Welcome to our newsletter.
Our first HIQA News of 2024 reflects the wide array of work that we have been engaged with during the first two months of the year. This included important reviews and assessments in the area of health policy, inspecting and monitoring health and social care services, promoting the rights of people using services, such as through marking International Care Day and much more.
One element of HIQA’s role is to provide evidence and advice to the Minister for Health to inform safe and effective health policies that are patient-focused as well as achieving best value for money. We do this by conducting health technology assessments (HTAs) and providing evidence synthesis to inform national public health decision-making and national clinical guidelines and audits.
In the first two months of the year, we published a review of national rare disease strategies in a number of countries and announced that we will be undertaking a HTA which will explore the possible benefits of introducing a strengthened flu vaccine for those aged 65 years and older. We also completed a scoping review of advances in the development of clinical practice guidance for healthcare professionals which aims to ensure that standards for this guidance in Ireland continue to consider the latest innovations and best practices. These reviews are valuable contributions in informing decision-making on health policy in Ireland, and we will publish further important reviews throughout the year.
We continue to engage with a wide range of stakeholders, through our attendance at several conferences and taking part in working groups. These platforms ensure that we continue to exchange information and ideas with thought leaders and that our HIQA team members contribute to the development of policy across areas that we have expertise in. In the early months of 2024, we have been presenting on our work at a number of key events including the National Office for Clinical Audit’s annual conference and the Child and Family Agency’s (Tusla’s) 10th anniversary event, as well as contributing to European-level working groups whose work is at the forefront of regulating ionising radiation and supporting safe, high quality and reliable use of radiological and nuclear technology in healthcare.
In this issue, we reflect on developments during 2023 that have taken place in the regulation and monitoring of nursing homes. This activity included conducting 785 inspections during the year, processing over 1,000 issues and items of concern from members of the public and engaging with a range of stakeholders both in person and online.
Readers will also see that there has been a lot to celebrate in recent months. We came together in February to mark the ninth International Care Day, which is the world’s largest celebration of the rights of children and young people with experience of care. This day is an annual opportunity for us to celebrate and recognise the care experiences of children and young people. We were also pleased to report, just before Christmas, that following our close work with a disability services provider, a group of residents who had previously lived in a congregated setting, would be transitioning to their new homes in time for the Christmas period. These are important events to mark and to recognise, and highlight the valuable work that is ongoing in the provision of health and social care services.
Within the organisation, we were also very pleased to be awarded certification for the ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management Standard, meaning that HIQA is an ISO certified organisation. This is an impressive achievement which provides international recognition of our quality and management processes. I would like to thank everyone who was involved in securing this certification, for their considerable time and input.
We are also immensely proud of our Diversity & Inclusion Working Group colleagues, who were recently nominated at the National Diversity and Inclusion Awards. While they missed out on the win, their nomination serves as a testament to the work they do to promote diversity and inclusion within HIQA.
Until next time,
Angela.