The certification of vision impairment: A regional 21st century perspective

2020 ◽  
pp. 026461962097215
Author(s):  
A J Jackson ◽  
L Cushley ◽  
R McCann ◽  
Máire Gallagher ◽  
J Witherow ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Northern Ireland ◽  
Vision Loss ◽  
Social Care ◽  
Epidemiological Data ◽  
Vision Impairment ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Patient Pathways ◽  
Health And Social Care ◽  
Before And After

Certification and registration of those who are sight impaired (SI) provides commissioners, and the providers of health and social care support to those with vision loss, with quantifiable data on the extent of blindness and sight impairment within a community. In this article, we outline the results of a comprehensive review of certification/registration pathways and processes in Northern Ireland and highlight achievements to date. The Developing Eyecare Partnership (DEP) CVI Task Group established by the Health and Social Care Board (HSCB) reviewed all certification/registration processes, pathways and issues that may have contributed to regional under certification/registration. This was undertaken to ensure timely certification/registration of those who may benefit from being certified as either Severely Sight Impaired (SSI) or SI, and in so doing improving patient pathways and access to services. Activity included a review of all available epidemiological data collected in the 2-year periods before and after the introduction of the new pathway (January 1, 2018). This work has resulted in changes to the terminology used in relevant Northern Ireland legislation and other documentation concerning certification/registration. It has also resulted in the creation of more timely and efficient referral pathways and improvements in the quality of information available on certification and the process. Increased awareness of the certification process by health and social care professionals has resulted in a 22.5% increase in certifications over the 2-year period, before COVID-19. Certification rates are now comparable with those from other areas of the United Kingdom. The workings of the DEP CVI group, over a 5-year period, have increased awareness about SI and SSI Certification among patients and Health and Social Care Providers and have improved the quality of local epidemiological data on vision impairment. A patient-based evaluation of the new pathway is planned for 2020.

Mental Health and Social Care Providers Facing Requests of Assisted suicide from Elderly in Nursing Homes in Switzerland

2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (S1) ◽  
pp. S11-S12
Author(s):  
D.A. Castelli Dransart ◽  
S. Voélin ◽  
S. Elena
Keyword(s):  
Nursing Homes ◽  
Older People ◽  
Assisted Suicide ◽  
Social Care ◽  
Home Care Services ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Health And Social Care ◽  
Competing Interest

IntroductionIn some Swiss states, right-to-die associations are allowed to assist older people in nursing homes provided that certain requirements are fulfilled.ObjectivesTo investigate how health and social care providers and their institutions reacted to and dealt with requests of assisted suicide.MethodAn exploratory qualitative study was carried out in the States of Fribourg and Vaud among 40 professionals working in nursing homes, home care services or social welfare agencies.ResultsThe requests of assisted suicide questioned the professional mission, the quality of accompaniment provided to the older people and both professional and personal values. Health and social care providers were required to ponder over ethical dilemmas or decisions. Several challenges were reported, such as: taking into account and articulating personal freedom or needs with collective functioning or organizational constraints before, during and after the assisted suicide; reconciliating self-determination with protection towards vulnerable people (beneficere, non maleficere).ConclusionsAssisted suicide challenges and changes professional end-of-life practices. Education and support should be provided to health and social care providers faced with it.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

scholarly journals The Development of an Enhanced Palliative Care Pharmacy Service during the Initial COVID-19 Surge

Pharmacy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 196
Author(s):  
Jaquie Hanley ◽  
Maureen Spargo ◽  
Joanne Brown ◽  
Julie Magee
Keyword(s):  
Palliative Care ◽  
Northern Ireland ◽  
Service Provision ◽  
Healthcare Professionals ◽  
Social Care ◽  
Access To Medicines ◽  
Pharmacy Service ◽  
Large Hospital ◽  
Health And Social Care

The Northern Health and Social Care Trust developed an enhanced palliative care pharmacy service for acute inpatients within a large hospital in Northern Ireland during the initial COVID-19 surge. By training additional staff, there was an opportunity to increase service provision, utilising palliative care pharmacy skills to undertake activities such as the symptom management of patients, appropriate management of medicines, improved access to medicines, advice for other healthcare professionals, and supporting discharge from the hospital. The data collected showed a mean of 6.8 interventions per patient, and that, irrespective of the demand resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, the palliative care pharmacy team had a role in improving the quality of care for palliative and end-of-life patients. Subsequent data analysis also demonstrated associated cost saving and the potential for the palliative care pharmacy team to reduce the length of stay at the hospital.

UK-wide health policy under the Coalition

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Hughes
Keyword(s):  
Health Policy ◽  
Northern Ireland ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Social Care ◽  
The Other ◽  
Executive Orders ◽  
Health Reforms ◽  
Policy Responses ◽  
Health And Social Care

A volume on health reforms under the Coalition must necessarily expand its focus beyond Westminster to consider the larger UK policy context. Legislation enacted in 1998 established devolved assemblies in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland with power to make law or issue executive orders in certain specified areas, including health services. This meant that an English NHS overseen by the Westminster Parliament now existed alongside separate NHS systems accountable to devolved governments in the other UK countries. Thus, the major Coalition health reforms heralded by the Health and Social Care Act 2012 applied in the main to England only. However, devolved administrations needed to formulate appropriate policy responses that either maintained differences or moved closer to the English policies. This chapter describes the divergent approaches between the four UK NHS systems, but also sheds light on the nature of coalition policy making.

The factors influencing access to health and social care in the farming communities of County Down, Northern Ireland

2006 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 373-391 ◽  
Author(s):  
DEIRDRE HEENAN
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Northern Ireland ◽  
Older People ◽  
Social Care ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Farming Communities ◽  
Access To Health ◽  
Health And Social Care ◽  
County Down ◽  
Farming Families

Against a background of limited previous research, this paper examines the access to health and social care among older people in the farming communities of County Down, Northern Ireland. In-depth interviews were conducted with 45 people aged 60 or more years living on family farms to collect information about health care needs and service use and adequacy. In addition, interviews with service providers provided information on their perceptions of the farming communities' needs. The findings indicate that there are specific rural dimensions of access to services and that among the respondents there was substantial unmet need. For many farming families, using services is determined by much more than being able to reach them physically. The lack of reliable information, the culture of stoicism and the absence of appropriate services impeded obtaining effective support. Recent health care policies and strategies have stressed the importance of developing local services that are responsive to need in consultation with service users, but there is worryingly little evidence that this has occurred. It is concluded that if effective outcomes are to be achieved, policies must recognise the specific characteristics of rural populations and be sensitive to the needs, attitudes and expectations of farming families. The current lack of understanding about the distinct needs of these communities at present exacerbates the isolation and marginalisation of already vulnerable older people.

Collaborating across health and social care: joint funding an adult protection Coordinator post in Caerphilly, UK

2015 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 139-147
Author(s):  
Andrea Giordano ◽  
Alison Neville
Keyword(s):  
Social Services ◽  
Social Care ◽  
Service Improvement ◽  
Health Board ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Health And Social Care ◽  
Abuse And Neglect ◽  
Vulnerable Adults ◽  
Adult Protection

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to improve the consistency and quality of the response to vulnerable adults who experience abuse and neglect within NHS, independent healthcare and social care settings is noted by practitioners, agencies and patients. Health and social care policy frameworks promote principles of service improvement and consistency, along with a focus on outcomes and resource effectiveness and interagency collaboration. The Protection of Vulnerable Adults (POVA) coordinator role carries the responsibility of coordinating a response to individual referrals of abuse and neglect as described as part of the Designated Lead Manager role in the Wales Interim POVA Policy and Procedures for the POVA from abuse (Wales Adult Protection Coordinators Group, 2013). Design/methodology/approach – This paper will explore the benefits realised through a registered nurse being seconded from the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board into a newly created joint adult protection Health Coordinator post within the Caerphilly County Borough Council social services department POVA team. Findings – This is the first example of such partnership working in adult protection in Wales and has provided a number of benefits in relation to: providing adult protection advice; coordinating the response to referrals of vulnerable adult abuse and neglect within health and social care settings; carrying out or buddying others to complete adult protection investigations; facilitating the two day non-criminal POVA investigation training course and, awareness raising within the local Health Board. The development of a student nurse placement in the social services POVA team cements the multiagency collaborative approach that this development sought to achieve. Originality/value – The need to improve the consistency and quality of the response to vulnerable adults who experience abuse and neglect within NHS, independent healthcare and social care settings is noted by practitioners, agencies and patients.

A multi-method quality improvement approach to systematically improve and promote the quality of national health and social care information

2020 ◽  
pp. 183335832092642
Author(s):  
Niamh McGrath ◽  
Barbara Foley ◽  
Caroline Hurley ◽  
Maria Ryan ◽  
Rachel Flynn
Keyword(s):  
Quality Improvement ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Information Management ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Clinical Decision Making ◽  
Social Care ◽  
Good Practice ◽  
Improvement Program ◽  
Health And Social Care

Safe and reliable healthcare depends on access to health information that is accurate, valid, reliable, timely, relevant, legible and complete. National data collections are repositories of health and social care data and play a crucial role in healthcare planning and clinical decision-making. We describe the development of an evidence-informed multi-method quality improvement program aimed to improve the quality of health and social care data in Ireland. Specific components involved: development of guidance to support implementation of health information standards; review program to assess compliance with standards; and educating health information stakeholders about health data and information quality. Observations from implementation of the program indicate enhanced health information stakeholder awareness of, and increased adoption of information management standards. The methodology used in the review program has proved to be a robust approach to identify areas of good practice and opportunities for improvement in information management practices. There has been positive adoption of the program among organisations reviewed and acceptance of the proposed recommendations. Early indications are that this multi-method approach will drive improvements in information management practices, leading to an improvement in health and social care data quality in Ireland. Aspects of this approach may be adapted to meet the needs of other countries.

scholarly journals Primary care use of laboratory tests in Northern Ireland’s Western Health and Social Care Trust: a cross-sectional study

BMJ Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. e026647
Author(s):  
Magda Bucholc ◽  
Maurice O’Kane ◽  
Ciaran Mullan ◽  
Siobhan Ashe ◽  
Liam Maguire
Keyword(s):  
Northern Ireland ◽  
Laboratory Test ◽  
Laboratory Tests ◽  
Social Care ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Sectional Study ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Socioeconomic Characteristics ◽  
Health And Social Care ◽  
Test Ordering

ObjectivesTo describe the laboratory test ordering patterns by general practitioners (GPs) in Northern Ireland Western Health and Social Care Trust (WHSCT) and explore demographic and socioeconomic associations with test requesting.DesignCross-sectional study.SettingWHSCT, Northern Ireland.Participants55 WHSCT primary care medical practices that remained open throughout the study period 1 April 2011–31 March 2016.OutcomesTo identify the temporal patterns of laboratory test ordering behaviour for eight commonly requested clinical biochemistry tests/test groups in WHSCT. To analyse the extent of variations in laboratory test requests by GPs and to explore whether these variations can be accounted for by clinical outcomes or geographical, demographic and socioeconomic characteristics.ResultsThe median number of adjusted test request rates over 5 consecutive years of the study period decreased by 45.7% for urine albumin/creatinine ratio (p<0.000001) and 19.4% for lipid profiles (p<0.000001) while a 60.6%, 36.6% and 29.5% increase was observed for HbA1c(p<0.000001), immunoglobulins (p=0.000007) and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) (p=0.0003), respectively. The between-practice variation in test ordering rates increased by 272% for immunoglobulins (p=0.008) and 500% for HbA1c(p=0.0001). No statistically significant relationship between ordering activity and either demographic (age and gender) and socioeconomic factors (deprivation) or Quality and Outcome Framework scores was observed. We found the rural–urban differences in between-practice variability in ordering rates for lipid profiles, thyroid profiles, PSA and immunoglobulins to be statistically significant at the Bonferroni-adjusted significance level p<0.01.ConclusionsWe explored potential factors of the interpractice variability in the use of laboratory tests and found that differences in requesting activity appear unrelated to either demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of GP practices or clinical outcome indicators.

Investigating the relative value of health and social care related quality of life using a discrete choice experiment

2019 ◽  
Vol 233 ◽  
pp. 28-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brendan Mulhern ◽  
Richard Norman ◽  
Richard De Abreu Lourenco ◽  
Juliette Malley ◽  
Deborah Street ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Discrete Choice Experiment ◽  
Discrete Choice ◽  
Choice Experiment ◽  
Social Care ◽  
Relative Value ◽  
Health And Social Care ◽  
Related Quality ◽  
Value Of Health

scholarly journals The barriers and facilitators to implementing dementia education and training in health and social care services: a mixed-methods study

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Claire A. Surr ◽  
Sahdia Parveen ◽  
Sarah J. Smith ◽  
Michelle Drury ◽  
Cara Sass ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Behaviour Change ◽  
Social Care ◽  
Education And Training ◽  
Barriers And Facilitators ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Health And Social Care ◽  
And Training ◽  
Dementia Education

Abstract Background The health and social care workforce requires access to appropriate education and training to provide quality care for people with dementia. Success of a training programme depends on staff ability to put their learning into practice through behaviour change. This study aimed to investigate the barriers and facilitators to implementation of dementia education and training in health and social care services using the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) and COM-B model of behaviour change. Methods A mixed-methods design. Participants were dementia training leads, training facilitators, managers and staff who had attended training who worked in UK care homes, acute hospitals, mental health services and primary care settings. Methods were an online audit of care and training providers, online survey of trained staff and individual/group interviews with organisational training leads, training facilitators, staff who had attended dementia training and managers. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and thematic template analysis. Results Barriers and facilitators were analysed according the COM-B domains. “Capability” factors were not perceived as a significant barrier to training implementation. Factors which supported staff capability included the use of interactive face-to-face training, and training that was relevant to their role. Factors that increased staff “motivation” included skilled facilitation of training, trainees’ desire to learn and the provision of incentives (e.g. attendance during paid working hours, badges/certifications). “Opportunity” factors were most prevalent with lack of resources (time, financial, staffing and environmental) being the biggest perceived barrier to training implementation. The presence or not of external support from families and internal factors such as the organisational culture and its supportiveness of good dementia care and training implementation were also influential. Conclusions A wide range of factors may present as barriers to or facilitators of dementia training implementation and behaviour change for staff. These should be considered by health and social care providers in the context of dementia training design and delivery in order to maximise potential for implementation.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document