Report of the Maternity and Infant Care Scheme Review Group

The Irish service was last reviewed in 1980.  Much of the valuable recommendations made at that time have been given effect.  The present Review Group examined that report and, to the extend that recommendations then made have not been acted upon, incorporated them in this report. The views and rights of mothers were of course paramount in the consideration of the members of the Group and issues of choice, privacy, consent and information were considered and appropriate recommendations made. Download the Report here

A Framework for Quality in Long-Term Residential Care for Older People in Ireland

The National Council on Ageing and Older People has long been concerned about the quality of long-term residential care for older people in Ireland. In 1986, its predecessor, the National Council for the Aged published “It’s Our Home”. The Quality of Life in Private and Voluntary Nursing Homes. In 1999 the Council commissioned a postal survey of all long-term residential care facilities in the country to determine whether facilities had quality initiatives in operation; providers’ views and aspirations for future provision of long-term care; providers’ views on the introduction of a national quality monitoring policy Download the Report here

The Costs of Caring for People with Dementia and Related Cognitive Impairments

The National Council on Ageing and Older People has undertaken a programme of research into dementia in Ireland. An Action Plan for Dementia provided a framework for the provision and planning of services for people with dementia in Ireland The Costs of Caring for People with Dementia and Related Cognitive Impairments is a complementary report to the Action Plan but with a more quantitative focus. The role of carers is one that is often taken for granted and is seen by many as a free resource. Dr Oâ?TShea explores what caring for a person with dementia entails in terms of the carers time, finances and stress. Evaluating the cost of caring for a person with dementia is the main focus of this study Download the Report here

Primary Care - A New Direction

Primary Care: A New Direction acknowledges the central role of primary care in the future development of our health services and proposes the introduction of an inter-disciplinary team-based approach which will be introduced on a phased basis using existing infrastructure and encouraging the use of public-private partnerships where practical. Download the Report here

Final Report of the Review Group on Health Service Care Staff

The National Health Strategy “Quality and Fairness, Health System for You” states“ a key objective of the human resource framework is to develop and explicitly value staff at all levels of the health system. This in turn benefits service users.” The strategy explicitly states that one of its initiatives was “to introduce the grade of Health Care Assistant (HCA) as a member of healthcare teams to assist and support nurses and midwives. A national six month training programme for Health Care Assistants to commence at the end of November 2001. Seventeen pilot programmes to be delivered by the health services in conjunction with the Further Education Training Awards Council (FETAC)”.

Evaluation of the Irish Pilot Programme for the Education of Health Care Assistants

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The role of energy and nutritional support in the intensive care unit.

Malnutrition is common in critically ill, hospitalized patients and so represents a major problem for intensive care. Nutritional support can be beneficial in such cases and may help preserve vital organ and immune function. Energy requirements, route of delivery and potential complications of nutritional support are discussed in this paper.

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

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Palliative Care Needs Assessment for Children

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Oral Health of Adults with an Intellectual Disability in Residential Care in Ireland 2003

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Design Guidelines for Specialist Palliative Care Settings

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Improving Quality of Life for Older People in Long-Stay Care Settings in Ireland

The quality of life of older people in all care settings is a primary concern of the National Council on Ageing and Older People (NCAOP); a concern echoed by the National Economic and Social Forum (NESF) in its recent report Care for Older Peoplein which it stated that â?~enhancing quality of life of older people in different settings should be a key policy priorityâ?T (NESF, 2005). Read the Report (PDF, 3.25mb) Read the Report on Conference Proceedings (PDF. 484kb)

Diabetes: Prevention and Model for Patient Care

The National Diabetes Working Group has made a number of policy guidance recommendations. These relate to the model of care for people with diabetes as well as recommendations for how services prevent and manage diabetes in the population. Read the Report (PDF, 240kb)

The prevention of transmission of blood-borne diseases in the health-care setting

  The risk of transmission of blood-borne pathogens in the health-care setting has become a matter of increasing concern in Ireland in recent years. Health-care workers undertaking exposure-prone procedures are at risk of contracting blood-borne diseases from the patients they are treating and there is also a small risk that patients who are undergoing such procedures may become infected by the health-care workers who are treating them. An Advisory Group on the Transmission of Infectious Diseases in the Health-Care Setting was established in 1995 to advise the Minister for Health on the prevention of the transmission of such diseases. The Advisory Group published its report in 1997. It was realised at that time that this matter would need to be kept under review and a Standing Advisory Committee was established. Guidelines on this subject were published by the Advisory Committee in June1999. In the current document, these guidelines have been substantially revised in the light of recent information and technical developments and are now considered to be a Code of Practice in the area of prevention of the transmission of blood-borne pathogens in the health-care setting.    

National Standards for Residential Care Settings for Older People

National Standards for Residential Care Settings for Older People The Health Information and Quality Authority (the Authority) is the statutory agency with responsibility for developing standards for health and social care services, with the exception of mental health services, and then ensuring that the standards are being met. It is the function of the Authority to set the standards for residential care settings for older people including nursing homes, inspect that they are being met and register providers that meet them. This will be undertaken by the Social Services Inspectorate within the Authority. Click here to download PDF 458kb