Care and Case Management for Older People in Ireland

This study provides, for the first time, a systematic review of how health and social services are currently being delivered to older people with the purpose of identifying models of best practice within a Care Management framework. The research allows the voices of a wide range of health and social service providers to comment individually about how care is currently delivered in Ireland. In addition, the research provides them with an opportunity to express how they feel about Care and Case Management as a model for the planning, co-ordination and delivery of services and its feasibility in an Irish context Download the Report here

Meeting the Health, Social Care and Welfare Services Information Needs of Older People

As Chairperson of the National Council on Ageing and Older People, it gives me great pleasure to introduce this report, Meeting the Health, Social Care and Welfare Services Information Needs of Older People in Ireland. The Council has asserted, in previous reports in the past, the need to improve information provision for older people in order to enable them to make informed decisions in relation to their health, social care and welfare services needs and preferences so that they can become partners in their own care. This is consistent with current policy initiatives intended to re-orientate services more towards the older person and to place him/her at the heart of service planning, delivery and evaluation. Download document here

Meeting the Health, Social Care and Welfare Services - Information Needs of Older People in Ireland: Conference Proceedings

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Report of Care and Management Sub-Committee of the National AIDS Strategy Committee on HIV/STI Services in Ireland

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Northern Ireland cervical screening programme: information for primary care and smear takers

From January 2011, the Northern Ireland cervical screening programme no longer invited women aged under 25 to attend for screening. In addition, the screening interval for women aged 25-49 was reduced to every three years. Thisbooklet describes the rationale for the change in policy so that primary care staff and smear takers can provide appropriate and accurate advice to patients.

Social Care and Obesity: A discussion paper

The number of obese people in England has been rising steadily for the best part of 20 years. Today one in four adults are obese, according to the Health Survey for England, compared to 15 per cent in 1993. Obesity is associated with a range of health problems including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer. The resulting NHS costs attributable to overweight and obesity are projected to reach £9.7 billion by 2050 [1], with wider costs to society estimated to reach £49.9 billion per year. These factors combine to make the prevention of obesity a major public health challenge. This discussion paper considers the impact that obesity has on social care and the challenges facing social care now and in the future.

Caring places: planning for aged care and dementia 2010-2050: Alzheimer's Australia

Alzheimer’s Australia recently commissioned research group Access Economics to model different scenarios for the supply of aged care, to identify strategies to increase consumer choice and to promote service flexibility, and to identify funding options for a sustainable aged care system into the future. The report, Caring places: planning for aged care and dementia 2010-2050, found that the number of people with dementia will quadruple by 2050 to nearly 1 million.Caring places: planning for aged care and dementia 2010-2050

Northern Ireland cervical screening programme: information for primary care and smear takers

From January 2011, the Northern Ireland cervical screening programme no longer invited women aged under 25 to attend for screening. In addition, the screening interval for women aged 25-49 was reduced to every three years.This�booklet describes the rationale for the change in policy so that primary care staff and smear takers can provide appropriate and accurate advice to patients.

IPH response to Palliative and End of Life Care Strategy Consultation

Palliative care and end of life care is the active, holistic care of patients with advanced and progressive illness.  It is an integral part of the care delivered by all health and social care professionals, and indeed by families and carers, to those living with, and dying from any advanced, progressive and incurable conditions.  The Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (NI) issued a consultation document on a 5 year Strategy in December 2009.

Value for Money Report - The Efficiency and Effectiveness of Long-Stay Residential Care for Adults within the Mental Health Services

Value for Money Report – The Efficiency and Effectiveness of Long-Stay Residential Care for Adults within the Mental Health Services Executive Summary and Contents PDF 164kb Chapters 1 and 2 – Introduction and Service Objectives PDF 504kb Chapter 3 plus annexes – Service Effectiveness and Efficiency PDF 3.7mb Chapter 4 – Service Resources PDF 2.4mb Chapters 5, 6 and 7 – Future Funding and Alternative Approaches, Key Performance Indicators, Conclusions and Recommendations PDF 2.4mb Appendices 1 to 6

Whole-person care: from rhetoric to reality. Achieving parity between mental and physical health.

The report presents evidence on a range of factors affecting disparity between mental and physical health, and includes case studies and examples of good practice to illustrate some of the key issues and solutions. It should be seen as the first stage of an on-going process over the next 5"10 years that will deliver parity for mental health and make whole-person care a reality. It builds on the Implementation Framework for the Mental Health Strategy in providing further analysis of why parity does not currently exist, and the actions required to bring it about. A parity approach should enable NHS and local authority health and social care services to provide a holistic, whole person response to each individual, whatever their needs, and should ensure that all publicly funded services, including those provided by private organisations, give people's mental health equal status to their physical health needs. Central to this approach is the fact that there is a strong relationship between mental health and physical health, and that this influence works in both directions. Poor mental health is associated with a greater risk of physical health problems, and poor physical health is associated with a greater risk of mental health problems. Mental health affects physical health and vice versa. The report makes a series of key recommendations for the UK government, policy-makers and health professionals. Recommendations include: The government and the NHS Commissioning Board should work together to give people equivalent levels of access to treatment for mental health problems as for physical health problems, agreed standards for waiting times, and agreed standards for emergency/crisis mental healthcare. Action to promote good mental health and to address mental health problems needs to start at the earliest stage of a person's life and continue throughout the life course. Preventing premature mortality " there must be a major focus on improving the physical health of people with mental health problems. Public health programmes must include a focus on the mental health dimension of issues commonly considered as physical health concerns, such as smoking, obesity and substance misuse. Commissioners need to regard liaison doctors (who work across physical and mental healthcare) as an absolute necessity rather than an optional luxury. NHS and social care commissioners should commission liaison psychiatry and liaison physician services to drive a whole-person, integrated approach to healthcare in acute, secure, primary care and community settings, for all ages. Mental health services and mental health research must receive funding that reflects the prevalence of mental health problems and their cost to society. Mental illness is responsible for the largest proportion of the disease burden in the UK (22.8%), larger than that of cardiovascular disease (16.2%) or cancer (15.9%). However, only 11% of the NHS budget was spent on NHS services to treat mental health problems for all ages during 2010/11. Culture, attitudes and stigma " zero-tolerance policies in relation to discriminatory attitudes or behaviours should be introduced in all health settings to help combat the stigma that is still attached to mental illness within medicine. Political and managerial leadership is required at all levels. There should be a mechanism at national level for driving a parity approach to relevant policy areas across government; all local councils should have a lead councillor for mental health; all providers of specialist mental health services should have a board-level lead for physical health and all providers of physical healthcare services should have a board-level lead for mental health. The General Medical Council (GMC) and Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) should consider how medical and nursing study and training could give greater emphasis to mental health. Mental and physical health should be integrated within undergraduate medical education.This resource was contributed by The National Documentation Centre on Drug Use.

OECD Review of Early Childhood Education and Care Policy in Ireland - Information Note

Thematic reviews of early childhood policy originated in response to a significant change in Western societies in the latter part of the 20th century. In effect, the care and education of young children in the industrialised world had shifted from the private to the public sphere, to become a shared responsibility of families and the state. Not only was the provision of equal access to women to the labour market an important goal in this development, but also the issue of giving every child a fair start in life and at school.

S�_�_olta - Final Report on the Development and Implementation of the S�_�_olta Quality Assurance Programme

This report provides an overview of the development and field testing of the S�_olta Quality Assurance Programme (QAP). It outlines the timeline, key roles and activities and draws upon evaluation data gathered at various stages of the action research and development process. It briefly describes the processes, tools, materials and the professional roles that have been developed to support implementation of the S�_olta QAP. It concludes with consideration of the context within which the S�_olta QAP will operate into the future and makes a set of recommendations to connect this research and development phase for S�_olta and the S�_olta QAP with national and international policy developments related to the improvement of the quality of early childhood care and education (ecce) in Ireland.

A Strategy for Maternity Care in Northern Ireland 2012-2012 (PDF 634KB)

DHSSPS has carried out a review of policy on maternity service provision in Northern Ireland. The review focused on the best available evidence for the care and treatment of mothers-to-be; quality, safety and service sustainability; wider workforce issues; and professional roles and responsibilities. As a result, a draft strategy was developed, which was the subject of a public consultation from 28 September 2011 to 23 January 2012. Following an analysis of the responses to the consultation, the final strategy, A Strategy for Maternity Care in Northern Ireland 2012-2018, was published on 2 July 2012.

Get your 10 a day! The Nursing Care Standards for Patient Food in Hospital (PDF 1.92 MB)

Standards to improve the nutritional care and food experience of patients in hospital.