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.
Over the last number of years, various research projects within SPMHS have been conducted to evaluate and assess the implementation of remote and digital health care, including:
Nursing leadership in response to the Covid-19 crisis in an Irish Independent mental health service, link below:
https://www.magonlinelibrary.com/doi/abs/10.12968/bjmh.2020.0044
The transition of a mental health facility to a COVID-19 isolation ward and unit to deliver remote inpatient mental health care, link below:
https://www.magonlinelibrary.com/doi/abs/10.12968/bjmh.2022.0028
Nurse Leadership in implementing digital change in an Irish mental health service, link below:
https://journals.rcni.com/mental-health-practice/evidence-and-practice/nurse-leadership-in-implementing-digital-change-in-an-irish-mental-health-service-mhp.2020.e1524/abs
SPMHS has committed to the continued development of the Home Care Service as part of the five year strategy.
In this context, and following on from discussions with the Psychiatric Nurses Association concerning the role of nursing in supporting and delivering the Home Care Service, SPMHS and the PNA agreed to conduct a six month Pilot Home Care Service to establish and optimise the nursing component of the Home Care Service.
This pilot project is now in its second month of operation . It is headed up by a CNM3, supported by 2 CNM2’s and 13 Staff Nurses. Policies, service level agreements and protocols will be continue to be developed by the nursing team over the six months.
So far the feedback has been positive and local branch representatives , along with Peter Hughes, PNA, Gen Sec, meet with Senior Management from SPMHS on a fortnightly basis and will continue to do so over the duration of the pilot.
