New Seanad Public Consultation report on rights of elderly draws on findings of ‘Primary Palliative care in Ireland’

The Seanad Public Consultation Committee released its recommendation report on the rights of older people on Wednesday (March 28th).  The report calls on the government to put forward the case for the drafting of a UN treaty on the rights of older people.

Among a wide range of recommendations were transport allowances, reform of mental capacity legislation and a review of carers allowance payments to non-habitual residents.

The Irish Hospice Foundation (IHF) was among a number of stakeholders who informed the consultation. The  report outlines end-of-life care recommendations set out by the Irish Hospice Foundation including the development of a formal framework for delivering palliative care through primary care teams as detailed in the Primary palliative care in Ireland report.  These include the establishment of  24 hour palliative care advice service and the provision of specialist training in end-of-life care for General Practitioners, these steps should enable the more than 80 % people with end stage diseases who wish to die in their own homes to do so.

The full Senad debate with stakeholders from November can be accessed HERE  and report in full can be accessed HERE 

 

Primary Palliative Care in Ireland – New report launched

Author of the report, Marie Lynch; Development manager Irish Hospice Foundation (L) pictured with Irish Hospice Foundation CEO Sharon Foley

The Irish Hospice Foundation last week launched  its new report Primary Palliative Care in Ireland: Identifying improvements in primary care to support the care of those in their last year of life”.

The report, a collaboration between the Irish Hospice Foundation, the HSE and the Irish College of General Practitioners (ICGP) is the work of the Primary Palliative Care Steering Committee which was established in 2010 to embed palliative care in primary care settings.

Speaking at the launch of the report, chairperson of the Primary Palliative Care Steering Committee Dr Paul Gregan, acknowledged that with more than 90% of the last year of life spent at home, care for patients nearing the end of their lives is provided predominantly in a primary care environment. A recording of report author Marie Lynch, development manager with the Irish Hospice Foundation addressing the launch is available HERE 

In order to identify supports and work towards a formal framework for primary palliative care the Primary Palliative Care (PPC) programme conducted a survey in ten HSE Local Health offices during 2010. Survey findings outlined in the report indicate areas for skills development, service development and education. Some of the key findings from respondents include;

•  A desire for enhanced communication skills for interacting with patients and families at end-of-life
• Development of patient information transfer systems
• Improvement of out of hours services
• Training in end-of-life care

Taking the survey findings on board the programme now moves into the implementation phase.

You can download the report in full HERE or obtain a hard copy by contacting the Irish Hospice Foundation  on 01 6755975

 

Workshops in loss and bereavement 2012 brochure now avilable

 The Irish Hospice Foundation bereavement resource centre’s series of workshops on loss and bereavement will commence again on January 19th.

The workshops which address the spectrum of grief and loss are aimed at professionals and volunteers working in bereavement support and those wishing to learn more about bereavement theory and processes.

Workshops,  each of which are either one or two full day sessions run from January until late June with 23 titles being offered for the 2012 series. Topics covered range from suicide and addiction loss to communication skills for non clinical staff and creative arts in bereavement. Among the additions to the 2012 titles is ‘Grandparents grief; a complexity of losses‘ and ‘Final Journeys‘ a training input originally developed by the Hospice Friendly Hospitals programme to provide healthcare professionals with communication skills and insight to improve support and understanding around end-of-life care.

The workshops have accreditation of  two (for one day sessions) and six (for two days) CPD points from the Irish Association of Social Workers (IASW) and post registration category 1 from An Bord Altranis. Further details and booking enquiries can be made by contacting the Irish Hospice Foundation and the full brochure can be downloaded HERE

New publication builds on ethical framework for end-of-life care

A new book due to be launched by Cork University Press on November 16th develops and expands on the Ethical framework on end-of-life care produced by the Hospice Friendly Hospitals programme last year (more details HERE)

‘End-of-life Care ethics and law‘ written by Joan McCarthy, Mary Donnelly, Dolores Dooley, David Smith & Louise Campbell takes the eight modules of the ethical framework as its foundation.

The book draws on the body of research on the ethical issues in caring for patients at the end-of-life. It pulls together guidelines, codes of conduct, legal positions and bioethical perspectives to act as a multidisciplinary reference source for healthcare and legal professionals seeking clarification on these complex issues. Further details and context on the publication are available HERE.

Forum on end-of-life and launch of the ‘Think Ahead’ campaign – Podcasts

 On Wednesday (October 12th) the Irish Hospice Foundation’s Forum on end of life hosted its annual forum in Croke Park.

The day also saw the launch of the ‘Think Ahead’ campaign which aims to provide the public with a method of discussing and recording their end of life preferences and wishes. You can find out more about the project and fill in your own wishes on the ‘Think Ahead’ form’ on the new site HERE

For anyone who wasnt in attendance at the forum in Croke park you can listen to podcasts from the morning here

• Interview with Taoiseach Enda Kenny on the ‘Think Ahead’ initiative HERE

• Recording of the morning session including the Mary Holland memorial lecture by Conor O Clery and response from Prof. Tom Inglis  – Listen HERE
  
• Recording of the Mid morning session featuring the launch of the ‘Think Ahead’ website and address by an Taoiseach Enda Kenny – HERE (Click ‘download’  then ‘download anyway’ when link opens)
• Recording of the afternoon session of the Forum on End-of-life Croke Park October 12 2011. Features feedback and audience questions on workshops, summary of the day by Ita Mangan and closing address by Irish Hospice Foundation board chairman Michael O Reilly. LISTEN HERE

Vote for Hospice Friendly Hospitals ‘Dignity by Design’ video

Dignity By Design from Angela Mezzetti on Vimeo.

‘Dignity by Design’ highlights the importance of providing personal, private and dignified spaces for patients and families at end-of-life and the Irish Hospice Foundation’s Hospice Friendly Hospitals ‘Design and Dignity‘ initiative.

This short film has been entered in the Better Together video competition which is highlighting the work of charities to the public by inviting them to vote for featured videos. You can vote for and share the video HERE

Irish Hospice Foundation survey finds primary care staff want more training in end-of-life care

Results of a survey conducted by the Irish Hospice Foundation along with the Irish College of General Practitioners (ICGP) and the HSE reveal that healthcare staff want more training in end-of-life care.

The survey was carried out with community healthcare staff in Dublin, Offaly, Cork & Donegal in late 2010.

Access to specialised medical equipment and training in management of complex symptoms in terminal patients was seen as a priority for 87 and 66% of respondents respectively. Further details of the survey are available HERE.

Though 90% of care for Irish patients at the end of life is administered in a primary care setting there is currently no formal framework for supporting and delivering palliative care in this context. The survey highlights the key challenges for healthcare professionals delivering end of life care to the approximately 25% of patients who  die at home every year.  The survey data will inform the next stage of the Irish Hospice Foundations primary care, palliative care initiative and a full report on the findings and implications of the survey will be published later this year.

More information on the Primary care, Palliative care initiative is available HERE    

National Council of the Forum on End of Life – Annual Forum October 12th

‘One can survive everything nowadays, except death…‘ Oscar Wilde

Following on from its extensive public consultation during 2009 and 2010 which culminated in the publication of ‘Perspectives on End-of-Life; report of  the forum‘ the Irish Hospice Foundation’s National Council of the Forum on End-of-life in Ireland was established in July 2010 and is now engaged in a work plan based on the public consultation. Their work plan identifies a number of areas for action and among other initiatives they are currently engaged in addressing the lack of regulation in the Irish funeral industry, more details of this are available HERE 

The range of activities of the National Council of the Forum will be brought together under the theme of ‘Resilience’ at their annual seminar to be held on October 12th in Croke Park.

The annual forum will see the formal launch of the ‘Think ahead’ project, by an Taoiseach Enda Kenny. The ‘Think ahead’ initiative aims to instigate communications about end-of-life wishes and preferences in the event of serious illness or death. The programme of talks and workshops for the forum cover a broad spectrum of perspectives on death and dying including a workshop on the Medicalisation of dying by Professor Aidan Halligan (former Deputy Chief Medical Officer for England) and the Mary Holland Commemorative lecture will be delivered by author & foreign correspondent Conor O’ Cleary.

The event aims to engage participants from a wide range of backgrounds and disciplines in examining the challenges of achieving a good death.

The full programme for the forum along with booking details are available HERE      

Starting the conversation about death & dying

This week (May 16th – 22nd) marks the second ‘Dying Matters awareness week’ in the UK. The week aims to put a spotlight on all aspects of death & dying and get people talking about everything from where they want to die to wills, legacies and their funeral arrangements.

Though the events to coincide with the awareness week all take place in the UK the Dying Matters site is worth a visit as its packed with useful resources and conversation starters all aimed at smashing the taboos around death and dying.

The resource material includes ‘Things to do before I die’, leaflets and flyers to get you thinking about how to plan for a good death. There are even specific resource materials for schools and for GP’s.

If that all seems a bit weighty you can start off with the ‘Dying for a laugh’ videos in which comedians share their feelings and experiences about death – they include Ardal O’ Hanlon recalling a uniquely Irish wake experience. For information on attitudes to death and dying in an Irish context have a look at the Irish Hospice Foundation’s Forum on End-of-life website. 

New MSc in End-of-Life Healthcare Ethics

UCC logo

Ireland’s first multidisciplinary Postgraduate qualification dedicated to the examination of  issues and ethics in End-of-Life care will commence this Autumn.

The Msc in End-of-Life Healthcare Ethics will be based in UCC’s School of Nursing & Midwifery & School of Medicine and will be taught on a part time basis over two years.

The Msc has its origins in the collaboration between UCC, RCSI and the Irish Hospice Foundation’s Hospice Friendly Hospitals programme which led to the production of the Ethical Framework on End-of-Life Care, a tool to guide healthcare practitioners through the medical, ethical and legal issues around End-of-Life care.  Additional details on the course structure, entry requirements and application proceedure can be found HERE

Irish Hospice Foundation Scholarship

Irish Hospice Foundation logo

The Irish Hospice Foundation is  offering a scholarship to cover fees for one successful student on the Msc. This scholarship is open to all applicants to the Msc. Scholarship applicants should state in writing (in 1000 words or less) their name,  work role and motivation for enrolling on the course. Scholarship applications should also seek to illustrate how they anticipate the course to impact patient care and ways the course will be used to inform and to educate within their organisation. Applications should be sent to the course co-ordinator, Dr. Joan McCarthy, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Brookfield Health Sciences Complex, University College Cork, Ireland. Application deadline for this course is July 8th

Further details on the Irish Hospice Foundation scholarship can be obtained by contacting Orla.keegan@hospice-foundation.ie