Monthly Archives: April, 2021

Ni Neart go cur le chéile, HMI President, Tony Canavan said when he welcomed members, guests, distinguished speakers and delegates to the Health Management Institute’s 10th annual conference, last Wednesday.

Over 2,000 staff, with a particular focus on nursing and community therapists such as physios, psychologists, occupational therapists and speech and language therapists will be recruited to Community Health Networks as part of the Enhanced Community Care (ECC) Programme, Ms Mary Butler, Minister of State, Department of Health with special responsibility for Mental Health and Older People, said when she gave the opening address to the Conference.

The HSE is to appoint a new Director for Public Health for Children and a National Clinical Advisor and Group Lead (NCAGL) for Children, Dr Siobháin Ní Bhriain, National Lead, Integrated Care (NLIC), HSE told the Conference.

If there is one strong learning point for me and the HSE, it is that giving the system direction and letting them do the work proved really successful, HSE CEO, Mr. Paul Reid told the Conference.

It is inevitable if you try things for the first time that mistakes will be made and we need that culture of accepting the mistakes we made and don’t have what I always call a ‘gotcha’ culture, but a learning culture, that we learn both from things that go well and also from mistakes, Robert Watt, Secretary General, Department of Health, told the Conference.

Conference Moderator, Sharon Morrow says many questions had come in for Mr Reid and Mr Watt, but they would just have time for a few.

She had no doubt all stakeholders would agree that the enhanced cooperation and collaboration between the pharmaceutical industry and the HSE and Department of Health during the pandemic should be carried into the future, Ms Eimear Caslin, General Manager for GSK Ireland, a long time sponsor of the HMI, told the Conference.

Fiona McGuirk, Environmental Health & Safety Officer and Sinead Foody, Senior Physiotherapist, National Rehabilitation Hospital, Rochestown Avenue, Dun Laoghaire, demonstrated some ergonomics tips which could be beneficial to healthcare staff who are working from home either part-time or full time.

Yoga teacher, Jean Maher from Lá Nua Yoga guided the Conference through a short Yoga practice which could be done at work or at home. No Yoga mat was required and all the poses were standing.

The strong solidarity of European countries helped to save lives in the COVID pandemic, Mr. Philippe Blua, President of the European Association of Hospital Managers (EAHM), told the Conference.

In April 2020, the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland became the first postgraduate medical college in Ireland & the UK to deliver computer-based exams through remote invigilation and since then almost 3,500 doctors had taken RCPI exams in this way, the President of the College, Prof. Mary Horgan, told the Conference.

Although we were all aware we were unlikely to see a clear cut end of the pandemic, it was very important to look at leadership after the pandemic, particularly in view of the feeling of burnout and lack of hope among many health care providers right now, Dr. Jaason Geerts, Director, Research and Leadership Development, Canadian College of Health Leaders and LEADS Canada and Honorary Visiting Fellow, The Business School, University of London (UK), told the Conference.

Over 400 healthcare managers from all over the country had participated in the Conference, HMI President, Tony Canavan said when he formally closed the proceedings.

Resilience could be learned, and staff distress managed through early intervention and education, Orla Spencer, Clinical Psychologist and Noelle O’Keeffe, Counselling Psychologist, Tallaght University Hospital, Dublin, told the Conference.

GSK was the sponsor of the HMI 10th Conference. Patrons were Aon Healthcare, UPMC, The Learning Rooms, Health Care Informed, SwiftQueue Technologies, Servelec and Zehnacker Healthcare.

Prior to Covid-19, stress levels were at their highest ever among those who work in health and social care across England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Ireland and other countries across Europe and beyond. Moreover, staff vacancies and turnover were adding further to the pressure on staff. And then the pandemic struck, with all the associated increases in stress, anxiety and fear, write Prof. Michael West CBE and Barbara Doeleman-Van Veldhoven, BFC Compassionate Care & Mindful Medicine

Watch out for a new CPD programme “Delivering Change in Health Services,” a collaboration between RCSI Institute of Leadership and HSE Organisation Development - Improving Change Capacity. The programme aims to develop skills for people and culture change in health and social care. For more details of this upcoming programme visit Health Services Change Guide.