Welcome to our August newsletter.
This year is an important one for HIQA as we mark 15 years of regulating nursing homes.
HIQA was established in 2007 and our first inspections of nursing homes began in 2009. During the intervening 15 years, our regulation remit has grown to include many areas within health and social services such as disability services, children’s special care units, healthcare and ionising radiation.
1 July 2024 marked our 15th anniversary of regulating nursing homes.
Since July 2009, we have been responsible for monitoring, inspecting and registering designated centres for older people, also known as nursing homes, to ensure that residents receive a high quality of care.
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.
