for award-winning Care Aware Crew programme

Patricia Uwatze, Sharon O’Brien and Vic Libaste enjoying the Cultural Celebration Day at St Camillus’ Hospital.

Vibrant

celebration of multiculturalism at St Camillus’

St Camillus’ Community Nursing Unit recently hosted a lively Cultural Celebration Day, bringing together nursing and allied health professionals, healthcare attendants, maintenance staff, medical personnel and residents to honour the rich diversity within its team.

Located in a newly built facility, St Camillus’ provides exceptional elder care, with staff committed to delivering personalised attention that meets each resident’s unique needs and enhances their overall wellbeing.

Karen Woods, HSE Mid West Lead for Staff Health and Wellbeing, highlighted the role of the Cultural Celebration Day in fostering connections between staff and with residents through music, food and dance, and Sian McCormack, Director of Nursing, remarked on the unique cultural richness that enhances the experience of staff and residents at St Camillus’.

An array of talent performed, including singers Tracy Costello and Andrea O’Rourke MacMahon, who volunteer weekly to entertain the residents, and traditional Irish music performers Jamie Troy and Aishling Byrne, teachers at the Peter Dee Academy of Music. Residents also loved the lively karaoke session with Vic Libaste from UHL.

There was a delicious menu of dishes showcasing the catering team’s culinary skills and diverse cultural backgrounds, while colourful flag displays and the county jerseys worn by Irish staff added to the vibrant atmosphere.

Future collaborative art projects with local artists are planned for other nursing units, funded by RENEW Partnership of the HSE, the Arts Council, and Creative Ireland.

Additional HSE Spark Innovation funding of €88,000 has been announced for a Mid West Health Sciences Academy effort to reach primary schools in the region with the Care Aware Crew programme, a free initiative that teaches essential health knowledge and health literacy, while introducing children to careers in healthcare.

The programme, initially funded by QExchange in 2022 and piloted across 20 schools, has received enthusiastic feedback from teachers and students. Developed by healthcare professionals and informed by teachers, Care Aware Crew is a partnership between Limerick and Clare Education and Training Board, HSE Mid West Health Sciences Academy, and University of Limerick.

Laura Ginty, Health Sciences Academy with pupils of Presentation Primary School, Sexton Street, Limerick, who completed the Care Aware Crew programme.

Updates from HSE Mid West

Building diverse teams

The Equality and Inclusion Committee within the Health Sciences Academy, which includes representation from University of Limerick (UL) and HSE Mid West (hospitals and community services) held a morning symposium for healthcare and academic staff on 4 December. This was both an in-person and online multidisciplinary event, which promoted interprofessional collaboration and learning across all disciplines.

Neurodiversity is described as an umbrella term that captures the variation in human thinking and perception. This symposium provided valuable insights into neurodiversity and the importance of understanding that variation is a normal part of human experience: we are all individual and unique. When we embrace neurodiversity, then we can think of ourselves more like an orchestra, where everybody on the team is bringing something to the table. It is recognised that in the HSE we have an increasingly diverse workforce. However, workplaces are mainly designed to suit 90% of the population who are neurotypical.

The key message of the symposium was the power of diverse, collaborative teams and how embracing diversity and neurodiversity strengthens teamwork, enhances patient care, and drives innovation. The presentations focused on the background of neurodiversity, living with neurodiversity, and the supports for neurodivergent employees, including assistive technologies.

Key facts:

• Neurodiversity covers a variety of different conditions, and rarely occurs as one condition.

• Neurodiversity focuses on strengths rather than deficits.

• Neurodivergent traits can be valuable and contribute to society.

• Symptoms are sometimes obvious, but often the symptoms are hidden.

• Currently 15% of society are neurodivergent; figures are rising mainly due to better detection and understanding.

• 48% of employees with neurodiversity do not disclose their diagnosis to their employer.

• A diverse society needs a diverse healthcare workforce.

• Creating accessible digital content for all, and the role of technology in inclusive practice is important.

• Every Mind Matters is a new initiative being developed by Health Promotion HSE Dublin and Midlands to embrace neurodiversity in the workplace.

New Virtual Ward service in University Hospital Limerick

An acute Virtual Ward (VW) has been established at University Hospital Limerick (UHL). This innovative service facilitates patients to receive hospital-level care and treatment enabled by technology in the comfort of their own homes, monitored 24/7 in a central hub in UHL. Internationally, Virtual Wards are designed to enhance capacity within health systems in delivering care to patients that would traditionally require inpatient treatment.

Our implementation journey led by Project Manager Patricia O’Gorman commenced, in collaboration with HSE National Strategic Programmes and eHealth offices, with a site visit to the NHS Norfolk and Norwich hospital in August 2023 to view their VW model.

Rapid mobilisation followed in collaboration with a national steering group supported by a local implementation group, with experts from multidisciplinary team colleagues, ensuring comprehensive and patient-focused project planning. St Vincent’s University Hospital (SVUH) joined in December 2023 as the second pilot site selected, helping to form positive collaborative relationships. Procurement of the digital health solution and establishment of a virtual hub in UHL were a few of many phases in the development of this project.

Go-live of this model of care was July 2024 with 1,810 bed days used in UHL by 277 respiratory and cardiology patients in the initial rollout. The average length of stay to date is 6.6 days. In a mixed methods evaluation facilitated by University College Dublin (UCD), staff reported benefits to patients include: better nutrition, reduced risk of hospital acquired infections, safe care, empowerment and increased knowledge of their condition. Additionally, patients report feelings of safety, trust and improved self-management, whilst also valuing the responsiveness of the hub staff. UHL is very fortunate to have been selected as one of the pilot sites to roll out this exciting, groundbreaking initiative.

From left: Maura Fitzgerald, UHL; Miriam McCarthy, UHL and UL; Dr Sadhbh O’Dwyer, UL; Thomas O’Shaughnessy, UL; Ger Crilly, UHL; Pauline Chapman, UHL; Ruth Reidy, HSE Mid West; Julianne Cullen, HSE Dublin and Midlands; Maria Moloney, DEI, HSE; Dr Claire O’Donnell, UL; Anne McCarthy, NMPDU, HSE Mid West and West; Riona Garvey, HSE Mid West.

Spotlight on Screening

Working to eliminate cervical cancer

The HSE’s Cervical Cancer Elimination Action Plan 2025-2030 was launched at an event in Dublin’s EPIC museum on 15 November. The plan sets out the HSE’s commitment to a future in which cervical cancer is rare in every community and the steps we will take to make that happen.

Ireland publicly committed to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) global initiative to eliminate cervical cancer in January 2023, one of the first countries in the world to do so. The action plan ensures we will remain on track to achieve elimination by Ireland’s target date of 2040.

The event included addresses by Chief Medical Officer Professor Mary Horgan, HSE Chief Clinical Officer Dr Colm Henry, National Screening Service Director of Public Health Dr Caroline Mason Mohan, who leads the Cervical Cancer Elimination Partnership, and Dr Salome Mbugua, Chief Executive Officer of AkiDwA (pictured above). A panel discussion focused on actions in our communities that support the journey to cervical cancer elimination, which will be achieved through the joint effort of the HSE’s vaccination, cervical screening and treatment services, in partnership with communities.

“In 2020, Ireland was one of the first countries to switch to primary HPV cervical screening, which brought us closer to elimination by three years,” says Dr Caroline Mason Mohan, highlighting that nearly half of all cervical cancers occur in the 20% to 30% of people who haven’t been screened at all or haven’t had regular screening, so they miss the chance of preventing cancer. “Equity is the overarching priority in this action plan.”

Diabetic RetinaScreen joins WHO mission to bring diabetic eye screening to Turkmenistan

The HSE’s Diabetic RetinaScreen programme has joined a World Health Organization (WHO) mission to bring diabetic eye screening to Turkmenistan. Diabetic RetinaScreen Programme Manager Helen Kavanagh, along with five other advisors from England, Portugal and Russia, visited Turkmenistan to understand the ‘on the ground’ situation and prepare a report to the Turkmen ministry for health, setting out recommendations for a diabetic retinopathy screening programme. The next steps will be determined by decisions made by the Turkmenistan government on implementing a diabetic eye screening pilot programme.

Dr Salome Mbugua, Chief Executive Officer, Akina Dada wa Africa (AkiDwA)

MY STORY

“Screening Saved My Life”

Retired special education teacher Dympna Cremin became the face of the HSE’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month campaign, as she shared her story of how the BreastCheck programme caught her cancer in the early stages

Dympna Cremin (66) was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2021 after a screening mammogram with BreastCheck. Following successful surgery and radiotherapy, she’s now encouraging other women to make informed decisions about their health and go for breast screening every time they are invited.

Dympna, from Castletroy in Limerick, featured in a BreastCheck video (see BreastCheck patient: Dympna’s story on YouTube) launched during Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October. In it, she says: “I have been for every screening test every time I’ve been invited since I was 52. When I saw the BreastCheck result letter on the doormat, I assumed this was the usual ‘nothing found’ but it was offering me a follow-up appointment in Cork’s Southern Unit.

“I had another mammogram and ultrasound; the doctor told me she could see something and asked if she could take a needle biopsy. They did their very best to make sure it wasn’t too sore.

“The surgeon showed me the latest mammogram compared to my previous mammogram from nearly three years earlier and pointed out where it had changed. He said he was fairly certain that he was looking at cancer and that it was at a very early stage.”

A week later, the biopsy result confirmed cancer, and Dympna was offered surgery to remove the lump during a day procedure in Cork University Hospital.

Dympna says: “It was a godsend that it would be done so quickly. Everything was my decision, and once I had all the facts, I could make informed decisions. Afterwards, my surgeon was positive the operation had gone well.”

After surgery, Dympna had a course of radiotherapy and now takes oestrogen-supressing medication every day. She also has a mammogram every year.

“I am very grateful it was found early,” Dympna says. “I attribute that to BreastCheck. The surgeon confirmed that there was no way I would’ve felt it or found it. I’m very lucky.” Dympna is keen to encourage women aged 50 to 69 to make sure they are registered for screening and go for their screening test and any follow-up appointments. Dympna encourages people to choose screening: “From the moment that this happened to me, I spoke to my friends and anyone who would listen because I felt it was so important to get the message about BreastCheck out there. Please have your checks, please respond to the letters.”

Dympna has also joined the National Screening Service’s Patient and Public Partnership. She continues to advocate for breast screening and is involved in developing and evaluating national screening programmes.

Breast cancer is the second most common invasive cancer in women in Ireland, with 3,400 diagnoses each year. About a third of these cancers are detected through screening. Dympna’s story highlights that screening can find cancer before symptoms have started. And with earlier detection, treatment outcomes and survival rates are better.

Find more information at hse.ie/breastcheck

National Screening Service launches new Equity in Screening webpage

The National Screening Service has launched a new screening equity webpage at hse.ie/ equityinscreening. This is a resource that highlights the ongoing work to improve equity across Ireland’s four screening programmes. The webpage provides information on screening equity projects in the areas of research and data, education, learning and development, partnership,

access and inclusivity, and communications. The page also links to equity resources and reports. Research shows that some groups are less likely to come for screening, and that it is often the people who don’t come for screening who could benefit the most from it. The National Screening Service’s equity work aims to address the barriers to screening and make screening more accessible to everyone.

Dympna telling her story in the BreastCheck video

Sara Brennan and Una Deane are clinical specialist speech and language therapists working with ear, nose and throat services at University Hospital Limerick and Primary Care in HSE Mid West

Sara and Una triage and see people on ear, nose and throat (ENT) waiting lists who are most likely to require input from a speech and language therapist (SLT) as their main treatment. Stephen O’Neill, from the administrative team, supports the running of the pathway on a day-today basis. University Hospital Limerick (UHL) ENT consultants provide clinical governance and expert clinical opinion, supporting safe patient care.

What is dysphonia and dysphagia?

The vocal tract and voice box (larynx) play an important role in breathing, swallowing and producing voice. Dysphonia is a term used to describe a voice disorder. Voice disorders occur when a person experiences a change in their voice quality, pitch and loudness. Dysphagia is a term used to describe eating, drinking and swallowing difficulties.

There are a number of types of dysphonia and dysphagia factors that can influence the voice and swallowing. Voice disorders and swallowing difficulties can be short-term or long-term and can range in severity. People with voice disorders may experience difficulties with day-today tasks, such as talking on the telephone or in social situations at home or work. Dysphagia can affect a person’s quality of life, impacting eating, drinking and social inclusion.

Treatment

Typically, we are the first point of contact for people presenting with

vocal tract issues. We contribute to the diagnostic process and provide information about the function and status of a person’s larynx and/or vocal tract during the treatment of their voice and/or swallowing difficulty. We use a variety of assessment tools such as perceptual, instrumental and case history information to plan and deliver treatment.

While our ENT colleagues are qualified and licensed to provide medical diagnoses, our work contributes to effective and tailored treatments, which can be provided closer to home. It is a recognised example of advanced clinical practice by the HSE’s national Health and Social Care Professions (HSCP) office. Specific treatment techniques used vary greatly and are specific to each individual person we work with.

The HSE dysphonia and dysphagia patient pathway

This Modernised Care Pathway uses strict criteria to identify patients on the ENT waiting lists who are most likely to require SLT intervention as their main treatment. The pathway reduces the number of hospital visits for people and enables patients to be seen by the specialist who is most suited for their specific needs.

This pathway can enhance patient experiences and significantly contributes to the efficiency and effectiveness of healthcare delivery within ENT departments. Support from the ENT service at UHL has been vital to the establishment and running

Anyone

experiencing persistent voice and/or swallowing di iculties should talk to their GP about an SLT referral.

of the service. The pathway has contributed significantly to improving patient access to care, with over 78% of patients triaged being treated directly by this SLT-led model; 40% of patients (who attended for their initial appointment) went on to have further care with community-based SLTs. There are 6 SLT sites across the country who operate this pathway, but additional recruitment is needed for administrative support, community-based clinical specialist SLTs, speech and language therapy assistant and dietetics roles to ensure the pathways operate at optimum capacity.

From left: Una Deane and Sara Brennan

Patient Experience

HSE welcomes findings of 2024 National Inpatient Experience Survey

On 10 December, the HSE welcomed the Health Information and Quality Authority’s (HIQA) findings of the National Inpatient Experience Survey 2024, highlighting the experiences of patients in public acute hospitals across Ireland. A detailed HSE response report, Listening, Responding and Improving was also published, outlining the work underway to address the issues highlighted by participants in the survey.

In total, 12,367 patients took part in the survey, sharing feedback on their experience of care in Irish hospitals. The findings showed the majority of respondents (85%) rated their hospital care experience positively, with 58% rating their care as “very good” and 27% as “good”.

Compared to 2022 survey findings, the 2024 results show patients’ rating of their overall care experiences have improved, particularly regarding being discharged from hospital, which had consistently received the lowest scores in previous surveys.

However, the survey also identified a number of key areas to be improved, including that 19.7% said they were unable to find staff to discuss their worries and 15.3% reported not receiving enough information on managing their condition post-discharge.

“I want to thank every individual who took the time to respond to this survey and share their experiences,” says Bernard Gloster, HSE CEO. “Listening and learning is a core part of delivering safe, effective healthcare. This survey identifies key areas for improvement in patient care, as well as strengths that we can build on. I want to reassure patients we will use this valuable feedback to continue to work to improve our services. This work is already underway in our hospitals through the quality improvement initiatives outlined in the HSE response report.”

In 2024, patients indicated positive interactions with healthcare staff, with: 84%

reporting they felt treated with respect and dignity 79% trusting hospital staff 79% reporting adequate pain management 79%

feeling confident in the safety of their treatment and care

“This is the sixth national inpatient survey and I am pleased that patient participation remains high with a response rate of 41% and that the majority of people (85%) rated their overall experience of hospital care as ‘good’ or ‘very good’,” says Joe Ryan, HSE National Director for Public Involvement, Culture and Risk Management. “The strong response rate tells us that patients have a desire to talk about their experiences in hospital and contribute to efforts to improve our health service. I am committed to working with colleagues to ensure the survey findings will continue to inform ongoing quality improvement priorities and projects.”

From left: The HSE’s National Care Experience Programme team: Elizabeth Kinsella; Assistant National Director Iolo Eilian; Hélène Tobin; Sandra Shannon; and Edel Mulligan, who led the work on the detailed HSE response report, Listening, Responding and Improving.

Updates from HSE Dublin and North East

Tánaiste

and Minister for Foreign A airs opens new outpatient and ambulatory facility for the Rotunda Hospital

Hampson House, the Rotunda Hospital’s state-of-theart facility dedicated to outpatient and ambulatory services was recently opened by then Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Micheál Martin. Located in Dublin City Centre in the newly refurbished Clerys Quarter, this modern facility will provide care to more than 100,000 patients annually, marking a significant milestone in the delivery of healthcare services in the heart of Dublin.

The HSE procured the Earl Building site to support the Rotunda Hospital’s ongoing commitment to developing and enhancing patient care. Hampson House will serve as the primary location for a wide range of outpatient services, including:

• Maternity Outpatients

• Paediatric Outpatients

• Colposcopy

• Perinatal Mental Health

• Allied Health Services: Social Work, Radiology and Dietetics

Relocating its outpatient services to Hampson House will enable the Rotunda Hospital to progress plans for a transformative Critical Care Wing on its historic Parnell Square campus. A planning application has been submitted for the proposed Critical Care Wing in December 2024, which will include:

• A new and expanded Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and Special Baby Care Unit (SBCU)

• Increased delivery suite and operating theatre capacity

• Additional single-occupancy postnatal beds

• Enhanced clinical support facilities, including a Central Services Supplies Department (Decontamination) and Radiology

Speaking at the opening, then Tánaiste Micheál Martin highlighted the importance of the new facility: “The opening of Hampson House represents a major step forward in delivering modern and more dignified healthcare services to mothers, babies and families in Ireland. This modern facility will not only enhance patient care but also enable the development of critical infrastructure at the Rotunda Hospital as it prepares to meet the needs of future generations.”

Then Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Micheál Martin TD and Professor Seán Daly, Master of the Rotunda in front of a portrait of Sara Hampson, the First Lady Superintendent

Professor Seán Daly, the Master of the Rotunda, remarked: “The relocation of outpatient services to Hampson House is a key enabler for the Rotunda’s broader vision to provide safe, dignified and highquality care. The Rotunda Hospital has been an integral part of the fabric of Dublin City Centre since 1745. Hampson House will expand the footprint of the Rotunda campus, ensuring that the strong relationship with the community is enhanced even further. We are on track to celebrate a momentous milestone in 2027 when we welcome the one-millionth baby delivered in the heart of Dublin City at the Rotunda Hospital.”

In the coming months, two additional premises on Dominic Street and Cavendish Row will be added to the extended Rotunda City Centre campus.

of the Rotunda Hospital, which Hampson House is named after.

Photo: Robbie Reynolds.

Then Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Micheál Martin TD pictured with Nurses Jennifer O’Neill and Rose Thorne and Professor Jen Donnelly, Clinical Director of Hampson House (right). Photo: Robbie Reynolds.

Updates from HSE Dublin and North East

Back row, from left: John O’Hanlon, Regional Executive Officer, IFA; Dr Conor Holohan, Programme Director, Make the Moove, Macra; Francis Bligh, Health and Safety Specialist, Teagasc; Tom Kellegher, Regional Manager, Teagasc. Front row, from left: Finola Colgan, Development Officer, Mental Health Ireland; Emer Mulligan, HSE Resource Officer Suicide Prevention, Cavan Monaghan; Mairead O’Neill, Head of Service, HSE Mental Health Services Louth Meath; Elizabeth Tilson, IFA Farm Families, Cavan; Rosaleen Dolan, HSE Resource Officer Suicide Prevention, Louth Meath; Regina Joyce, College Lecturer, Teagasc.

New farmer wellbeing board launched

A new farmer wellbeing board was recently launched at Ballyjamesduff Mart, Co Cavan. This is a collaborative initiative between the Resource Officers for Suicide Prevention in Cavan Monaghan and Louth Meath.

The farmer wellbeing boards have been designed to raise awareness about the key factors that can create stress for farmers, signs that may indicate stress, and the confidential supports available. The wellbeing boards and accompanying wallet-size information cards also outline things we can do to support our wellbeing.

These are being supplied to all marts and agricultural outlets across the counties of Cavan, Monaghan, Louth and Meath and will be put on display in a prominent location. The boards and wallet cards also include a QR code which when scanned, leads directly to a copy of the board, which is hosted on the Teagasc Farm Health and Safety webpage at teagasc.ie.

“The wellbeing boards will help raise awareness about the practical, confidential and non-judgemental supports available when a farmer or family member feels they are

struggling,” says Mairead O’Neill, HSE Head of Service for Mental Health in Louth Meath.

“The wellbeing board includes a range of support services relevant to the farming community, such as Teagasc, IFA, Embrace Farm and also mental health support helplines and services, many of which are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week (for example, Samaritans, Pieta and Text About It). These services are confidential, free of charge and can offer practical and emotional support during times of distress and crisis.”

The farmer wellbeing board is a partnership development with the HSE Connecting for Life Resource Officers for Suicide Prevention in Cavan Monaghan and Louth Meath, Development Officers with Mental Health Ireland and Teagasc health and safety specialists.

“With the provision of the boards on a county-wide basis, it will help promote awareness of mental health issues together with signposts to support services, across a range of areas,” says Leo Kinsella, HSE Head of Service for Mental Health in Cavan Monaghan.

HSE Living Well with Parkinson’s Information Session Dundalk

A Living Well with Parkinson’s information session took place recently in Dundalk, Co Louth. This followed a very successful workshop in 2023. The patientcentred workshop, aimed at anyone newly diagnosed or living with Parkinson’s and their families living in Co Louth, focused on fostering an understanding of Parkinson’s disease. It looked at ways to enable people with Parkinson’s disease to optimise their quality of life with positive health behaviours, reducing acute needs, enabling selfdetermination and establishing support with a sense of community connection.

The event was well attended by individuals with Parkinson’s disease, along with some carers and family members. Those in attendance reported they found the day meaningful and worthwhile. One participant described a feeling of “can-do” afterwards. Another reported realising “some things are within my control”.

The community workshop was facilitated by primary care dietetics, speech and language therapy and occupational therapy; collaboratively with the older persons’ services physiotherapy and self-management support coordinator for Louth Meath. The workshop harnessed multidisciplinary team collaboration for productivity and promoted accessibility.

Beaumont Hospital unveils strategic plan to drive excellence in healthcare for the next five years

Beaumont Hospital has announced its comprehensive fiveyear strategic plan designed to ensure the highest standards of healthcare delivery and to meet the evolving needs of patients and the community it serves. The strategy was launched recently by Minister for Finance Jack Chambers TD; Bernard Gloster, HSE CEO; and Pauline Philip, Chair of the Beaumont Hospital Board.

Rooted in seven key principles, Building Excellence in Care, Together, is a patient-centred strategy that underscores the hospital’s commitment to excellence, innovation, and sustainability. Beaumont Hospital is one of Ireland’s largest Model 4 hospitals, employing over 4,935 healthcare professionals, with 851 beds.

Informed by public health, Census 2022 population and hospital inpatient and outpatient data, and insights from stakeholders, the new strategic plan provides a blueprint to ensure Beaumont Hospital can best serve the needs of an ageing local population of more than half a million and the complex surgical and advanced care needs of patients across the newly established Dublin and North East Health Region. The plan also addresses the needs of patients across

“With a clear focus on innovation, collaboration and sustainability, we are ready to meet the challenges of the future while continuing to provide the outstanding care our patients deserve.”

Anne Coyle,

Chief Executive Officer

left: Beaumont

CEO Anne Coyle; HSE CEO Bernard Gloster; Beaumont Hospital Board Chair Pauline Philip; Minister for Finance Jack Chambers TD; Regional Executive Officer HSE Dublin and North East Sara Long; RCSI Head of Strategic Research Initiatives and Industry Partnerships Dr Seamus Browne; and RCSI Vice Chancellor Professor Cathal Kelly.

Ireland who require access to national cancer, transplant and neuroscience services, including neurosurgery, neurology, stroke, cochlear implantation and neuro-ICU.

Speaking at the launch, Minister for Finance Jack Chambers TD said, “As government investment into the health sector has dramatically increased in recent years, it is important that Ireland’s healthcare facilities like Beaumont Hospital develop and implement strategies such as the one launched here today. This strategy will ensure the delivery of a truly integrated care system across a range of multidisciplinary services at one of Ireland’s largest Model 4 hospitals, while also helping to provide urgent and emergency care for the community which Beaumont Hospital serves. It is the development and implementation of strategies like this that help to increase productivity, advance Irish healthcare, and will secure further investment into our patient-centred services.”

“Our new strategic plan reflects Beaumont Hospital’s unwavering commitment to putting patients first and striving for excellence in everything we do,” says Anne Coyle, Chief Executive Officer. “With a clear focus on innovation, collaboration and sustainability, we are ready to meet the challenges of the future while continuing to provide the outstanding care our patients deserve.”

Read the Beaumont Hospital Strategic Plan 2025-2030 at bit.ly/BeaumontStrategy20252030

From

Hospital

Updates from HSE Dublin and North East

A

celebration of wellness

The

Louth Meath HSE Sta Wellness Fest

On 9 November, Drogheda Institute for Further Education hosted the Louth Meath HSE Staff Wellness Fest, a vibrant celebration of health and wellbeing. Its success attributed to the collaboration between acute and community services with funding from Healthy Ireland under the 2024 RENEW Arts budget.

The event featured yoga, meditation, art workshops, health checks, and wellbeing exhibits. Over 200 attendees enjoyed live music, children’s activities, and expert health advice.

Promoting staff health and wellness, the festival highlighted inclusion and positivity. With its success, Wellness Fest set a new standard for fostering a culture of health among HSE staff.

Advanced Nurse Practitioners (ANPs) and parents work together to improve outcomes of children with ADHD

An ANP-led quality initiative has been piloted in CAMHS Dublin North City and County by integrating the Parents Plus ADHD Programme into their ANP-led pathway. John Campbell-O’Brien is a Registered ANP (RANP) in ADHD who led the initiative.

“We completed a waiting list initiative in April 2023, which really highlighted the need for ADHD parenting interventions to happen at the point of care – most parents had not previously attended a parenting intervention for whatever reason.” NICE guidelines stress the importance of psychoeducation and parenting interventions for ADHD.

The Parents Plus ADHD Programme is an 8-week parenting intervention aimed at parents of children aged between 6-12 years old. “Parenting a child with ADHD can be really stressful because they need a lot of support from their parents, so the aim of the programme is to reduce that parental stress and improve treatment outcomes for the child.”

“I can’t

believe how useful it has been for parents, and

we

have now sourced training for another facilitator and organised another two groups.”

John Campbell-O’Brien, Registered ANP

Funding was given through the RCSI Clinical Nursing Bursary Award to train two nurses, and a pilot group was run between July-August 2024. All attendees reported an improvement in goals they set at the beginning. Before, parents reported feeling isolated, overwhelmed, and uncertain about how to best support their child. They particularly found the opportunity to share experiences with other parents in a safe space helpful and saw the programme as a valuable support in their ADHD journey, with many reporting positive changes at home and school.

“I can’t believe how useful it has been for parents, and we have now sourced training for another facilitator and organised another two groups.”

John Campbell-O’Brien, Oluwakemi Adedigba and Therese McCarthy planning the next group.

Wellness Fest – art participation in HSE IHA Louth Meath

Louth Has Talent: HSE sta shine bright

On 21 November, over 700 attendees gathered at the Crescent Concert Hall, Drogheda for the dazzling HSE staff Louth Has Talent show, celebrating diversity and inclusion through the arts. Eleven acts, including singers, dancers, magicians and bands captivated the audience. Celebrity-inspired judges and hosts trailblazed an unforgettable night.

Months of planning, spearheaded by Caitriona McGahey (M4E Coordinator) and supported by Sally-Ann McLaughlin (Senior Community HP and I Dietitian and Staff Health Lead) and Dolores Donegan (Programme Manager and Healthy Ireland Lead) collaborated tirelessly to make this event a reality.

After an evening of breathtaking performances, the results were in:

• 3rd Place: Rhythm Binders, whose rhythmic prowess captivated the audience.

• 2nd Place: Annel Beato, a performer who brought charisma and charm to the stage.

• 1st Place: Melissa Finnegan, whose extraordinary talent stole the show and hearts alike.

This was a vibrant celebration of the HSE staff’s creativity, culture and commitment to inclusion.

Sta Appreciation Mornings in Louth Meath

In 2024, 14 Staff Appreciation Coffee Mornings, attended by 400+ staff, were hosted by the Health Promotion and Improvement (HP and I) Department to share health initiatives, foster communication, and build relationships.

Events featured a suite of HP and I activities aimed at staff. Information stands provided key health promotion messages on physical activity, nutrition, mental health, suicide awareness, and local programmes like smoking cessation and weight management. A COVID-19 and flu vaccination clinic was also provided.

These successful events encouraged feedback, networking, and help programme improvements. Afterwards, several staff signed up for our stop smoking service, staff healthy weight management, minding your wellbeing and kickstart to staff health programmes. For details, contact HP and I: Louth (duana.mcardle@hse.ie) or Meath (maresa.mcgettigan@hse.ie).

Talented Louth HSE performers

Updates from HSE Dublin and North East

NiSRP news from the North East

Implementation planning in the North East is well underway with a go-live date of April 2025. To date, over 400 engagements have taken place across the North East, both online and in person. Up to 3,000 colleagues from all areas have attended the sessions. Survey responses from recent engagements show that 93% of line managers said they have a clear understanding of their role in the time process; 98% of respondents said they would recommend the engagements to other colleagues.

Monaghan Hospital Awarded Age Friendly Status by Age Friendly Ireland

Monaghan Hospital has been awarded Age Friendly status by Age Friendly Ireland –recognising the hospital’s commitment to improving accessibility, comfort and inclusivity, particularly for older adults and people with disabilities.

This recognition follows an extensive process aligned with the principles of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Global Network for Age Friendly Cities and Communities, which was led by the Monaghan Age Friendly Programme, Monaghan County Council, Monaghan Hospital and Age Friendly Ireland, reinforcing Ireland’s push for more inclusive healthcare facilities.

HR and Payroll Self Service – how to get started You must register your details to use HR and Payroll Self Service. Instructions will be sent by email and also published on hse.ie/nisrp. Speak with your line manager for full details.

How can I find out more about HR and Payroll Self Service?

• NiSRP are running a series of online demonstration webinars. Initially, these are for employees and managers, with further topics added over the coming months.

• Visit an information stand and talk with NiSRP staff at several locations.

• There are video tutorials and step-by-step guides on the NiSRP Support site.

• There are HR and Payroll Self Service modules (Employees and Manager and Approvers) on HSeLanD. A third module on travel is coming soon.

• A NiSRP Helpdesk is available by email at support.nisrp@hse.ie and phone from go-live.

Scan the QR code for more information or to register for a webinar, or visit hse.ie/nisrp

This work has led to huge improvements at the hospital for older people, evident even on approaching the building in the new Age Friendly signage. It has also led to an Age Friendly culture being adopted by the staff, which will lead to continuous improvements in the coming years. The recognition has been warmly welcomed by the local Age Friendly Alliance and is a major boost to the community.

Following an Age Friendly Walkability Audit conducted by local older adults and people with disabilities, Monaghan Hospital has made several key physical improvements. These include Age Friendly parking spaces closer to the entrance, improved traffic management, a new access ramp, renovated toilet facilities, and a disability-accessible restroom in the canteen. Universal design-compliant seating with armrests and backrests has been installed in public areas, along with enhanced visual contrast on kerbs for better accessibility.

Additional enhancements feature a biodiversity sensory garden, murals in ward areas, wooden garden features crafted by the Men’s Shed, increased awareness of Local Link transport, the publication of a Guide to Services for Older People in Monaghan, and Age Friendly communications training for staff.

Future plans include a pedestrian pathway linking the front and rear of the building, additional Age Friendly parking, and a new dementia garden.

Ita Hynes, General Manager, NiSRP Change Workstream; Shona Smyth and Linda Keogh, Finance Analysts, Cavan General Hospital

Launch of the National Genomic Test Directory for Rare and Inherited Disease

The Minister for Health, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill recently launched the HSE’s National Genomic Test Directory for Rare and Inherited Disease (Test Directory). Developed by the National Genetics and Genomics Office (NGGO) in collaboration with clinical specialists, patient representatives, and hospital laboratories, the Test Directory marks a significant milestone in the implementation of the National Strategy for Accelerating Genetic and Genomic Medicine in Ireland.

“Genomics is revolutionising medicine through personalised treatments for patients by improving disease prediction and prevention, and developing innovative therapies that were previously impossible,” says Minister Carroll MacNeill. “I look forward to continued collaboration between my department and the HSE in progressing the implementation of our overall objectives under the strategy, to further improve health treatments and outcomes for patients in Ireland.”

The Test Directory specifies which tests can be ordered by clinicians based on a set of agreed clinical indications and eligibility criteria. This first version contains a subset of specialties (cardiology, ophthalmology, lipids, mitochondrial and metabolic conditions) and subsequent releases will incorporate additional specialties.

In 2025, the HSE will support the implementation of the Test Directory by developing the National Genomic Processing Service (NGPS). This service will be a hub for

National Integrated Sta Records and Pay Programme (NiSRP) implementation

“We are proud to have completed implementation in the HSE (the final approx. 11,000 employees is a work in progress in North East, going live April 2025). The feedback coming to us confirms that the benefits experienced at all levels across the HSE and the significant effort has been worth it.” – Ivan McConkey, Programme Director

From left: Dr Richard Hagan, National Clinical Laboratory Director, HSE NGGO; Vicky McGrath, CEO, Rare Diseases Ireland; Minister for Health, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill TD; Avril Daly, President of Rare Disease Europe, EURORDIS; and Dr Colm Henry, Chief Clinical Officer, HSE at the launch of the HSE National Genomic Test Directory for Rare and Inherited Disease (Test Directory).

receipt of specimens to refer for genomic testing by laboratories abroad. The service will also coordinate the reporting of results to the requesting entities.

The NGGO invite HSE clinical healthcare staff to undertake training to develop genetic and genomic awareness and literacy. Search for ‘Fundamentals of Genetic and Genomic Testing’ when you log into HSeLanD.

By April 2025, all statutory sites in the HSE will have one integrated SAP HR and Payroll system, encompassing HR and Payroll Self Service.

“It is important to celebrate the HSE’s successful implementation of the SAP HR and Payroll system,” says Anne Marie Hoey, Chief People Officer, HSE. “It is evident that since the programme began, staff were well supported through the transition. Across the HSE, staff are benefitting from the SAP HR and Payroll system. This allows managers to review and oversee information. It also gives employees greater control over their own information on HR and Payroll Self Service.”

HSE areas moved onto the SAP HR and Payroll System

2019 2020 2022 2023 2024 2025

Source: Headcount by National Payroll, December 2024

Ireland’s first Medically Supervised Injecting Facility opens

The HSE is supporting the Merchants Quay Ireland (MQI) Riverbank facility as Ireland’s first Medically Supervised Injecting Facility (MSIF). Open seven days a week, the MSIF offers supervised injecting spaces where people can inject pre-obtained drugs, under the supervision of trained health professionals.

The pilot initiative, which will operate for an initial period of 18 months, offers a compassionate, personcentred service that reduces harms associated with injecting drug use. The initiative connects people who inject drugs with recovery, health and social supports.

The MSIF can significantly reduce the harms associated with overdose through supervision and immediate response to an overdose situation with naloxone, an antidote to temporarily reverse the effects of opioid drugs.

Welcoming the opening of the new facility, Prof Eamon Keenan, HSE National Clinical Lead, Addiction Services, said: “The opening of the Medically Supervised Injecting Facility at MQI Riverbank is the result of many years of hard work by a variety of stakeholders, including the HSE, MQI, Department of Health, An Garda Síochána, Dublin City Council, community groups and service user representative organisations. This facility will enhance the harm reduction response for people who inject drugs, in line with Reducing Harm, Supporting Recovery – our national strategy of health-led responses to drug use in Ireland. This could be the first step on the road to recovery for someone presenting to the service.”

NCCP launches new guideline to support people diagnosed with skin cancer

A new HSE National Clinical Guideline: Radiological Staging and Surveillance of Patients with Cutaneous Melanoma (2024) has been published by the National Cancer Control Programme (NCCP).

This national clinical guideline aims to provide evidence-based recommendations on what imaging tests should be done and how often for patients with melanoma. The staging scans help to determine if a patient’s cancer has spread or is likely to spread to other parts of the body, or recur. This knowledge is useful for developing the best treatment plan for the patient. After a patient has finished treatment, surveillance scans check for a recurrence or relapse of their cancer. This provides an early opportunity for further treatment. Having clear recommendations ensures the patient knows what is happening now and into the future.

This evidence-based guideline was developed by integrating the best current research evidence with clinical expertise and patient values. The guideline development group included doctors, nurses, evidence specialists and patients. The melanoma cancer patient representatives, Kay Curtin and Miriam Staunton provided valuable insight from a patient perspective, stating, “Melanoma cancer guidelines are essential as they give patients an ability to advocate for themselves and help ensure consistency across Ireland’s cancer centres.” NCCP has developed a suite of evidence-based national clinical guidelines and welcomes patient participation in all guideline development groups.

Sarah Hamza, Nicola Corrigan and Joe Doyle from the HSE National Social Inclusion Office with Minister for Public Health, Wellbeing and the National Drugs Strategy, Colm Burke.

Prof Eamon Keenan with Eddie Mullins, CEO of MQI at the MSIF

Members of the NCCP Cutaneous Melanoma Guideline Development Group at the launch of the new guideline. From left: Evelyn Power, Nursing Representative; Dr Sinead Field, Clinical Chair; Kay Curtin, Patient Representative; Dr Eve O’Toole, Evidence Chair; and Louise Murphy, Research.

Standardised Clinical Care Plans for the Public Health Nursing Service implemented nationwide

A suite of national Standardised Clinical Care Plans (SCCPs) for the Public Health Nursing (PHN) service was formally launched nationwide in May 2024.

Over 800 staff attended the live webinar launch. The aim of a SCCP is to provide a structured summary of actual and/or potential health problems, along with the actions needed to achieve positive health outcomes.

Objectives of the SCCPs for the PHN service

• Support the delivery of personcentred, safe and high-quality healthcare.

• Provide an evidenced-based framework that applies to various clinical presentations using the assessment, diagnosis, planning, intervention and evaluation structure of the nursing process.

• Reduce documentation burden and duplication.

Improving our documentation practices

The PHN service’s quality improvement governance group identified a gap in documentation practices. As a result, 33 members of the PHS service developed 12 SCCPs to guide clinical practice documentation nationally.

The 12 SCCPs are person-centred, care-focused and underpinned by up-to-date evidence. Developing and implementing a digital care plan to enhance the healthcare pathway is another goal of the project.

The SCCPs support compliance with Assisted Decision-Making (ADM) legislation and the national consent policy. These elements are now

Key outcomes

• The SCCPs are available in two formats:

1. Word version – to be completed by hand 2. Editable version – to be completed electronically

explicitly reflected within the clinical SCCP documentation.

For example, the prescribed actions or interventions within each of the 12 SCCPs prompt a dialogue between the nurse and the service user. This enables a partnership approach to setting and achieving health-related goals of care, through a combination of self-management (by the service user) and compensatory clinical care (delivered by the nurse).

“At the heart of the SCCPs is the recognition that the service user is central to all decisions”

A key focus of the SCCPs is on amplifying the voice of the service user; enabling them to make their wishes known during the care planning process, and to tailor the SCCP to suit their needs at each stage of the nursing process.

• A national procedure to support guidance on the use of SCCPs.

• An index sheet in the service user’s record to track care plans from start to finish, in line with good information governance principles.

The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI) (2015) indicates that the quality of records maintained by nurses and midwives is a reflection of the quality of the care provided by them. By using an SCCP structure, and standardised nursing language, the quality of documentation is expected to improve, facilitating better communication and workflow. The SCCPs reaffirm the importance of strong, evidence-based documentation in shaping our practice.

An audit of SCCPs is planned for Q2 of 2025. Findings will inform phase 2 of this national project.

National Practice Development Coordinators Group, from left: Mary Coogan, Yvonne Delaney, Sinead Lawlor, Rita McDonald, Olivia O’Connor, Tara Mulleary, Anne Tully, and Marie Hickey.

Dementia

Dementia-inclusive activities

The Dementia: Understand Together campaign works with many national partners and community champions to help create dementia-inclusive communities across the country. Their actions are changing the dementia culture in Ireland and helping to ensure people with dementia and their families stay connected and included in community life. Men’s Sheds and parkrun, key partners to the campaign, encourage people to join their dementia-inclusive activities.

Wherever you are in the country, you won’t be far from a Men’s Shed. Shedders take part in woodwork, gardening, carpentry and community work; some might have special interests like music, fishing and restoration work. The Sheds for Life workshops are aimed at supporting the physical, mental and social wellbeing of members and also cover dementia. Most importantly, the sheds give a space for men to come together to learn, share skills and make long-lasting friendships. Similarly, over 150 parkruns are happening every Saturday across the country. The ethos is to encourage people to come out into nature and be active together. You can walk, jog, run, volunteer or spectate and if you need help on the day, they can support you, be it joining you on the walk/run, covering a shorter distance, or

helping with registration; parkrun is as much about the interaction and chats as it is about the physical activity. Activities like these can also play a vital role in supporting family members caring for a person with dementia to remain active, or take some time for themselves knowing that a loved one is in a supportive and welcoming environment. It’s important to support people with dementia to stay connected and engaged in their community. While the Men’s Sheds and parkrun aren’t dementia-specific services, they’re activities that are already happening in our local areas and great examples of dementia inclusivity. Both partners have developed manuals to help organisers have a better understanding of dementia and ways they can support people to attend. You can download or order a copy of either manual from healthpromotion.ie.

Search for your nearest Men’s Shed or parkrun, or contact the campaign team for more information: understandtogether@hse.ie.

Holistic dementia care in Enniscorthy

The HSE has welcomed the coming into operation of the Alzheimer Society of Ireland’s Activity Lodge in Enniscorthy, which opened in November at the Castle Gardens Retirement Village in Drumgoold. Designed as a space for people aged under 65 in Co Wexford living with young onset or early stage dementia, the Activity Lodge is the completion of a project involving the Alzheimer Society of Ireland working in collaboration with the Wexford Dementia Alliance and the HSE, with support funding from the Department of Health.

Co-designed by people living with dementia, it offers a variety of therapeutic activities that enhance the quality of life of its clients. The range of programmes available include art therapy, music sessions, cognitive exercises, gardening and social events tailored specifically for individuals with dementia. It also provides a space for carers to connect with each other and access support, ensuring a holistic approach to dementia care.

Pictured at the opening of the Alzheimer Society of Ireland’s Activity Lodge are members of the HSE’s Wexford Integrated Care Programme for Older Persons and Memory Assessment Support Service (from left): Siobhán O’Hanlon, Aideen McGuinness, Margaret Doyle, Jane Lennon, Alphonsa George, Sheeba Thuraimony, and Mary Renwick.

Drogheda Men’s Shed group

Updates from HSE West and North West

University of Galway Cancer Network receives European accreditation

The HSE West and North West –University of Galway Cancer Network has been accredited by the Organisation of European Cancer Institutes (OECI). OECI is an organisation of European cancer centres founded in 1979 to provide patients equal access to highquality cancer care through cooperation and knowledge exchange. HSE West and North West – University of Galway Cancer Network is only the 20th such network to achieve cancer centre accreditation across Europe.

The accreditation follows several years of rigorous review and engagement with the European team, including a peer review visit which took place last May. This saw a panel of European experts visit a number of hospitals across our region to assess all elements of the cancer programme. The OECI team evaluated 345 standards across our Regional Cancer Programme. This process helped to strengthen our

clinical pathway, improve patient outcomes through enhanced processes, and will ultimately help to increase the numbers of patients participating in clinical trials.

The European body has now confirmed that the HSE West and North West – University of Galway Cancer Network met the quality standards for cancer care and research and has been designated as an OECI Cancer Centre.

The OECI Accreditation and Designation programme is considered internationally as the gold standard for cancer care. It focuses on enabling a complete quality system for cancer diagnosis, care, education and research. In gaining this prestigious accreditation, the HSE West and North West – University of Galway Cancer Network has committed to ongoing quality improvement in cancer care through research, innovation, partnership and patient empowerment.

Sligo University Hospital opens new 26-bed ward

In early January, Sligo University Hospital opened the Medical Offsite Ward, a new 26-bed ward comprising of six four-bed rooms and two single en-suite rooms, located at St John’s Community Hospital, Sligo.

This new development is an extension of Sligo University Hospital and will provide additional bed capacity, improved accommodation for patients and will ease patient flow from the Emergency Department and throughout the hospital, while meeting the required national standards and delivering enhanced quality care to patients.

The Medical Offsite Ward, which is a specialised facility, will provide structured medical support to patients who meet the criteria for the ward and would benefit from an additional few days under the care of hospital staff, while continuing to benefit from medical supervision and therapeutic support, provided by a full team of health and social care professionals in a calm environment.

The additional beds were part of the capital funding from the HSE 2024 Capital Plan, costing in excess of €2.5m for the design, build and equipment for the ward.

European OECI Accreditors and HSE West and North West Cancer Network: (back row, from left) Jean-Benoît Burrion, OECI; Willien Westerhuis, OECI; Efrain Pantoja, OECI; (middle row, from left) Pauline McGough, Cancer MCAN; Iva Kirac, OECI; Helen O’Reilly, OECI; Majda Causevic, Cancer MCAN; Marilena Iorio, OECI; Prof Michael Kerin, Cancer MCAN; (front row, from left) Geraldine Cooley, Cancer MCAN; Olive Gallagher, Cancer MCAN.

Updates from HSE West and North West

Celebrating 20 Years of Advanced Nursing and Midwifery Practice

Letterkenny University Hospital (LUH) proudly hosted a significant event last November celebrating a 20-year development and impact of Advanced Nurse Practitioner (ANP) and Advanced Midwife Practitioner (AMP) positions in Donegal. The event was supported through a collaborative process by the Director of Nursing (DON) and Director of Midwifery (DOM) at LUH, the Director of Public Health Nursing in Donegal, and colleagues in the Nursing and Midwifery Planning and Development Unit, North West. Dr Anne Drake, Director of Nursing, LUH said, “We celebrate and mark 20 years since the first Advanced Nurse Practitioner position was established in LUH. Since then, advanced nursing and midwifery services have enhanced healthcare across Donegal. These advanced nurse-led and midwife-led services expand from the hospital to community services. They consistently focus on personcentred, safe, high-quality care to service users and their families.

Clifden Sing Along Social visits

Chief craic mechanic of Sing Along Social, Aoife McElwain (pictured right), along with CNM2 Pollyanna Joyce organised a Sing Along Social event in St Anne’s Community Nursing Unit (CNU) and day care in Clifden District Hospital last October. The event was the first of its kind in any nursing home or day care service.

Sing Along Social is a group that hosts parties for people who can’t sing. They create a safe space where friends and strangers can gather together and sing along to their favourite songs.

Day care service users and residents in St Anne’s donned party glasses, twirled feather boas and strummed inflatable guitars. Props, including giant ABBA heads, were handed out to everyone. The award ceremony was held at the end of the disco with prizes for best chair dancing and best singing.

HSE Mental Health Services Sligo Leitrim wins Irish Healthcare Award

HSE Mental Health Services Sligo Leitrim won the Mental Health Initiative of the Year at the Irish Healthcare Awards 2024 in December, at the Dublin Royal Convention Centre. The Irish Healthcare Awards brought together over 500 medical professionals to recognise the outstanding achievements of individuals and organisations striving to make the healthcare sector an exemplary place to work. A person-centred mental health crisis resolution team developed the initiative. The judges remarked that it was an “excellent initiative to address crisis resolution with evidence of a reduction in admissions. It also provides a better user experience outside of emergency care pathways and is in line with Sláintecare policy regarding care in the community.”

Dr Elizabeth Gethins, Consultant Psychiatrist, Crisis Resolution Team, Sligo Leitrim Mental Health Services said, “The team was thrilled to be honoured with this award. A lot of hard work went into establishing the crisis resolution team and this win validates all that effort. We continue to be privileged to work with people when they are at their most vulnerable; that’s what this service is ultimately all about.”

Standing, from left: Catherine McBride, Paul Hooton, Tom Coleman, Michelle Donnelly, Dermot Monaghan, Marie Callaghan, Deirdre Diver, Seán Murphy, and Elizabeth Breslin. Sitting, from left: Maria Ward, Dr Janice Richmond, Dr Anne Drake, Carmel Hoey, and Emma Ward.

Sinéad Spollen, MUVE; Hugh Slevin, CNM2; Dr Elizabeth Gethins; Joan Epping, CNS; and Anton Savage, MC.

New Chronic Disease Hubs provide supports for people living with diabetes

At the Moycullen Integrated Care Hub, from left: Dr Tomás Griffin, Lead Consultant Diabetologist for the West Galway and City Integrated Care Hub; Margaret Melia Lydon, Clinical Nurse Specialist, Diabetes; Martin McDonagh, person living with diabetes; Orla Fitzgerald, Clinical Nurse Specialist, Diabetes; Andrea Mahon, Senior Podiatrist, Diabetes; and Bernie Kelly, Senior Physiotherapist, Diabetes.

People living with diabetes in the West, who are benefitting from faster access to specialised care as a result of the new HSE Chronic Disease Hubs, have praised the enhancements in diabetes care. The move away from hospital-based care means that patients have access to highly specialised clinical teams, closer to their homes.

There are HSE Integrated Care Hubs for individuals with chronic diseases across Counties Galway, Mayo and Roscommon. People with chronic diseases like asthma, COPD, type 2 diabetes or cardiovascular disease can be referred directly to a local hub by their GP, instead of being referred to a hospitalbased service.

The service is delivered across three hubs: the West Galway and City Integrated Care Hub provides clinics in Newcastle, Moycullen, Carraroe, Clifden, Oughterard, Doughiska and Renmore; the East Galway Roscommon Integrated Care Hub, located in Ballinasloe, provides clinics in Athenry, Ballinasloe, Loughrea, Tuam, Castlerea and Roscommon town; and the Mayo Integrated Care Hub, located in Castlebar, provides clinics in Achill, Ballinrobe, Belmullet, Castlebar, Claremorris, Swinford and Westport.

“Between

particular has yielded very positive results across the region.

Between January and September last year, over 10,000 appointments were carried out across the three hubs, where people living with diabetes were seen and treated by multidisciplinary teams including diabetic nurses, podiatrists and dietitians.

An additional 2,827 consultant-led appointments in diabetes care were carried out in the West Galway and City Integrated Care Hub and East Galway Roscommon Integrated Care Hub led by Dr Tomás Griffin and Dr Abdullah Abdullah.

Over the last year, significant progress has been achieved in reducing hospital waiting lists through the work of the hubs, hospital teams and other initiatives, demonstrating the impact and benefits of an integrated model of care for patients. Between July 2023 and October 2024, Galway University Hospitals had an 83% reduction in waiting lists, while Roscommon University Hospital saw a 71% reduction.

July 2023 and October 2024, Galway University Hospitals had an 83% reduction in waiting lists, while Roscommon University Hospital saw a 71% reduction.”

This is a major shift in the way healthcare services are delivered and a core component of Sláintecare, Ireland’s strategy for reforming the health and social care system.

Being able to treat patients in community-based specialist centres leads to an overall reduction in hospital waiting lists and the diabetes service in

“This service places the person living with diabetes at the heart of care, empowering each person to manage their condition with confidence through timely, accessible support close to home,” says Lead Consultant Diabetologist for the West Galway and City Integrated Care Hub, Tomás Griffin. “By reducing hospital wait times and offering direct access to a multidisciplinary team that includes diabetes specialist nurses, an advanced nurse practitioner, podiatrists, a physiotherapy-led exercise programme, and a dietitian, we work with individuals and their GPs to develop personalised care plans that foster improved health outcomes and greater self-management, all within a convenient, community-based setting.”

The hubs also play an important role in patient education. Our clinical teams work with patients to develop individualised plans which help them selfmanage their chronic condition(s) and focus on living well with diabetes.

Updates from HSE West and North West

Donegal Integrated Care Programme for Older People

The Integrated Care Programme for Older People (ICPOP) is a team that helps older people with problems like falls, frailty and memory issues. They work together to provide the support older people need to help maintain their independence and live well at home.

There are 30 ICPOP teams across Ireland. The teams include nurses, a physiotherapist, an occupational therapist, a speech and language therapist, a social worker and a dietitian, under the governance of a consultant geriatrician. The Donegal team is small but growing.

The main goal of the ICPOP team is to help older people live at home and avoid unnecessary hospital visits. They also support people in returning home after a hospital stay. They offer up to 6 weeks of care in the community and in the home.

Service user Pat Floyd explains how care from the Donegal ICPOP team made a positive change to her health, lifestyle and independence: “I came out of hospital and couldn’t walk and was told I would never walk unaided again. I was referred by Letterkenny University Hospital to the ICPOP team. They came twice every day, got me out of bed, showered and dressed. They did all the physio. They were so good. I wouldn’t be here today walking on my own if it hadn’t been for them. They were brilliant. They did a lot of exercise, and got me to the point that I was able to stand up and from there I was able to move on a rollator. Finally, I was able to walk with their help and eventually I was walking on my own. I have such a good quality of life now. I am able to go to mass, drive my car, go to my football or to play cards and do different things. My whole lifestyle has changed.”

The ICPOP team carries out a comprehensive assessment to understand the older person’s health conditions, functional capacity and social circumstance. Based on this, the team work with the older person to create a care plan to help improve their health and wellbeing, and set goals based on what the patient wants and needs.

Candidate Advanced Nurse Practitioner for ICPOP Donegal, Kayleigh Carlin says, “I have witnessed first-hand the profound impact of our team’s intervention on service users. By providing personalised, holistic care, we are not only improving health outcomes but also enhancing the quality of life for older individuals. Through coordinated support across healthcare services, we ensure that each service user receives the right care at the right time, empowering them to live more independently and with dignity. Our approach fosters stronger relationships between patients, their families and healthcare professionals, ultimately leading to better health, greater satisfaction and reduced hospital admissions.”

According to Frank Morrison, Head of Older Persons for HSE Community Services Cavan, Donegal, Leitrim, Monaghan, Sligo, “Our main aim as a service is to keep older people living well at home for longer, and to manage their needs outside of the acute hospital setting when they don’t need acute inpatient care. We also help patients who are being discharged from the acute hospital setting to return back home with the appropriate support. Our multidisciplinary team deliver a targeted and time-bound service. The team work with the older person and their family/support system to set appropriate goals and achieve and maintain those goals.”

A video of Pat Floyd sharing her experience of the ICPOP service is available on YouTube at youtu.be/WKfPODzV7eA

Hear My Voice Self Advocacy event in Donegal

HSE Disability Services for Cavan, Donegal, Leitrim, Monaghan and Sligo, in partnership with Inclusion Ireland, hosted the Hear My Voice Self Advocacy event in November at Jackson’s Hotel, Ballybofey, Co Donegal. The event brought together self advocates, individuals with disabilities, disability staff, and other service representatives.

It featured presentations by self advocates and their support teams, showcasing the importance of self advocacy in promoting autonomy and respect. These presentations demonstrated how creative thinking can overcome challenges, empowering individuals to understand and advocate for their rights and needs.

The event also highlighted the outcomes of the three-year Self Advocacy Strategy, launched in 2023, which aims to foster a culture of participation. The strategy supports adults with disabilities in meaningful decision-making, enhancing their independence, social inclusion, and wellbeing.

Edel Quinn, Head of Disability Services said, “We recognise that self advocacy is fundamental to ensuring that the voices of people with disabilities are central to the planning and

development of our services. This strategy, coupled with the HSE’s support, will enable individuals to actively participate in decisions about the design, monitoring, and delivery of their support services. Our goal is for every person to reach their full potential and contribute to all aspects of life.”

Edel Quinn, Head of Diabilty Service Donegal, Sligo, Leitrim, Cavan, Monaghan; Arinda Ghosh, Project Manager Service Improvement Disabilty Services; Denise Curran, General Manager Disabilty Services; Bernie Donaghey, General Manager Disabilty Services; Colm Lehane, Independent Chairperson of Strategic Working Group; and Mary McGroarty, General Manager Disability Services.

Photo: Clive Wasson.

Modernised Care Pathway reducing wait times for urology

The introduction of a Modernised Care Pathway for nurse-led urology clinics at Galway and Portiuncula University Hospitals has significantly reduced waiting times for urology patients awaiting assessment for lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS).

The Advanced Nurse Practitioner (ANP) Urology LUTS clinics, which were developed as part of the model of care for urology (RCSI 2019), led by Professor Eamonn Rogers, Consultant Urologist, HSE West and North West were established to improve access to care, reduce waiting lists, with efficient referral to consultant urologists for surgical intervention if required.

Waiting times for patients have reduced dramatically since the ANP LUTS Clinics began in 2021. A tri-weekly clinic at Galway University Hospitals has seen the length of time that patients are waiting reduced from 5 years to between 9 and 12 months. In addition, a weekly outreach clinic established at Portiuncula University Hospital to provide patient care as close to home as possible has a wait time for patients of 6 to 12 weeks. As of the end of September, 7,682 patients had been seen across both clinics since they were set up.

Separately, an ANP LUTS Clinic at Roscommon University Hospital,

which was established last February, has reduced the length of time patients are waiting to around 8 to 12 weeks, down from 1 to 2 years. Last year, between February and September, 280 patients had been seen at the clinic in Roscommon.

The referral pathway to clinics for patients with LUTS is via their GP to a consultant urologist who triages the referral to the ANP LUTS clinic. LUTS, specifically male LUTS, is one of the most prevalent complaints presenting to urology outpatients.

The clinics are managed by 2 Urology Advanced Nurse Practitioners, Geraldine Rooney and Therese Kelly, in collaboration with 8 consultant urologists from Galway University Hospitals.

“The clinics provide comprehensive advanced physical patient assessments with the ability to interpret multiple assessments and interventions to guide a diagnosis and plan delivery of care, which may include direct referral to a consultant urologist for surgical intervention,” explains Therese Kelly, Advanced Nurse Practitioner in Urology at Galway and Portiuncula University Hospitals. “They represent a move towards a more holistic approach to LUTS care. They ensure that patients are evaluated and treated in a timely manner, that patient outcomes

From left: Geraldine Rooney, Advanced Nurse Practitioner in Urology at Galway University Hospitals; Professor Eamonn Rogers, Consultant Urologist, HSE West and North West; and Therese Kelly, Advanced Nurse Practitioner in Urology at Galway and Portiuncula University Hospitals.

improve while hospital admissions are minimised, and that consultants have more time to see patients with complex urological conditions.”

Geraldine Rooney, Advanced Nurse Practitioner in Urology at Galway University Hospitals says, “An integral part of this nurse-led service is to provide evidence-based care, promote a healthy lifestyle and educate patients regarding their urological condition. Our service recently published a study on ‘Patient reported experiences of consultation with an Advanced Nurse Practitioner in urology’ using the validated Patient Enablement and Satisfaction Survey (PESS) and we were delighted with the very positive feedback from our patients.”

“The nurse-led urology clinics are one of the three Modernised Care Pathways within the Model of Care in Urology developed by the NCPS to improve access for urological care and reduce waiting times to be seen in clinics,” adds Professor Eamonn Rogers, Consultant Urologist, HSE West and North West and Co-lead of the National Clinical Programme for Surgery. “Research conducted by the National Clinical Programme in Surgery revealed that male LUTS is one of the more common causes for referral to a urologist within our hospitals across HSE West and North West. The introduction of these nurse-led urology clinics has resulted in a significant reduction in the number of patients waiting to be assessed, as well as the number of patients requiring a consultant review, which demonstrates a quality improvement in service provision and an important step towards integrated management and care delivery.”

Updates from HSE West and North West

Professor Alan Soo, Consultant Cardiothoracic Surgeon at University Hospital Galway with patient Noel O’Brien of Tynagh, Co Galway. Noel was the first patient to undergo the Avalus Ultra valve implant surgery on 22 October at University Hospital Galway.

New biological aortic heart valve procedure

University Hospital Galway (UHG) is the first hospital in the country to use a new biological aortic heart valve, putting it at the forefront of valvular heart surgery.

Surgical aortic valve replacement is a procedure in which a diseased aortic valve is removed and replaced with a new tissue-based or mechanical valve. This takes over the original valve’s function to enable oxygen-rich blood to flow efficiently out of the heart.

Medtronic’s Avalus Ultra valve, a new ground-breaking innovation in biological aortic valves, was specifically designed to provide simplicity of use at implant while also empowering cardiac patients to improve their quality of life.

Aortic valve disease causes the valve to narrow, making the heart work harder to pump blood through the body, causing the heart to weaken and function poorly. Patients with aortic valve disease, either stenosis (blocked) or regurgitant (leaky), often require valve replacement.

Noel O’Brien of Tynagh in Co Galway, who was the first patient to undergo the Avalus Ultra valve implant surgery, led by Professor Alan Soo and his surgical team at UHG explains, “I was always an active person, but in the last year or so I’d noticed that even after doing a small amount of work, I felt tired and breathless. Already, I feel much more alive and energetic, and can’t wait to get back to my usual daily routines of driving, farming, and walking my dog. This is a new lease of life for me and I’m looking forward to the future.”

Speaking about the new innovation, Professor Alan Soo, Consultant Cardiothoracic Surgeon says, “The new Avalus Ultra valve represents a significant advancement to our current generation of surgical biological valves. It has long-term durability based on a decade of clinical experience and will benefit patients significantly who have aortic valve disease. We are delighted to be the first hospital in the country to offer this innovation to our patients, while also being the first hospital in Ireland and the UK to implant the new Avalus Ultra valve.”

“Patients with aortic stenosis are experiencing more complex disease, and therefore, procedures need to evolve to optimise their surgical care,” adds Professor Pieter Kappetein, Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of the Cardiac Surgery, Structural Heart, and Mechanical Circulatory Support Businesses in the Medtronic Cardiovascular portfolio. “Rooted in this evolving need, surgeons are demanding innovative technologies like the Avalus Ultra valve that is designed for increased ease of use and long-term durability to serve patients over their lifetime.”

Dementia support in Sligo Leitrim

The Memory Assessment Support Service (MASS) team, located in the Sligo Integrated Care Programme for Older Persons ambulatory hub at Woodhaven, Strandhill Road, Sligo is part of the wider integrated care team for older persons. This service provides supports for people under and over the age of 65 who are experiencing cognitive issues and/or suspected onset of dementia.

According to service user Michael Kilcoyne, “I was referred to this clinic by my GP. It was a six-week course, and the occupational therapists knew exactly what my problem was. It was helpful listening to other people talking openly about their problems, too.” (A video of Michael sharing his experience can be viewed at youtu.be/OIe7JBKGf-w.)

The MASS in Sligo is one of nine services funded under the Enhanced Community Care programme. The MASS team in Sligo is a multidisciplinary team (MDT) including occupational therapists, clinicians, a dietitian, psychology, nursing and medical staff. Referrals are accepted from hospital clinics and mental health clinics and it is hoped referrals will open up to GPs on a phased basis once all the necessary resources are in place.

A comprehensive assessment is carried out, looking at concerns about suspected dementia or mild cognitive impairment. The MASS team also provides post-diagnostic support and follow-up through a specialist dementia post-diagnostic service and brain health service to ensure each individual is provided with a comprehensive care and support plan.

Patients are seen in the hub, in acute settings, or in their home as per clinical need. The service provides opportunity for the person, and often their families or carers, to discuss any concerns following their diagnosis and for the MDT to provide further therapeutic interventions alongside information and guidance.

The MASS service in Sligo has had over 350 referrals per year since it became operational in July 2022.

According to Dr Catherine Dolan, Consultant Co-lead, MASS in Sligo, “It is an integrated service. I work in conjunction with my colleagues from the acute hospital, community mental health and older person services. Every patient is connected to a nominated key worker and given a tailored care plan. Social and physical activities are important for brain health and our patients have improved emotional health, good sleep, and good quality of life. Every journey with dementia is completely different, and people have different needs at different times. The service provides education and support around dementia and links people to various local services and agencies as deemed appropriate.”

Understanding... penile cancer

A new patient guide aims to shine a light on this rare cancer

Father of four and penile cancer survivor Cormac France from Kildare shares his health journey to raise muchneeded awareness of this rare form of cancer. Cormac works with the National Cancer Control Programme (NCCP) and the National Penile Cancer Centre in Beaumont Hospital, developing the first national patient booklet, Penile Cancer: What I Need to Know.

“In 2019, I was training for a marathon. I had noticed some changes; for example, in warm weather, I was cold and always wore a jacket. I also noticed the skin literally cracking on my penis and there was a terrible smell there. But there was zero pain, so I put this out of my mind. I put it down to the training. Cancer never crossed my mind.

“I hadn’t known penile cancer existed – I’m sure there are many others who don’t either. I paid a big price for not knowing.”

For the first 18 miles of the marathon, I was ripping up road, I was flying. I still felt that coldness, but my knee went around the 18th mile, so I had to slow down. On the Tuesday, I went to see my GP, Dr Louise Boyd, to get checked out. She did a lot of tests before telling me in her professional opinion that it was cancer. The skin cracking was from cancerous tumours. The word cancer is all you hear.

The next morning, I was called by another doctor, Dr Adrian Fuentes, asking me to come into St James’s Hospital that same day. I was having a bit of a meltdown when I got there. Luckily, I bumped into Dr Fuentes in the corridor, who brought me to where I needed to go for the appointment. He spent a lot of time examining me and

France, a penile

survivor,

home

Kildare with his dogs, Nala and Lucy. Photograph: Alan Betson, The Irish Times.

explaining things. As the cancer had spread to my lymph nodes, I was referred to Ireland’s leading urologist working in this area, Mr Ivor Cullen, and Anne Daniels down in Waterford. Wonderful staff in Beaumont and Waterford – they were fantastic.

I was almost at the point of no return, where chemo or radiotherapy wouldn’t have worked. I had an operation in University Hospital Waterford before Christmas. If I had left it until after Christmas, I was told I wouldn’t see March. It could have been avoided if I had got checked earlier. I made a very conscious decision there and then to be open and upfront about my diagnosis. I hadn’t known penile cancer existed – I’m sure there are many others who don’t either. I paid a big price for not knowing.

My advice to anyone coming to terms with a diagnosis is that cancer is cancer, it’s nothing to be ashamed of – it doesn’t matter where it is on your body.”

The National Penile Cancer Service, led by Consultant Urologist Mr Ivor Cullen at Beaumont Hospital, is Ireland’s designated referral centre for penile cancer treatment. A recent study suggests that centralising treatment for rare cancers like penile cancer improves patient outcomes and increases the chances of preserving the penis. Penile cancer is a very rare but potentially devastating form of cancer. It affects about 60 men annually in Ireland, typically those over 50 years of age, though it can also impact younger men. The HSE’s National Cancer Control Programme (NCCP) has published a new patient guide, Penile Cancer: What I Need to Know, aiming to raise awareness and provide clear, accessible information on this rare form of cancer. It’s available free from healthpromotion.ie.

Cormac

cancer

at

in

A day in the life

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF...

Francini Gabriela da Silva

Social Care Leader, the Women’s Health Service, Dublin, who are working to support women in the sex industry

As a Social Care Leader at the Women’s Health Service (WHS), I work as part of a team providing a national service that supports women in the sex industry with free and confidential healthcare. The women we work with often face unique challenges in accessing healthcare, including stigma, fear and financial barriers. We provide a welcoming, non-judgemental space for all women – both cis and transgender – who work in the sex industry.

My day starts by organising my schedule and responding to emails and messages from our service users. Our busiest clinic is on Thursday, when women attend for sexual health screenings and treatments. They are seen by our nurse and consultant doctor, and some also attend for vaccinations, health advice or planned and emergency contraception. Our

clinic also provides cervical smears. When women present with nonsexual health-related issues but have no GP, our nurse arranges an appointment for them at our GP clinic, which we hold on Mondays. The opening of our GP clinic in late 2023 expanded our range of services, leading to a 43% increase in attendance in 2024. A total of 238 individuals accessed our services in 2024, compared to 166 in 2023, highlighting the growing demand for accessible, stigma-free healthcare.

I meet women from many different countries – last year, almost 30 different nationalities were represented. We have become experienced in working through interpreters to ensure we fully understand and address their needs.

My role involves supporting service users with broader psycho-social

The opening of our GP clinic in late 2023 expanded our range of services, leading to a 43% increase in attendance in 2024. A total of 238 individuals accessed our services in 2024, compared to 166 in 2023, highlighting the growing demand for accessible, stigma-free healthcare.

needs. This might include connecting them to relevant services, providing emotional support, or liaising with An Garda Síochána if they need to report a crime. Our work is about building trust and being consistent advocates, even when conversations are challenging. Our psychologist is on site during clinic times and provides a drop-in service that we can offer to anyone attending.

We offer critical support to those experiencing exploitation or trafficking. Women can talk to us about their situation and find out how they can be helped. I meet with service users by appointment outside our busy clinic hours to follow up on these issues. This work involves liaising with other HSE services and NGOs, as well as An Garda Síochána, which is incredibly important.

What really stands out in my day is the teamwork. The dedication of our clinical staff, admin and support teams ensures that women receive the highest standard of care. I’m proud to be part of a group of professionals who are deeply committed to making a tangible difference in the lives of our service users. Each woman’s needs are addressed from multiple angles – whether health-related, psychological or social – and it’s this collaborative approach that makes our work so impactful.

At the end of the day, I take a moment to reflect on the resilience of the women we support and the dedication of my colleagues. It is incredibly rewarding to be part of a service that helps women navigate their own journeys. What I value most about my role is seeing the direct impact we have – helping women access the care they need, advocating for their rights, and standing by them through their challenges.

Every day at the WHS is different, but the mission remains the same: to offer care, support and practical solutions to the women who need it most. The walk home helps me unwind after the day, giving me time to relax and appreciate the company of loved ones.

MY STORY

Positive thinking

Thanks to effective treatments, people living with HIV can enjoy a long, healthy, happy life. Galway nurse and activist Aoife Commins – who featured in the You, Me and HIV campaign – is passionate about raising awareness and reducing the stigma experienced by people living with HIV in Ireland. She shares her thoughts on how people working in healthcare can better understand the facts and create a supportive environment for everyone.

Aoife with Poz Vibe podcasters and activists Robbie Lawlor (left) and Enda McGrattan, aka drag star Veda Lady, who both featured in the You, Me and HIV campaign

“I’ve heard from people living with HIV, thanking me for helping to reduce the stigma and correct the misinformation; and from friends, family and strangers, saying they’ve learned so much from it.”

GET IN TOUCH

For more information, visit hse.ie/hiv To get in touch with the HSE Campaigns team, email campaigns@hse.ie

Aoife Commins is a 29-year-old nurse working in infectious diseases and sexual health in Galway. In 2020, while living in Australia, she was diagnosed with HIV. After returning home two years later, she shared this news with her family and today, Aoife works tirelessly to raise awareness and help reduce the stigma many people living with HIV face.

The start of 2025 saw the launch of the You, Me and HIV campaign, created in close partnership between the HSE and the Poz Vibe Tribe, a group of people living with HIV, to address the misconceptions that still persist around HIV. Advancements in treatment for HIV mean that people on effective treatment cannot pass HIV to sexual partners. In a recent survey, 71% of Irish adults were unaware of these advances in treatment. With her father, Pat Commins by her side, Aoife shared her powerful story and the pair discussed their initial feelings around her diagnosis and what they’ve since learned about the realities of life with HIV. The campaign features on TV, outdoor, digital and social channels.

“A lot of the feedback from the campaign has been very positive,” says Aoife. “I’ve heard from people living with HIV, thanking me for helping to reduce the stigma and correct the misinformation; and from friends, family and strangers, saying they’ve learned so much from it. Dad’s story is very powerful because he admits to having initially struggled with the news of my diagnosis but has since become so educated about the facts, learning how with medication I won’t pass it onto a partner, and his love and support is so unconditional that I think that might encourage more people with HIV to open up to their loved ones.”

Aoife notes that even as a nurse, she herself has learned so much more about HIV since her diagnosis. “When I was in college, I didn’t learn that there was a six-week window period where you could test negative after being exposed to the virus. I knew there was treatment and that people weren’t dying anymore, but I didn’t know it was so effective you couldn’t pass it on, that you could have children safely.”

“It’s worrying how little some healthcare professionals know about HIV and how effective treatment is,” Aoife continues. “Once, while visiting a dentist, I was given a questionnaire to fill out that asked, ‘Have you ever been exposed to the AIDS virus?’ There’s no such thing; HIV and AIDS are not the same. I was livid and told them that as healthcare professionals, they were reinforcing the stigma and needed to replace those forms immediately. On another occasion, I had an anaesthetist ask me why I hadn’t declared my status on my form. I pointed out that with universal precautions in place for every patient, and especially as I was on medication, I posed no more risk than someone who might be HIV positive but doesn’t know.”

As a nurse, Commins believes it is vital for all healthcare workers to learn as much as they can about HIV. “It’s so important that we educate staff. As a person living with HIV, you’re constantly advocating for yourself in the community and when you go into hospital, you expect to meet people who are knowledgeable and will treat you properly and not be judgemental or make you feel uncomfortable. So I’m passionate about encouraging healthcare professionals to learn as much as possible.”

Aoife shares this additional word of advice: “Listen to your patients who have HIV – they’ll likely know more about their diagnosis than you will. Generally, they know a lot about their care, bloods, medications – they know it inside out. Be patient. And encourage patients to get tested. It’s a simple blood test. If they seem wary, just reassure them it’s a routine test and it’s important that we test everyone. HIV doesn’t discriminate – anyone can contract it, and the sooner you learn that you’re positive through testing, the sooner you can begin effective treatment that will keep you healthy and prevent it being transmitted to others.”

Aoife says her treatment is very manageable – she takes one tablet daily and has her bloods thoroughly checked every six months.

“Working in an STI clinic, I try and make patients feel at ease, to just chat and help them almost forget why they’re there because I know what it’s like to sit in that chair and I want them to feel they’re getting the care they need without added stress.”

Community support, she adds, is hugely important when living with HIV. “I’ve met some incredible people on this journey, like the guys at the Poz Vibe podcast. It helps to talk to someone who genuinely understands what you’re going through. There are lots of support systems out there, even local groups, which can be a great comfort.”

Updates from HSE Dublin and Midlands

Kate Killeen White

HSE Dublin and Midlands Regional Executive Officer

Winter 2024/2025 was extremely challenging across our services, with patients presenting in large numbers with respiratory viral illnesses across all sites. I want to acknowledge the incredible efforts of our staff for the excellent care they provided to the public this year, and indeed each and every day. I do very much appreciate the workforce here in Dublin Midlands across all services, including our voluntary partners.

Change and reform

I want to formally welcome the appointment of Suzanne Dunne to the Regional Leadership Team as Regional Director of Planning and Performance. As we advance the Sláintecare reform programme, it is vital that we focus on stabilising our services while driving best practices across scheduled care, unscheduled care, and all specialities, including children’s services. Ensuring effective patient flow must remain an unwavering priority in our efforts to stabilise services.

Without meaning to be repetitious, I would like to remind everyone of the overarching principles that we are working to here in Dublin Midlands. These principles include:

• An unwavering commitment to providing safe, high-quality care.

• A commitment to effective, efficient, high-quality performance.

• Behaviours characterised by support, compassion and inclusion for all patients and staff.

• Ways of working that focus on continuous learning, quality improvement and innovation.

• Enthusiastic cooperation, teamworking and support within and across boundaries.

By setting the tone at the top and actively living these principles, we shape and direct the culture in the Dublin Midlands. I encourage you all to reflect on how you demonstrate these principles in practice each day.

Communications

During this period of change and structural reform, I am committed to fostering transparency and openness, both internally and externally. Having met many of you, both on the frontline delivering services and behind the scenes facilitating them, I am continually inspired by your innovation, dedication and commitment to quality services. I want to ensure your stories are shared and celebrated.

Visit to Mullingar and Abbeyleix

Recently I visited the Special Care Baby Unit at the Regional Hospital Mullingar and Abbeyleix Transitional Care Unit. I was eager to take time to meet with and hear from staff and management on the frontline who were caring for those most vulnerable in our care over the festive period. The care and compassion shown in these units, as well as across all our services is to be acknowledged.

I was very impressed to see the Transitional Care Unit in Abbeyleix. This facility exemplifies one of the main pillars of Sláintecare, which is shifting care closer to home and delivering integrated healthcare across acute and community services in Laois.

Official opening of the South Dublin surgical hub

The first new surgical hub at Mount Carmel Community Hospital in South Dublin was officially opened by Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill on 13 February. I was delighted to attend the opening and meet the dedicated team who brought this project to life.

This state-of-the-art facility features four theatres and is set to perform 10,000 day-case procedures and minor surgeries annually, significantly reducing waiting lists and treatment times. I look forward to seeing the positive impact this hub will have on the region.

Finally, I appreciate that balancing daily service delivery with the transition to new regional structures and ways of working is particularly demanding at this time. The next phase of transition is commencing, and I really appreciate your efforts and focus to enhance healthcare services for our community. Thank you once again.

Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill; Mary Day, CEO, St James’s Hospital; Deputy Maeve O’Connell TD, Dublin Rathdown; Kate Killeen White, REO, HSE Dublin and Midlands; and Bernard Gloster, CEO, HSE.

Updates from HSE Dublin and Midlands

Award-winning directory assists older people to live well at home in the Midlands

HSE Directories of Services and Supports for Older People are now available for people in the Midlands counties with links to health and social care services and supports in the community. The directories were created with older people for older people, by the HSE Living Well at Home Group established under the HSE Integrated Care Programme for Older Persons (ICPOP) Laois/Offaly and Longford/ Westmeath. Living Well at Home groups are made up of HSE and community organisations coming together to support older persons to live well at home in their respective communities.

One of the key steps highlighted in ‘Making a start in integrated care for older persons’ (a practical guide to the local implementation of ICPOP) was to map out and identify existing health and social care resources. The working group proposed the development of a directory to capture health and social services across Laois/Offaly and Longford/ Westmeath.

The directories are an important initiative for older people and carers in the community. Co-design with older people in the local community was a key part of the process. They provide information and contact details for services available to people to keep them well, as well as information of who to contact when they need health or social care services.

Information on important issues like transport, entitlements and access supports such as day care or lunch clubs are also included.

Dr Mary Doolan, Operational Lead ICPOP Laois/Offaly says, “Working together has enabled us to make sense of supports and services available to older people. The directories inform the public of services that exist in their communities to enable them to live well with supports. These directories are for the community by the community.”

Fiona Murphy, HSE Head of Health and Wellbeing Midlands, Louth and Meath says, “Promoting healthy ageing is a key element of the Healthy Ireland Implementation Plan. We want to support older people to age well in their own communities. The work of the Living Well at Home group and the consultation with older people living in the Midlands counties is key to developing initiatives that respond to local need. These directories are valuable information resources for people to access local supports, services and activities.”

The Living Well at Home element of the ECC model is paramount as older people are supported to keep active, eat well, stay connected and are informed of their benefits and entitlements. Keeping well at home is essential to avoid admission to hospital.

You can access these directories online at bit.ly/OlderPeopleinLaoisOffaly (Laois/Offaly) and bit.ly/OlderPeopleLongfordWestmeath (Longford/Westmeath). A directory for services in Dublin Southwest Integrated Healthcare Area has also be created and can be accessed at bit.ly/DublinSouthWestDirectory

The Laois/Offaly launch at HSE St Fintan’s campus Portlaoise, from left: Karen Nolan, Mary Doolan, Anna May McHugh, Mari Fitzgerald, Aine Davin, and Amanda Caulfield

HSE Dublin and Midlands 2024 Winter Vaccination Awards

The HSE Dublin and Midlands Regional Winter Vaccination Steering Group held a regional celebration and awards ceremony on 18 December in the Russell Building in Tallaght to acknowledge the ongoing efforts of vaccinators throughout the region.

The event saw staff involved in the winter vaccination programme, including peer vaccinators, mobile vaccination teams and local leads, from both community and acute settings, recognised for their efforts and celebrated on their achievements in this vaccination season.

Presenting the awards, Kate Killeen White, Regional Executive Officer acknowledged “the hard work and commitment from every single vaccinator across the region. Your unwavering commitment to the health and wellbeing of our communities has made an immeasurable impact.”

Eileen Whelan, Regional Director of Nursing and Midwifery outlined that last winter over 4,000 people were hospitalised with flu and over 7,000 people were hospitalised with COVID-19. She praised the work of the vaccinators saying, “Each and every vaccination that you have delivered this season contributes to the protection of life in our communities and in our hospitals. It is such an important role that you play in the safe delivery of services.”

Margaret McQuillan, Head of Service Health and Wellbeing emphasised that vaccines are a shield that protects individuals, families and entire communities from the devastating effects of infectious diseases. She complimented the vaccinators on their hard work, expertise, and their perseverance, which have played a pivotal part in delivering these vaccines to those who need them most.

• Highest Achiever Flu: CHI Temple Street

• Highest Achiever COVID-19: The Coombe Hospital

• Best Improver Flu: Regional Hospital Mullingar and Moate Nursing Home

• Best Improver COVID-19: Stewarts Care

• Most Innovative Approach: Our Lady’s Hospice and Care Services and Tallaght University Hospital

• Recognition Award for Vaccination Team Contribution: St James’s Hospital and mobile vaccination teams in the Midlands and Dublin South, Kildare and West Wicklow areas.

• Most Vaccines Administered by a Peer Vaccinator:

» Jennifer Kinsella, Our Lady’s Hospice and Care Services

» Arleen Pahapay, Bellvilla Community Unit

» Louise Power, Tallaght University Hospital

» Natasha Joyce, The Coombe Hospital

Kate Killeen White, Regional Executive Officer, HSE Dublin and Midlands presenting the Highest Achiever COVID-19 Award to Natasha Joyce, The Coombe Hospital.

HSE Dublin and Midlands Regional Winter Vaccination Steering Group. Back row, from left: Louise Peppard, Sarah Maidment, Damon Gaffney, Maura Coyle Meade, Warren O’Brien, Arlene Crean, Adrienne Devlin and Tommy Flatley. Front row, from left: Dr Fionnuala Cooney, Margaret McQuillan, Eileen Whelan, Niamh O’Regan and Fiona Burke.

Updates from HSE Dublin and Midlands

Promoting positive mental health in Naas General Hospital and celebrating cultural diversity in the region

Naas General Hospital (NGH) launched its Elephant in the Room campaign in November. The brainchild of New Zealand international rugby star Brent Pope, the campaign seeks to normalise conversations around mental health. The NGH elephant statue, named Lily, is decorated with designs submitted by NGH staff representing their culturally diverse workforce. Lily serves as a visual reminder that it is okay to be open about mental health difficulties. The elephant represents all of the staff at Naas General Hospital –encompassing the light, the shade, and everything in between. It resides in the hospital reception area and serves as a companion during challenging times and a flicker of hope when it is needed most.

Scan the QR code to read the cookbook

Jennith Ligue and Victory Nwabu at the launch of the Intercultural Cookbook.

On the same day, the Staff Health and Wellbeing team in the Dublin and Midlands region launched their Intercultural Cookbook. This project was a collaboration involving staff from culturally diverse backgrounds across the Dublin South, Kildare and West Wicklow area. At the heart of the cookbook lies a commitment to staff health and wellbeing, where food is seen as a reflection of our cultural heritage and a powerful tool for nurturing body and soul. Through the joys of cooking, sharing meals, coming together as communities and exploring the culinary traditions of different cultures, we gain a deeper understanding and appreciation for the people who share our day-to-day work sites and settings.

The cookbook was launched by Mary O’Kelly, Integrated Healthcare Area Manager for HSE Kildare West Wicklow. Mary praised the working group for the scope of their

St James’s Hospital Sta Recognition Awards

The fourth annual St James’s Hospital Staff Recognition Awards took place in December. Speaking at the awards ceremony, CEO of St James’s Hospital, Mary Day said, “The hundreds of nominations received this year highlight the great work happening across the hospital every single day. I would like to thank everyone who made a nomination, and in doing so, shared their personal experiences with us.”

ambition in developing the cookbook, calling it “ambitious not only in its desire to be as inclusive as possible but in the hope that it will be used and become a part of making new memories.”

Contributors to the cookbook spoke about the value of being involved in the process. Jennith Ligue spoke passionately about how the experience of being involved in the cookbook showed her that “inclusion is more than being invited to the party, it is when they also make a space for you to come. Having a day like today says to me that inclusion is working.”

Speaking of her experience of being part of the working group, Victory Nwabu noted how the “rich tapestry of the HSE” was shared with her Nigerian mother when she came to Ireland to begin a 20-year nursing career through the sharing of recipes with her colleagues. “Food is a bridge between communities and cultures so I knew I had to be part of the working group where diversity and inclusion were modelled, not just talked about.”

It is hoped that anyone who engages with the cookbook can enjoy the journey, savour the flavours, and celebrate the diversity that makes our HSE global family so special.

The winners included:

• The Catering Department – Team of the Year

• Matthew Rooney, Facilities Management and Carole Keena, Catering Department (presented posthumously) – Service Excellence awards

• James Hennessy, Medical Workforce – Outstanding Contribution

• The Scan for Safety team – CEO Project Team of the Year and Cathal Kinsella, Data Protection – CEO Outstanding Contribution award

• Mary Byrne, Chief Medical Scientist and John Reynolds, Professor of Clinical Surgery – Lifetime Achievement Award

CEO Mary Day and Declan Keena, husband of the late Carole Keena

From a law degree to a career in nursing – a brave path of transformation

In December, 65 new nurses began their careers in healthcare when they graduated at Tallaght University Hospital (TUH). Among them was 39-year-old Sarah King, who successfully completed her nursing degree as a mature student while also a mother to three girls. Initially graduating with a law degree in 2008, Sarah started working in accounts and eventually began a journey to qualify as a chartered accountant after the birth of her first child, Laragh. With the economic downturn and a growing family to consider, Sarah believed that this was the safest path. “At the back of my mind, I had always been interested in a career in healthcare,” she says. “There were lots of doctors and nurses in my extended family.”

In 2020, Sarah successfully applied to the nursing programme at Trinity College Dublin. Sarah completed much of her placement on the wards in TUH. Due to the expense of the additional degree, Sarah worked weekends as a healthcare assistant.

“At the back of my mind, I had always been interested in a career in healthcare; there were lots of doctors and nurses in my extended family.”

While studying for the degree was a lot of hard work, Sarah says she feels really proud of how her family coped.

During her training, Sarah saw the importance of being able to care for people in their final days. She has a particular interest in palliative nursing and plans to continue nursing at TUH. Working as a nurse gives her a real sense of meaning, she says. “I love taking care of people.”

New podcast series on women’s health

A podcast series from Tallaght University Hospital (TUH) focusing on women’s health, and funded by South Dublin County Partnership’s Fettercairn Health Project, is now available. The 6 individual episodes, released as part of the hospital’s Let's Talk About... series, looks at endometriosis, the importance of cervical screening, brain health and dealing with brain fog, pelvic prolapse and incontinence, good heart and bone health, and menopause.

Consultant Gynaecologist and Clinical Director of the Women’s Health Centre at TUH, Aoife O’Neill says, “I was delighted to participate in these podcasts, which cover in detail so many different aspects of women’s health. Hopefully, by listening to these podcasts, women who are often the primary carers in their families will understand how important it is that they also prioritise their own health.”

Contributors include Consultant Gynaecologists Dr Aoife O’Neill and Dr Alison DeMaio, Consultant Endocrinologist Dr Lucy-Ann Behan, and Advanced Nurse Practitioners in Women’s Health Sinead Cleary, Cheryll Gilmore and Colleen Byrne as well as Endometriosis Clinical Nurse Specialist Paula Earley. They were joined by their colleagues, Advanced Nurse Practitioners David Askin (bone health), Shirley Ingram (heart) and Cathy McHale (brain and memory). The podcasts also feature Gráinne Wall, a Specialist Urogynaecology Physiotherapist and the hospital’s Head of Psychology Neuropsychologist, Dr Valerie Twomey. The episodes are available on the TUH YouTube channel and on Apple and Podbean platforms.

Sarah King completed her nursing degree at TUH

Updates from HSE Dublin and

Celebrating a decade of design

Quality Excellence Awards

Robert Watt, Secretary General at Department of Health, and CEO, Mary Day

In December, the Design Innovation Lab hosted a showcase event highlighting the major milestones that have been achieved since it was established in 2015. The Design Lab is located in Mercer’s Institute for Successful Ageing (MISA) at St James’s Hospital. It provides a dedicated space where staff from around the hospital work with the team to create and test innovative solutions that solve complex problems and improve healthcare delivery. This can involve designing new products and medical devices, improving hospital workflows or developing patient-centric technologies.

To date, the team has developed and designed several innovative solutions to address everyday challenges faced by hospital staff and patients including:

• The patient belonging box, a secure container for storing glasses, dentures and hearing aids for patients;

• 3D-printed temporary prosthetics, which are created and delivered to the patient before they wake from surgery;

• and the laryngectomy TEP simulator, an advanced training tool that enhances learning and provides staff with a more realistic training experience, ultimately leading to improved patient outcomes.

Design Innovation Lab Lead, Dr Chris Soraghan said at the event, “The Design Innovation Lab has sought to impact all corners and areas of the hospital. Having access to the end user and working with colleagues who want to solve problems and enhance patient care, not only here in St James’s Hospital but on a national level, creates a highly energised and motivated working environment. By being embedded in the hospital, we have the unique opportunity to co-design solutions with patients and staff throughout the entire process, allowing us to improve and modify as we progress, and arrive at a needs-based finished product more efficiently.”

As the hospital’s Design Innovation Lab celebrates its tenth anniversary, it stands as a testament to the transformative power of creative thinking in healthcare.

St Luke’s Radiation Oncology Network is dedicated to being a world-class leader in cancer treatment, patient care, research and education. In striving for this excellence, the holistic needs of patients and their families are at the centre of our care. In order to recognise the ongoing work of the staff within the St Luke’s Radiation Oncology Network in continually improving services and treatments for patients, we recently hosted our 2024 Quality Excellence Awards. Categories included Best Quality Initiative Project, Best Quality Improvement Project, Best Visual Poster, Team of the Year, Staff Champion and Patient Champion. The ceremony was held on 18 November in St Luke’s Hospital, Rathgar and streamed across all sites. It was attended by hospital staff from across all teams. The event was sponsored by the St Luke’s Cancer Research fund. Promoting #excellenceeveryday in cancer healthcare.

Members of the Design Innovation Lab, MBPE Department and HSE Spark

Top: Team of the Year, from left: Serena O’Keeffe, Jennifer Carey, Jennifer Gilmore, Claire Gildea, Daniel Rossiter. Bottom from left: Sandra Massey-Traynor (ADON) presented with an award by Lorraine Schwanberg, National Quality and Patient Safety Directorate.

New Community Nursing Unit at St Camillus’ Hospital

The former Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly TD, officially opened the new Community Nursing Unit at St Camillus’ Hospital last November. This marked the completion of the first of the two-phase €31m 75-bed project that will replace existing long-stay beds in the complex.

Phase one sees 50 residents receiving highquality, person-centred care in the newly developed Saoirse and Aisling Units, not only enhancing the living environment but also supporting our healthcare teams in delivering exceptional care tailored to each resident’s needs. The second phase is underway, bringing further enhancements to our capacity and care.

In other news...

Celebrating 30 years of Primary Health Care for Travellers Projects

On Wednesday, 11 December, a national conference to mark 30 years of Primary Health Care for Travellers Projects (PHCTPs), organised by HSE Social Inclusion in partnership with Pavee Point Traveller and Roma Centre, took place at Croke Park, Dublin.

Speaking about the importance of PHCTPs, Concepta De Brun, Regional Social Inclusion Specialist, HSE, said, “PHCTPs are pivotal to the delivery of healthcare services to the Traveller community. They hold a high-trust relationship with the Traveller community and assist Travellers to enter the mainstream services.”

In 1994, primary healthcare was identified as an approach to facilitate Traveller participation in health and the first PHCTP was set up by Pavee Point. Now there are almost 30 PHCTPs across the country, with a workforce of over 300 Traveller staff.

“I feel and see the success of the Primary Health Care Projects within my own family,” said Brigid Quilligan, Project Manager, Kerry Travellers’ Health and Community Development Project. “I see people’s lives being saved. Missie Collins said today that there is no nurse able to do the work Travellers are doing on the ground. I firmly believe that, and that’s no disrespect to any profession.”

The conference at Croke Park was a joyous occasion celebrating the work and achievements of the PHCTPs. Attendees heard from representatives from HSE Social Inclusion and Traveller Organisations/ Traveller Primary Health Care Projects across the country.

Back row, from left: Concepta De Brun, Martina Queally, Maggie McDonnell, Lynsey Kavanagh, and Aisling Heffernan. Front row, from left: Bridgie Collins, Molly Collins, and Missie Collins.

Happy Heart Healthy Eating Award –fuelling a productive and healthy workforce

Join the HSE and the Irish Heart Foundation on our mission to create a healthy food environment for staff and visitors in every healthcare site in Ireland. Register for the Happy Heart Healthy Eating Award programme and get your bronze, silver or gold award accreditation.

The food environment of healthcare staff and visitors

With a quarter of the food eaten, prepared and cooked outside of the home, workplaces play a key part in offering healthier food choices. Healthy eating can have a huge impact on how people feel during the day and their productivity.

What is the Happy Heart Healthy Eating Award?

Across Ireland, 51 healthcare sites currently hold Happy Heart Healthy Eating Award accreditation, supporting the health of almost 45,000 healthcare staff nationwide. Through the award programme, catering facilities in healthcare services are assisted and supported to adopt healthier cooking practices and provide healthier food choices without incurring substantial costs. The process involves two tailored site visits – the catering assessment and monitoring visit – as well as all the dietitians’ advice and recommendations for your facility.

Achieving the Happy Heart Healthy Eating Award will help to:

• Create a culture of health and wellbeing;

• Provide a long-term sustainable programme;

• Demonstrate a commitment to your facility’s staff wellbeing.

Key goals of the HSE Healthy Eating Active Living Programme are to support healthcare services and enable:

• The healthier choice to be the easier choice for staff and visitors;

• Catering facilities in healthcare services to ensure healthy options are provided and promoted;

• Food and beverage provision to be aligned with the HSE Nutrition Standards for provision of food and beverages to staff and visitors.

Bronze, silver or gold?

There are three different levels of achievement for the award: bronze, silver and gold. You can apply for any level but must meet the specific criteria for that award.

Who is eligible to apply?

Catering facilities that prepare and serve hot food onsite in HSE sites, and Section 38 and 39 funded health services can register for the award programme free of charge. Other healthcare services can access the award programme for a charge.

What our awardees say

Our Lady’s Hospital, Manorhamilton, Co Leitrim, achieved its first bronze Happy Heart Healthy Eating Award in July 2024. “We were so proud to receive our bronze certificate for the Happy Heart Healthy Eating Award. We had a 6-month timeframe to complete our application. There was great support from the Irish Heart Foundation team and with the cooperation of all the staff in creating awareness of a healthier eating lifestyle, it was hugely successful along with highlighting

How to apply

Register your interest at HealthyEating.ActiveLiving@hse.ie

You will be asked to complete a short survey, which will be shared with the Irish Heart Foundation.

Once we receive your completed survey, a member of the Irish Heart Foundation’s dedicated and experienced health promotion team will be in touch to talk you through the process and what is involved in being part of the awards.

“Going forward, we will continue to achieve the highest possible standards for all HSE employees on the benefits of healthier lifestyle choices.”

the staff’s awareness of calorie posting. Going forward, we will continue to achieve the highest possible standards for all HSE employees on the benefits of healthier lifestyle choices,” says Niamh Gallagher, Catering Manager at Our Lady’s Hospital, Manorhamilton.

For more information, visit irishheart.ie/HealthyEatingAward or hse.ie/HealthyEatingAtWork

Get up, get dressed, get breakfast

How a Breakfast Club in Enniscorthy is helping patients’ rehabilitation

Last year saw the start of a Breakfast Club in the rehabilitation unit in St John’s Community Hospital in Enniscorthy, Co Wexford. Led by Physiotherapy Assistants Maura Nolan and Caroline Murphy-Zannaki and Physiotherapist Cathal Clince with a view to having patients available earlier in the morning to attend physiotherapy and increase treatment time and intensity, the club has now become an integral part of the rehabilitative process in St John’s. Instead of receiving breakfast in bed or at their bedside, patients were encouraged and where necessary assisted to attend a buffet breakfast bar set up in the patient dining room.

In September, the project was shortlisted for the Health Service Excellence Awards 2024 for Innovation in Service Delivery.

Staff have been pleasantly surprised by some of the additional benefits:

• Increased mobility practice each day.

• Additional supervised dressing practice.

• Increased opportunities for all members of the multidisciplinary team to observe patients performing functional tasks and support compensatory strategies where necessary.

• Patients eating a larger quantity and variety of food when they can self-select.

• Opportunity for a speech and language therapist to observe patients outside of formal assessment.

• Patients were also available to attend other therapies earlier in the day, enabling the unit to achieve 1 hour of relevant therapy daily as recommended in the 2023 British and Irish Stroke Guidelines.

Feedback from patients has been very positive:

• They enjoyed the extra social interaction.

• They liked being able to do extra walking.

• They preferred to be out of bed for breakfast and up earlier.

• They said it was nice to be able to help each other out.

• They reported feeling more confident about going home.

The physio department received great support from ward staff, hospital management and physiotherapy management. The CE Scheme coordinator assisted with décor and the sign was kindly donated by a family member.

Recycled kitchen units from another ward were used by the maintenance department to create the breakfast bar for minimal cost, so the project resulted in a 16% increase in rehab gym treatment time for patients without any additional recurring costs.

HSE supports vital trauma training for Ukraine’s frontline healthcare staff

The HSE, through its Global Health Programme, is proud to support the UCD Ukraine Trauma Project, a lifesaving initiative led by Professors Gerard Bury and Chris Fitzpatrick of the UCD Foundation. This project, funded in collaboration with the Irish Red Cross, delivers advanced trauma care training and essential medical kits to Ukrainian emergency services, many of whom are on the frontline.

Since its inception in 2022, the programme has trained hundreds of healthcare staff in Ukraine. In 2024, 286 emergency medical personnel received training through 6 immersive courses in Kyiv, emphasising lifesaving techniques such as early administration of tranexamic acid and combat-related trauma care. Training included the use of bespoke 3D-printed anatomical models developed in UCD for realistic simulation exercises. Over 500 medical kits, packed with critical emergency equipment and drugs, were also provided. With plans for expansion in 2025, this vital initiative continues to underscore Ireland’s commitment to global health and equipping frontline staff with the skills and tools that save lives.

left: Prof Gary O’Brien, VP, Mary Immaculate College, Limerick; Dr Aoife Leahy, Consultant Geriatrician; Teresa Cronin, Director of Nursing, National Safeguarding Office; Amanda Casey, HSE Chief Social Worker; and Mary O’Dwyer, Head of Quality, Safety and Service Improvement,

Working together to safeguard human rights

More than 160 healthcare workers, community partners and service providers converged on Limerick’s Castletroy Park Hotel in midNovember for a conference aimed at promoting awareness and understanding of adult safeguarding in community and acute services. The seminar, ‘Working together to safeguard human rights’, aimed to reflect the perspectives of service users as well as providers, and was the platform for the launch of the 2023 HSE National Safeguarding Office Annual Report.

Of particular note for service users was the multimedia presentation by Streetwise Learners from the Brothers of Charity in Clare, as well as the Limerick City North Community Healthcare Network Vox Pop video of service users.

Also well received were presentations by Maggie McNally, HSE Mid West Principal Social Worker on the FREDA principles (Freedom, Respect, Equality, Dignity and Autonomy); Dr Aoife Leahy, Consultant Geriatrician on safeguarding as it relates to older patients in residential care; Amanda Casey, HSE Chief Social Worker on her priorities for her role, the first such post in the HSE; and Teresa Cronin, Director of Nursing at the National Safeguarding Office on the role of nursing in safeguarding.

Mental Health Nursing Graduates 2024

Christmas event brightens spirits in Galway

A Christmas market-themed engagement event was held in the Nursing Services Practice Development Unit, Merlin Park, Galway. Co-produced by staff and service users, it was organised in recognition of the individuals who use our service, personal accounts of recovery, particularly in co-produced initiatives, and creative contributions such as the choir, artwork and crafts. Attendees were invited to write their wish for the service in 2025 on a decoration to hang on the tree, and achievements of the Galway Roscommon Nursing Services Strategy 2022-2027 were on display. Closing the festivities, Rhythm2Recovery, a choir made up of staff and service users, led a sing-along. The event reaffirmed the values of care, compassion, trust and learning and stands as a reminder of the collective strength and innovations in our mental health services. The Galway Roscommon Mental Health Nursing Services Strategy Implementation Committee are making plans for future events with a focus on continuing to celebrate and build upon the achievements of staff and individuals who use our service.

Congratulations to all the recent UCD graduates from the School of Nursing, Midwifery and Health Systems across a range of programmes, including BSc and Higher Diploma in Mental Health Nursing and MSc Advanced Practice Nursing. Congratulations also to the UCD and HSE Dublin South and Wicklow sponsored Higher Diploma in Mental Health Nursing Graduates following the completion of their one-year programme.

From

HSE Mid West.

Patient Flow Academy Excellence Awards

Congratulations to all the winners of the inaugural Patient Flow Academy Excellence Awards, jointly supported by the HSE Spark Innovation Programme and HSE Patient Flow Academy. Some 17 awards were presented to the winning teams at the HSE Patient Flow conference in Dublin on 13 November. The HSE Patient Flow Academy aims to improve patient flow by supporting health and social care staff to identify, define and improve processes, pathways and systems for the safe, timely and effective delivery of care driven by a culture of continuous improvement. The awards recognise and celebrate projects completed over the last five years. They highlight excellent improvements which are being implemented across the

healthcare system to support processes and create new pathways for safer and more efficient patient flow.

HSE CEO Bernard Gloster opened the conference; Dr Rosa McNamara, Clinical Lead, Emergency Medicine Programme outlined some of the challenges facing frontline staff; while Prof Julian Redhead, National Clinical Director for Integrated Urgent and Emergency Care, NHS gave the keynote address.

You can read about all of the winners at investnet.ie/patientflowevent For more information on the HSE Patient Flow Academy, visit hse.ie/patientflow

Role of mental health nurses celebrated at study morning

Dr Eve Stanley, HSE Spark National NCHD Innovation Fellow; Consultant Geriatrician of the Falls and Syncope Unit, St James’s Hospital, Dr Robert Briggs receiving a Patient Flow Academy Excellence award; and Grace Rothwell, National Director, HSE Access and Integration.

The diversity of roles and opportunities for mental health nurses within Dublin South and Wicklow Mental Health Service was celebrated in November at a study morning hosted in St Vincent’s University Hospital. Eight Registered Nurse Practitioners from a range of mental health specialities shared their knowledge and experiences with nursing colleagues with the hope of increasing awareness about opportunities and attracting nurses to these specialities in the future. Thank you to all our colleagues who made this learning event such a success.

Menopause focus group

Menopausal symptoms can have a significant impact on employees at work. The HSE’s Menopause Policy provides guidance on how to support colleagues experiencing symptoms. To inform what supports staff would benefit from locally, the Menopause Working Group, led by the Health Promotion and Improvement team, hosted a staff focus group on ‘Menopause in the workplace’. Dr Louise Fitzgerald, a GP with a special interest in women’s health provided evidence-based information on the topic. Staff commented on how

stigma remains an issue and more needs to be done to normalise the conversation. Less than half felt comfortable discussing menopause with managers. The majority felt they did not have the knowledge to support colleagues and that there is not enough information available for staff. These results highlight the importance of raising awareness around menopause in the workplace. To take part in the next menopause focus group (Dublin South and Wicklow staff only), contact frances.joyce@hse.ie

Future hospital leaders graduate from Operational Excellence HDip

The future of healthcare in Ireland is in safe hands as over 20 healthcare workers from St James’s Hospital, and two colleagues from the HSE, recently became the first in Ireland to graduate with a Higher Diploma in Operational Excellence in Healthcare. This postgraduate course was developed by St James’s Hospital in partnership with South East Technological University (SETU) to train and educate future hospital leaders. The hospital’s graduation ceremony took place on Friday, 22 November on the hospital’s campus.

The programme, the first of its kind in Ireland, is designed to empower staff to lead transformative projects which result in improved patient care and outcomes, that align with St James’s Hospital’s strategic goals of enhancing outcomes, improving quality of care, ensuring financial and environmental sustainability, expanding access, and advancing education and research.

Focusing on real-world applications, participating students were presented with real-life issues facing hospital services, and tasked with finding effective ways to resolve these, leading to enhanced workflows and streamlined processes. The CEO of the hospital, Mary Day noted, “At St James’s Hospital, our guiding philosophy and approach of continuous improvement is transforming services for the better. Education is at the heart of that and this course, and its participants will be the hospital leaders of the future, helping us to achieve our strategic ambitions.”

In attendance on the day were SETU representatives including Prof Veronica Campbell, SETU President and Grace Rothwell, HSE Access and Integration Director. Grace commended the graduates and acknowledged their ambition and goals to improve healthcare outcomes, not only in St James’s Hospital but also on a national level.

The programme is currently being undertaken by a new group of students who will graduate this year.

Staff Cultural Diversity Day

and

The Health Promotion and Improvement team, Dublin South and Wicklow, with funding from Creative Ireland and the Arts Council, marked Cultural Diversity Day by running a photography competition. The project aimed to celebrate the rich diversity within our teams whilst promoting understanding, respect and collaboration. Employees were invited to visually express what diversity means to them. Submissions ranged from symbolic representations of teamwork to vibrant depictions of cultural practices, each telling a story of inclusion. Winners were recognised at an award ceremony. This initiative reminds us how diversity strengthens our workplace and enhances the care we provide to our communities. Watch the video on YouTube

For more information on diversity in the HSE, visit bit.ly/DiversityEqualityInclusion

Pictured: The graduating class of 2024 with Prof Veronica Campbell, SETU President; Darrin Taylor, SETU; Prof Mary Day, CEO, St James’s Hospital; Grace Rothwell, Access

Integration, HSE; and Fiona Keogan, Director of Lean Transformation, St James’s Hospital.

Review the HSE Compliance Obligations Register

The Compliance Obligations Register (COR) is a list of statutory, regulatory and policy obligations for HSE employees. All staff must comply with these to make sure our services meet high standards of quality and value for the public. The HSE’s Central Compliance team are asking all staff to review the COR.

The COR is a particularly valuable resource for staff involved in:

• Compliance

• Risk management

• Audit

• Governance

The COR is updated quarterly. It currently has about 400 external obligations and over 750 internal obligations (policies, procedures, protocols and guidelines). Failure to comply with these obligations undermines public and stakeholder trust in the HSE. If you have an obligation to include in the COR, or if there’s an obligation that needs to be removed, you can email the Central Compliance Function at central.compliancefunction@hse.ie

Find more information in the staff section of the website at bit.ly/ComplianceObligationsRegister

Save the date:

Spark Summit 2025

Spark Summit – the HSE Spark Innovation Programme’s annual conference for healthcare staff – takes place 11 June 2025 in the Dublin Royal Convention Centre. The conference focuses on the exciting innovations changing the way that healthcare is provided in Ireland. Are you a healthcare professional who is curious about innovation in healthcare? Are you in a leadership position within the health service? If so, this conference is for you. Spark Summit provides a dynamic platform for showcasing innovative projects, fostering collaboration, and inspiring creative problem-solving within the healthcare sector.

Learn how frontline innovation is making a real difference to how healthcare is being delivered in Ireland and how human-centred design is re-shaping service delivery.

International recognition for Garda and HSE disability services collaboration in Tipperary

A joint initiative involving An Garda Síochána and the HSE’s disability services in Tipperary has received international recognition in the 2024 Europol Excellence in Innovation Awards.

The Inside Out project in Tipperary Town works to raise awareness regarding the impact of crime on vulnerable people, including people with disabilities and the elderly.

Europol is the European Union agency for law enforcement cooperation. The Europol Excellence in Innovation Awards highlights how effective modern-day law enforcement requires partnership and collaboration. The awards demonstrate the positive impact of agencies working together through taking new, creative approaches.

Nine projects under three categories were shortlisted in the 2024 awards, including the Tipperary-based project in ‘Innovation in Ethics, Diversity and Inclusion’ (the overall winners of which was a project in Croatia).

Completed in 2021 and supported by Tipperary County Council and Tipperary Age Friendly, the Inside Out project involved a number of stakeholders, including students from the Transition Year programme in St Anne’s, St Ailbe’s and the Abbey secondary schools in Tipperary Town.

Pictured in Europol Headquarters in The Hague, Netherlands for the presentation of the 2024 Europol Excellence in Innovation Awards were (from left): Anne Bradshaw, HSE Disability Services Officer, Tipperary; the Garda Commissioner Drew Harris; and Garda Inspector Des Bell (Tipperary).

Survey

Thank you to everyone who took the time to complete the Your Opinion Counts – 2023 Staff Survey. Since the launch of the first Staff Survey in 2014, there has been immense change in our health service, particularly in recent years, during which we as an organisation navigated the COVID-19 pandemic, the cyber-attack and now as we transition into the new health regions structure. Our workforce is our most valuable asset. Opportunities for improvement that will enable us to build a better

Your Job and Role

• A new Mentoring Programme was launched in 2024 to support staff to develop in their roles.

• A new Career Hub was launched to support staff in their career progression.

• A new Digital Skills Starter Pack suite of online programmes to support and educate health and social care staff in digital skills was launched.

• The Health Service Excellence Awards continue to be developed to include additional categories.

• Increased individual coaching engagements to support staff in developing to their full potential.

• HSE Employee Handbook and Induction Guidelines updated.

Training and Development

• Increased team coaching engagements to support staff to navigate changing structures, improve team effectiveness and support service development.

• New training programmes were launched in 2023 and 2024, including Facilitation Skills, and Mid-Career Planning.

• New staff educational scholarships were provided for HR and Health Economics diplomas and degrees.

• Additional Learning Talks podcasts were launched to support staff in their personal development.

• Opportunities provided to individuals through the Health Service Leadership Academy to support enhanced management and leadership capabilities.

• New HSE Leadership Development Framework launched in 2023 to support the continued development of key leadership capabilities.

Diversity, Equality, Inclusion

• HSE Diversity, Equality and Inclusion team continues to provide advice and supports to managers and staff.

• A new Leading Multi-Cultural Teams programme was launched in 2024.

• Diversity, Equality and Inclusion concepts continue to be added as a key feature in HSE management development programmes which supports an inclusive workplace culture.

• The HSE’s three employee diversity networks continue to grow and support staff who are LGBTQIA+, who have disabilities or are from diverse cultural backgrounds, and their allies.

health service for all were identified through review of the 2023 Staff Survey results. Significant action has been taken across the HSE in response to the 2023 Staff Survey results. A number of these actions and developments are highlighted in the infographic below.

We look forward to receiving your feedback and hearing your opinion following the launch of the 2025 Staff Survey in March. The survey will be open from 20 March to 17 April.

Line and Senior Managers

• Continuous communications and updates provided on the transition to the new health regions. Regular video, webinar and town hall-style staff updates provided by new Senior Management teams.

• Continued focus on the Performance Achievement process, with updated online resources available.

• A number of new management and staff development programmes were launched in 2023 and 2024.

• Developing Organisation Culture – A Guide for the Health Service is available to enable people to understand the factors contributing to organisational culture, and build a greater awareness of how to develop a positive workplace culture.

Health and Wellbeing

• HSE Health and Wellbeing launched an online and classroom-based ‘Minding Your Wellbeing’ programme.

• HSE Talking Health and Wellbeing podcast launched in 2023.

• ‘Taking Action to support staff health and wellbeing, a guide to assist managers’ was launched, signposting staff to available resources.

• Staff health and wellbeing committees established.

• Remote, flexible, and blended approaches to work continue to be accommodated via the HSE Blended Working Policy.

• Employee Assistance Programme and Occupational Health information promoted via internal communications channels.

• ‘Preventing and Managing Work Related Stress’ online programme launched in 2024.

Dignity at Work

A range of new training programmes were launched in 2023 and 2024, promoting a continued focus on creating a culture of dignity and respect for all:

• Dignity at Work for Line Managers.

• Train the Dignity at Work Trainer.

• Continuous Professional Development Workshops for staff in Nominated Person/Support Contact Person roles.

• Civility and Dignity at Work for Teams programme.

An increased number of bespoke team development supports were delivered, customised to service’s unique context and requirements.

Maternity hospital appointments

Urgent and emergency care services finder

Digital EHIC and medical cards

Medicine and vaccination records