Annual Report of the Chief Medical Officer for the year 2000

This is the second in a series of annual reports from the Office of the Chief Medical Officer. It takes as its theme the issue of child health. The report seeks to identify and analyse child health status, child health services and the broader socio-economic determinants of child health Download the Report here

Social Inclusion of Older People at Local Level:The Role and Contribution of the CDBs - Conference Proceedings

This is a publication of The National Council on Ageing and Older People The Conference took place on October 3, 2005 . It attracted almost 250 delegates from across the statutory, voluntary and private sectors, and from every county. The Conference provided the opportunity for delegates to focus on the issue of social inclusion of older people at local level and the challenges it presents. It also gave us the opportunity to examine the issue in the context of work done at the international and national levels as well as work done at local level. Read the Report (PDF, 317kb)

Review of the Recommendations of Protecting Our Future: Report of the Working Group on Elder Abuse

Protecting Our Future: Report of the Working Group on Elder Abuse (DOHC, 2002) was a seminal document setting out a framework and programme of work in relation to elder abuse. Prior to Protecting Our Future, the issue of elder abuse had not been explicitly articulated as a priority of health and social policy. The report included recommendations in 13 wide-ranging areas: the link to wider policy; policy on elder abuse; staff structure; legislation; impaired capacity; carers; awareness, education and training; financial abuse; advocacy; implementation; research and education; reporting abuse. It also recommended that progress in implementing Protecting Our Future should be reviewed. Download document here Download Action Plan here

Towards the enhancement of foodborne disease surveillance: A consultation paper

Foodborne disease is a source of increasing morbidity and fatality in the island of Ireland. It also has an economic impact. As a result of the continuing concern about food safety and its implications on an all-island basis, the North/South Ministerial Council established the Food Safety Promotion Board (FSPB) on December 2nd 1999. At its Board meeting in February 2000, the FSPB considered the issue of microbiological surveillance and, in noting the complexity of the issues, recommended that the key players in foodborne disease surveillance in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland consider ways for the improvement of microbiological surveillance on an all-island basis. To assist in the development of a surveillance strategy for the FSPB, a Functional Meeting Group on Disease Surveillance was convened. The group compiled this consultation paper. A series of recommendations are made in the consultation paper and the key recommendations are summarised below.

Accident & Emergency Nursing Assessment of Deliberate Self Harm. Exploring the Impact of Introducing a Suicide Education Programme and a Suicide Intent Scale into A&E/MAU Nursing Practice: A Pilot Study

A proposal to pilot nursing assessment of self harm in Accident and Emergency Departments (A&E) was developed by key stakeholders in nurse education and suicide prevention in the South East and submitted to the National Council for the Professional Development of Nursing and Midwifery in April 2002.The proposal included the introduction of a suicide intent scale. Following an initial training programme, a suicide intent scale was utilised by nursing staff in A&E and the Medical Assessment Unit (MAU),Wexford General Hospital and evaluated over a period of nine months. Four months into the study the National Suicide Research Foundation (NSRF) was invited to collaboratively prepare a successful submission to the Health Research Board (HRB) as part of ‘Building Partnerships for a Healthier Future Research Awards 2004’. The NSRF undertook independent scientific evaluation of the outcomes of the suicide awareness programme. The study is in line with priorities determined by Reach Out, the National Strategy for Action on Suicide Prevention 2005-2014 (HSE, 2005) and the HSE-South East Suicide Prevention Programme through raising nursing staff awareness of the public health issue of suicide/deliberate self harm and by improving the efficiency and quality of nursing services offered to persons who present to acute hospitals with deliberate self harm. The study findings indicate evidence to positively support nursing assessment of DSH using a suicide intent scale in terms of assessing behavioural characteristics of individual clients and their suicide risk. Enhanced confidence levels of nursing personnel in caring for suicidal clients was demonstrated by staff who participated in an education programme related to risk assessment and specifically the use of a suicide intent scale.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.