Dear Members

I hope you are all well as we are coming to the end of another busy year.

On the 16^th November the HSE announced a recruitment freeze. From the view point of mental health services the recruitment freeze is inexplicable given that there are as many as 700 nursing vacancies in mental health with many services relying on overtime and agency staffing to an extent that is no longer sustainable.

We have witnessed the closure of a 16-bed Sub-Acute Unit at St James’s Hospital Psychiatric Unit and the failure to re-open 11 beds in the Linn Dara Child and Adolescent Mental Health Unit, in Cherry Orchard, Dublin. Both of these closures were a direct result of the ongoing issues with recruitment and retention of psychiatric nursing staff into our services nationally, and last month’s announcement means there is no prospect of these services re-opening and will inevitably lead to further closures of services.

Around the country we are witnessing worrying developments where the staffing situation in our mental health services is so serious that whereas previously services would be curtailed because of staffing shortages, the HSE is now closing beds completely. Yet, the response to this crisis is to implement a recruitment freeze.

We have written to the HSE Chief Executive Officer, Mr Bernard Gloster, in relation to the extreme crisis in the Mental Health Services and have sought a derogation in relation to the recruitment of Psychiatric Nurses in order to maintain services and to prevent further closures. We cannot and will not allow the decimation of our services to continue.

Enjoy the Photo Album !

Pensions are sometimes difficult to understand. In order to give a basic understanding of pensions, We have created this brief summary of all current pension schemes and the benefits associated with each. Further details can be found on our website.

What Types of Schemes are Involved?

• The schemes are statutory schemes to which Section 17 of the Finance Act 1972 applies. 
• They are defined benefit schemes for the purpose of the Benefits Act, 1990.
• The schemes are not funded and benefits are met on a “pay-as-you-go” basis.

THE THREE MAIN SCHEMES IN NURSING

• Local Government Superannuation (Consolidation) Scheme 1998
• Nominated Health Agencies Superannuation Scheme
• Single Public Service Pension Scheme
• Voluntary Hospitals Superannuation Scheme

PNA Branch Officer Training 2023

The PNA held two training courses for branch officers in 2023. The first two-day event was in May 2023 in the Hodson Bay Hotel in Athlone and was attended by 53 branch officers from all across the country, with representatives stretching the length and breadth of the country from West Cork to the Donegal ID Services, St Brendans to Mayo to name a few.  The second training event was held in the Radisson Blu Hotel in Sligo in November 2023 attended by 28 delegates. Once more the country was well covered with attendees from Clare to Mullingar among many others.

Our General Secretary and National Treasurer cover the first presentation of day one and give an overview of the role and function of the branches, including branch officers, rules of debate, branch register and accounts, National Executive Committee Meetings and Annual Delegate Conference.

Detailed Presentations by our Industrial Relations Officers, Deputy General Secretary and National Secretary are also given on Trust in Care, Social Media, Grievance and Disciplinary issues, Representing Members and Letter Writing. Head Office staff and National Officers present role play’s on scenarios which may arise in the workplace and the feedback on these role plays has been very positive.

All presentations are in an informal setting and attendees are encouraged to interact as much as possible. The evening events also give everyone a chance to relax and meet colleagues from other services.

Please make sure you are on the mailing list from your local branch or from head office to get details of the next training event in 2024. Thank you to all those who attended in 2023. We hope to see many more of you in the future.

St Patrick’s Mental Health Services launched their five year strategy in September 2023.

With a significant shift in how mental healthcare is being delivered coupled with growing demands on Mental Health services across Ireland, the strategy outlines a number of ways that the organisation will respond to the demands facing mental health care. As part of the strategic plan , there are plans to expand and enhance remote care and home care services.

SPMHS initially introduced the Home Care Service  to help meet and support the challenges presented during the Covid-19 Pandemic.

The Home Care Service is a tailored mental healthcare service which delivers high quality assessment and treatment to service users remotely as an alternative to admission to an inpatient facility.

Click Here To View Resources 

The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI) has published a new data report, the State of the Register 2023, providing a breakdown of the number of nurses and midwives registered in Ireland.

All nurses and midwives who wish to practise in Ireland must be registered with NMBI.

This data is provided by NMBI as information for policymakers and the public, and to inform workforce planning models. It has been made possible by the digitisation of NMBI’s Register, including the application and annual renewal processes. 

Now in its second year, the State of the Register 2023 is particularly crucial to NMBI and our healthcare colleagues as we can now provide a comparison to last year and identify areas of growth and potential gaps. The data in this report will ensure that the Irish healthcare system is equipped to meet the needs of today and the future.

The 2024 annual registration renewal continues and NMBI wishes to remind you that if you have not already renewed your registration then you should do so as soon as possible. They have created a number of guides which can be accessed through the links below or on the annual renewal page of the NMBI website.

• Annual Renewal video guide   
• Annual Registration Renewal Guide   
• Frequently Asked Questions  

Advanced Practice in Mental Health Nursing

This textbook explores issues central to the provision of recovery-orientated care based on ethical principles and human rights perspectives. Written by academics and nurse practitioners, this comprehensive text draws together theory, research and practice to map the landscape of Advanced Practice in Mental Health Nursing (APMHN) in Europe. Underpinned by a rights and relational- based approach to care, the textbook is organized around six themes: theoretical and historical perspectives; foundations for collaborative working; therapeutic engagement in different contexts; beyond the clinical dimension of the APMHN role; advancing the evidence-based practice agenda and emerging issues and challenges. Each theme consists of a number of chapters that are designed to address different aspects of APMHN.

Click Here to Read Full Article 

The National Implementation Monitoring Committee (NIMC) for Sharing the Vision, Ireland’s national mental health policy, established a specialist group to progress the priority issue of women’s mental health. Embedding Women’s Mental Health in Sharing the Vision is the report by the specialist group on women’s mental health.

The report has recommended the embedding in Sharing the Vision of Ireland’s first ever Women’s Mental Health Charter to enshrine and enhance the provision of mental health services and supports for women and girls in Ireland.

It is envisaged that all health services would commit to the Charter in order to strengthen gender awareness, and ensure that women experience an inclusive, supportive and effective mental health service that meets their needs.

The Charter aims to ensure:

a gender-aware approach to the delivery and accessibility of all care

a trauma-aware approach by all staff who contribute to the service

the systematic collection and analysis of data on gender, ethnicity, disability and other risk factors for marginalisation of women

Aisling Culhane Research & Development Advisor participated as a member pf the Specialist Group Chair of the Specialist Group, Professor Siobhan MacHale, said:

"I would like to particularly thank the Specialist and Reference Groups, who brought a range of professional and civil society perspectives to this vital work. It is essential that gender is considered when creating and providing effective mental health services. The recommendations in this report will facilitate services in applying a gender-sensitive lens to mental health care provision, ultimately leading to more positive health outcomes for women and girls."

WHO’s QualityRights initiative aims to improve the quality of care in mental health and related services and to promote the rights of people with psychosocial, intellectual and cognitive disabilities.

The associated QualityRights e-training, covers: taking care of one’s own mental health; supporting friends, family and colleagues with their mental health; tackling stigma, discrimination, abuse and coercion in mental health services; and taking action in support of transformation of mental health services towards a person-centred, rights-based recovery approach.

The training has been developed for a wide variety of groups, including people involved in making decisions about mental health care provision, those who provide mental health care and psychosocial support, and people who have received or are receiving support for their mental health.

The WHO recently launched a joint publication with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) titled “Mental health, human rights and legislation: guidance and practice”. Its objective is to ensure that mental health policies, systems, services, and programmes provide high-quality care and support for all, in line with international human rights standards, including the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).

With a focus on the transformation of mental health systems and the promotion, protection and fulfilment of human rights, dignity, autonomy, and inclusion for all, it offers practical advice to align laws, policies and practices with international human rights obligations and the development of person-centred care and support, taking into account gender, age, cultural acceptability and other considerations that safeguard human rights. Developed through extensive research and consultations, its key chapters cover the need for reform, principles and provisions for legislation, and a rights-based process. A practical checklist assists in assessing and developing legislation, while ensuring flexibility for countries to tailor efforts to specific national and local contexts. This resource is intended for legislators, policymakers, health professionals, monitoring and evaluation authorities and advocacy groups, among others.

HSE Health Passport –

The Health Passport was launched in June 2019 and is intended to impact and benefit people with intellectual disabilities, their families and carers, GPs, health and social care professionals in hospitals and designated centres.

It aims  is to identify the most effective ways to support and implement a national standardized HSE Health Passport for people with intellectual disabilities across the island of Ireland.

See link Here

This circular sets out which nursing and midwifery grades are eligible for overtime payments in either their substantive role or another nursing role at a lower grade (e.g. to cover staff shortages)

Horatio colleagues will meet in May 2024 in Malmo Sweden . The title of the congress  Courage, Communication and Collaboration in Challening times. This is the Second Call for Abstracts , so you still have time to consider submitting over the Christmas holidays, it is time to meet friends and colleagues from different countries and to share our experiences, ideas and developments. Our aim is to make it a friendly, welcoming conference for all, and in Sweden  Hanna and her colleagues are preparing  to do just that https://horatio2024.se/

Keep an eye out for our call for bursaries to attend Congress coming out in January whereby we will award an amount towards contributing to attendance and / presenting 

The Horatio Fellowship Award recognises recipients for their contribution to the professional activities in support of psychiatric/mental health nursing (PMHN), either in Europe or worldwide.  It is designed to ensure that those who have had an extraordinary influence on the professional growth, development, and identity of PHMN will be rewarded for their endeavors..

She has been at the forefront of mental health nurse education and research Nationally and Internationally. She has held research grants from a wide range of funding bodies National, European and International. The central theme underpinning her research is on increasing understanding of service users' and family members' experience of mental health service provision and the development of psychosocial strategies that promote recovery and social inclusion. She is considered a champion in the area of mental health service user/patient involvement amplifying the voices of people who experience mental health problems and their families often focused in marginalised and minority communities. Her diverse research methodologies are underpinned by participatory approaches that are inclusive of service users and the public. Agnes has a continues to be true friend of Horatio , supporting us from the start she was here in Malta in 2008 at the First festival she is delighted to see the organisation develop and flourish and has been pleased to witness the development of its role in advising the various organs of the EU on mental health and Nursing matters as witnessed in her co editing with Gisli Gísli Kort Kristófersson and Nina Nina Kilkku the Book on Advanced Parctice in Mental Health 

I was delighted to be allocated the bursary by the PNA to attend the 2023 Horatio Congress “Reuniting mental health nurses” in March this year. The event brought together European Mental Health Nurses in a beautiful location on the Maltese coast in St. Julian’s. It is the first event I attended which focused primarily on Mental Health Nursing, leading to a great variety of talks and presentations of interest. The level of innovation in care in different organisations was inspiring – cold water swimming for depression in Finland, hearing about the wonderful work on the PARC project in Ireland, to name a few. It was a great opportunity to make links with new colleagues and reignite old acquaintances. Attending the event has inspired and empowered me professionally on what is possible in the field of Mental Health Nursing.

I presented a poster on research we completed on service user experience of a new remote care service developed within St. Patrick’s Mental Health Service [SPMHS]. This was important and timely research to conduct on a new and innovative service, particularly given the vast and rapid changes to mental health service delivery since the COVID-19 pandemic. The research has ensured that the voice of the service user is central to further developments and adjustments to the current service. This person-centred and rights-based approach to care is in line with organisational policy at SPMHS and I was glad to see that it was also a central theme of the conference having attended Dr. Michelle Funk’s presentation and the many other speakers who shared a similar perspective.  

Finally, I wish to express my gratitude to the Psychiatric Nurses Association and St. Patrick’s Mental Health Service for supporting me to attend and present our service user research on the Homecare Service at the 2023 Horatio Congress in Malta.   

It was with tremendous joy and privilege that I accepted the Gantley Award at this years Annual Delegate Conference. I have been involved at various levels of PNA for over 20 years now and it was wonderful to have my input valued with receiving our most prestigious award. I have very much enjoyed my time with the Officer board so far and I hope to continue my work in the years to come. I would like to thank everyone for their kind words and wishes of support.

PNA Meeting for Intellectual Disability Branches:

The PNA will be hosting an ID branches meeting on the 17^th January 2024 exclusively for the Intellectual Disability branches of the PNA.

It will be held in the Hodson Bay hotel in Athlone and we are hoping for a good attendance on the day.

It is always good to meet up and share information with our fellow professionals and this is particularly relevant at the moment as with de-congregation of services communication between branches becomes more difficult.

The meeting will be about deriving what’s positively happening in ID practice around the country and also learning from areas where there are difficulties.

The meeting will provide an opportunity to network with other branches and learn from others experiences.

To make the meeting as relevant as possible to current concerns we asked all branches to submit items for the agenda and the response was excellent, so the agenda has been decided by the branches.

We are hoping that the agenda will be led from the floor on the day and will be as interactive as possible from delegates with suggestions as to how the PNA can address the many issues the RNID is facing today in the workforce.

We look forward to meeting everyone on the 17^th January and starting 2024 on a positive and constructive agenda for all our members working in the Intellectual Disability area.

May we take this opportunity to wish all ID members a happy and peaceful Christmas and we look forward to meeting you all in the New Year.