New list of essential practices in Palliative care developed

The International Association for Hospice and Palliative Care has just released its newly developed list of essential practices in palliative care.

The list was developed following a three year process consisting of three Delphi surveys and input from 410 individuals including 49 pain and palliative care organisations. Irish input to the Delphi rounds was provided by Professor Philip J Larkin of UCD School of Nursing & Midwifery and Dr Karen Ryan, HSE Clinical lead for palliative care.

The finalised list comprises 23 practices covering different interventions within areas of care including; Physical care; Psychological,emotional & spiritual care; care planning, coordination and communications. The list of essential practices aims to ease definition of appropriate palliative care and improve the overall understanding, quality and delivery of palliative care internationally.

The detailed project document care be accessed HERE and the essential practices list is accessible HERE

New guide provides framework for organisations to support employees following suicide

   ‘Breaking the Silence in the Workplace’ A Guide for Employers on Responding to Suicide in the Workplace‘ a new publication by the Irish Hospice Foundation and Console aims to provide practical guidelines for organisations dealing with the impact of suicide. The guide was launched today with the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) and the Irish Business and Employers Confederation (IBEC).  It outlines appropriate responses in four scenarios;  when an employee dies through suicide on-site,  when an employee’s suicide occurs off-site, when an employee is affected by the suicide of someone close and when a former employee dies by suicide.

Speaking at the launch David Begg of ICTU highlighted the need for workplaces to have practices in place to respond to the impact of suicide. Report authors Breffni Mc Guinness and Ciaran Austin  drew attention to the complexity and personal tragedy behind suicide bereavement  and the hope that ‘Breaking the silence’ be a support tool to enable organisations to appropriately respond to the needs of suicide bereaved employees.

The publication can be obtained from the Irish Hospice Foundation and Console or is available to download HERE

Dealing with grief in the workplace – Lunch & Learn Series

The Irish Hospice Foundation’s annual series of lunchtime seminars on handling grief in the workplace will run from February 7th until April 3rd.

The ‘lunch & learn’ series is aimed at managers, HR personnel or anyone supporting recently bereaved colleagues.

This year two new seminars; Communication Skills for Managers around Loss
and Grief and Thriving and staying healthy when working with grief and loss (self & organisational care for staff) have been included to address the wide-ranging impact of grief in the workplace. The series brochure, along with booking details is available HERE

In addition to the practical training on the day, participants will be given access to the Irish Hospice Foundation’s e-learning course to provide additional support material and an online training accompaniment to the seminar.

In further development of its guidance material on grief in the workplace, the Irish Hospice Foundation, along with Console will launch a Guide for employers on responding to suicide in the workplace’ on January 31st. The report will act as a practical resource to develop understanding and coping skills for organisations faced with the effects of suicide. Copies of the report and further information will be available on the Irish Hospice Foundation website after the official launch on the 31st.

New study links bereavement and heart attack risk

It is well accepted that the mental health impact of bereavement can be significant and far-reaching.

Evidence of the physical effect of recent bereavement is also being increasingly built up. Research published last year by Buckley et al in the journal Heart, Lung & Circulation took the evidence further, highlighting changes in blood pressure post bereavement which could increase the risk of heart attack or stroke.

New research published last week by Mostofsky et al in the journal Circulation presents findings of a study surveying 1,985 people following hospital admission for heart attack. Of the cohort 270 had experienced the loss of a significant person within six months of their heart attack with 19 experiencing a cardiac incident within 24 hours of the loss of their loved one.

While the findings do not suggest that grief presents an acute or common risk for cardiac incident it does highlight an increased need for vigilance in the initial weeks and months following a bereavement and the need for sustained physical and emotional support for the grieving.

Library access Friday Jan 13th

Therese Brady Library Collection

Happy New Year and welcome back to all our library users.

The Library space will be in use from 9 am until 4.30 pm on Friday January 13th so will not be accessible to visitors.

Library users needing to return books may still do so but study facilities and access to the collection will not be available during this time. Remember that you can reserve or renew library items through the online catalogue using your library reader and PIN number. If you need to borrow items or have any queries please email laura.rooneyferris@hospice-foundation.ie

 

Therese Brady Library – Holiday closing dates

The Therese Brady Library will be closed up for the holiday period from;   December 22  reopening on January 4th

Wishing you all a very happy festive season & peaceful New Year

Coping with christmas following a bereavement

For the bereaved the holiday season can be a particularly difficult time. The Irish Hospice Foundation’s series of bereavement leaflets includes a leaflet on ‘Coping with christmas when you are bereaved‘  which offers advice to people dealing with the effects of grief over the festive period.  The leaflet also features suggested supportive reading including;

Miller, J (1993) How Will I Get Through The Holidays; 12 Ideas For Those Whose Loved One has Died

Noel, B (2003) Surviving Holidays, Birthdays And Anniversaries; A Guide For Grieving During Special Occasions

Smith, H (1999) A Decembered Grief; Living With Loss
While Others Are Celebrating

These titles are available to borrow from the Therese Brady Library or can be purchased via online book vendors.

You can also watch this short video in which Dr Susan Delaney, Irish Hospice Foundation Bereavement services manager offers some words of advice to people concerned about facing christmas after bereavement