We have submitted a rapid health technology assessment of immunisation against RSV as advice to the Minister for Health and the Health Service Executive.
This assessment will inform an interim policy decision on the most appropriate immunisation strategy for the 2025-2026 RSV season.
We have commenced a regulatory programme of inspections focusing on adult safeguarding in nursing homes and centres for people with disabilities.
Speaking about the new programme, our Chief Inspector of Social Services Carol Grogan, said: “Safeguarding relies on people and services working together to ensure that people using services are treated with dignity and respect and that they are empowered to make decisions about their own lives.”
Last month, the sixth National Inpatient Experience Survey closed, with results to be published by the end of the year. Anonymised data from our surveys is also available for research and analysis.
We have commenced a health technology assessment of extending Ireland’s BowelScreen programme to those aged 50 to 54 years.
BowelScreen aims to detect signs of bowel cancer at an early stage.
We have found that although routine shingles vaccinations are safe and effective in reducing cases, their effectiveness diminishes over time.
HIQA conducted a health technology assessment (HTA) at the request of the Department of Health following a clinical recommendation from the National Immunisation Advisory Committee.
A number of our staff attended this year’s European Social Services Conference in Antwerp Belgium.
Run by the European Social Network, this year’s conference focused on how to co-create community-based social services, with a specific focus on three thematic strands: Co-Creating Cities Social Inclusion, Co-Creating Responses to Manage the Future Workforce, and Co-Creating Digital Solutions for Social Inclusion.
Our online learning courses have been completed over 300,000 times since launching.
We develop national standards for health and social care services and, to make sure that people using these services receive the best possible care, we also create support materials, such as online learning courses.
Welcome to our June newsletter.
I want to begin this edition of our newsletter with a word of thanks to our many stakeholders who have worked with us throughout the year. We recently published our 2023 Annual Report which provides a detailed review of our activities and achievements during last year. Critical to our success in 2023 was effective collaboration with key stakeholders, listening to the voices of those who use services and publishing our work.
HIQA’s 2023 Annual Report, published in June, highlights the work undertaken to prepare for a significant expansion of the organisation’s remit into areas including International Protection Accommodation Services, and others connected to the Patient Safety (Notifiable Incidents and Open Disclosure) Act 2023 and the Human Tissue (Transplantation, Post-Mortem, Anatomical Examination and Public Display) Bill (2018).
High-quality health information is the foundation of a high-quality and safe health and social care service. Therefore, we are pleased to publish a set of new national standards this month which will improve how information is managed in Ireland’s health and social care services going forward.
The National Standards for Information Management in Health and Social Care were developed by HIQA and have been approved by the Minister for Health.
