Dear Members

I hope you are keeping well as we come to the end of another busy year on the Industrial Relations frontline.

In June the public sector unions triggered section 5.7 of the Building Momentum agreement due to the high inflationary pressures that have evolved over the period of the agreement. Negotiations under the auspices of the WRC culminated with a pay proposal at 6.30am on the 30^th August.  The proposal was put to ballot late September, early October and was unanimously ratified by the members. The Building Momentum agreement has been extended to the 31st December 2023. Details of the pay adjustments of the agreement are HERE

Under Building Momentum 2020-2022 the working hours were restored to pre HRA hours, i.e. 39 hours per week to 37.5 hours per week. This came info effect from July 1^st 2022, however the implementation of the hours is proving problematic in some areas with a very intransigent position been taken by nurse management in these services.

A number of branches were balloted and those areas where no agreement has been reached  taking industrial action in the coming weeks to ensure that this breach of Building Momentum is satisfactorily resolved.

Part of the settlement of the 2019/2020 nursing recruitment and retention dispute was the establishment of an Expert Review on Nursing and Midwifery. This group published their 47 recommendations.

The inaugural meeting of the Expert Review Implementation Oversight Team took place in November, some of the recommendations have financial benefits for nurses and others will be challenging.

Once again, we are experiencing a recruitment and retention crisis in both mental health and intellectual disability nursing. This was confirmed following a national survey of branches which revealed over 700 vacancies in the Mental Health Services. Since the decline of the COVID pandemic services are now experiencing a very high level of nurses emigrating to Australia and Canada in particular.  Nurses, who were eligible to retire and who stayed on to support services are now retiring. These chronic shortages are happening at a time when there is a significant increase in demand for mental health services post COVID. The PNA highlighted these concerns over a year ago however the Department of Health and HSE failed to address the identified concerns Nothing new there!!

This nursing crisis has so far resulted in the closure of 50% of the CAMHS beds in Linn Dara, Dublin, the closure of 16 beds in St James Hospital also in CHO7 with no indication as to when these beds will re-open. It is inexcusable that nursing vacancies have been allowed to increase to such an extent that beds are being closed and vital services are being denied to these communities.

Following over four years of negotiations, under the auspices of the WRC, the new National Forensic Mental Health Service (NFMHS) Portrane opened last month. Despite this being a state of the art facility this service is also experiencing recruitment and retention issues with over 25 vacancies. This has resulted in only 110 of the 170 beds opening and it will take over 100 more nurses to open the remaining units.

The PNA have called for the establishment of both a National Workforce Planning Group and also Regional Groups to examine and implement innovative and inventive ways of recruiting and retaining nurses. There is a clearly an identified need for subsidised accommodation. Once again, the PNA highlighted this at the outset of NFMHS talks putting on record the need to build staff accommodation on the vast site in Portrane and again this was not taken on board.

When a lot of our nurses are leaving for Australia and Canada, the UK is becoming a less attractive destination. The HSE need to urgently commence a campaign to attract nurses to return from the UK to better our workforce and ease the haemorrhaging.

We have come to the end of a very busy year and we know the coming year be equally busy and challenging.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your commitment and dedication and I wish you all a very happy Christmas 

Peter Hughes 

General Secretary

You Can View the Chair Persons Address, General Secretary's Address and all Presentations to Conference 2022 Here

Since commencing my role as regional representative for the CHO5 area with the PNA in October 2021 I have helped support and assist members with many varied issues. CHO5 area covers Kilkenny, Carlow, Waterford, Wexford, and South Tipperary. Like other CHO areas in recent years the amalgamation of Approved Centre's with the roll out of more community-based services has led to more dispersed staff work locations. Combined with this, staff movement and retirements, some PNA branches had become dormant.

It was with great support from Niall O Sullivan, Industrial Relations Officer and Sandra Forristal, National Secretary, who are on the Rules and Organization committee of the PNA. Most importantly the local membership involvement that we were able to reestablish two branches in the CHO5 area. The Carlow branch and the Deise branch, Dungarvan Co. Waterford. I would like to take this opportunity to welcome the new Branch Officials and committee members and wish them well in their new roles. They have already availed of the two-Branch Officer training programmes provided this year. Carlow Branch attended the Athlone Training earlier in the year and Deise attended the recent training in Cork.

Regional reps are committed in dealing with personal issues for members with the assistance of Industrial Relations Officers covering each CHO area as an integral part of our structures. The importance of a local branch cannot be understated as this provides a strong basis for local service developments and continuing quality care. The PNA are also committed to the Continuing Professional Development of its members. In this regard and with the forward vision of Aisling Culhane, Research and Development Officer who in collaboration with the Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery RCSI have provided the many webinars and CPD programs through the PNA/College of Professional Development.

The PNA prides itself on “ground up” member involvement as each branch has its own autonomy. It is local members in each area who know their service needs and requirements. Engaging locally with other stakeholders, senior management and services management to maintain and promote nursing developments in the service -thus, ensuring high quality nursing provision. It is in this regard that the support from Regional Reps and Industrial Relations Officers working with local branch officials can be best utilised.

In summary I would encourage members in any area where branches have become dormant to contact the Regional Rep in their area or contact Paula or Elayne in head office. With the help of Rules and Organization Committee to reform the branch structure which is the life blood of the PNA.

Horatio colleagues will meet in March 2023 in Malta. The title of the conference “Reuniting Mental Health Nurses -Sharing Experiences, Cultivating Knowledge” tells it all; 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 Malta Alexei and his colleagues really know how to do it. https://www.horatiocongress2023.com/

Horatio has been actively involved with activities of Mental Health Europe (MHE) and ICN/ Mental Health Nursing Workgroup. In the ICN/ANP conference in August Dublin we arranged an international workshop on advanced level mental health nursing with participants from several continents  Ann Cunningham ANP on the PARC project and Steve Pitman Head of Education and Professional Development INMO  joined Nina Kilkku President  and Aisling Culhane General Secretary of Horatio in leading the workshop.

Horatio has been now accepted as a member of WHO Pan-European Mental Health Coalition and few weeks ago we gave our input in Guidance on Mental Health, Human Rights, and Legislation published jointly by WHO and Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights OHCHR.

We are very happy to inform you that a new book “Advanced Practice in Mental Health Nursing – A European Perspective”, is published in co-operation with Springer. This book is the first one on European advanced level mental health nursing, so hopefully you find it useful in many ways.

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. With a focus on illuminating the collaborating aspect of their role and advancing nurses’ competencies, debates and guidance are provided in areas such as therapeutic alliance, assessment, care-planning, mental health promotion, family work, trauma, diversity and culture, spirituality, risk and uncertainty, and prescribing. With a focus on future challenges and opportunities the textbook concludes with discussion on issues, such as eMental Health and future challenges and possibilities facing APMHNs, including challenges in informing policy, democratizing services, working across service and disciplinary boundaries, collaboratively shaping the evidence agenda, as well  as sustaining their role into the future. It is time to celebrate the book together in Malta. As a member of Horatio you will get a discount using; details below

Horatio members can purchase the book/ebook with 20% discount (on the book public price) using this code: “HORATIOmember”. Access the book webpage and enter that code to get the rebate https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-05536-2

In support of Mental Health Europe MHE collaborative approach core values of co-creation and Activity plan 2022 and 2023 activities related to the co-creation work area starting in 2022. The following has been already implemented:

- Establishment of an MHE Co-creation Task Force consisting of representatives of the diverse MHE membership

- Training for MHE staff and members in co-creation methodology

The Taskforce will contribute to the delivery of the following activities:

1.       Development of glossary on mental health terminology planned for 2022-2023

2.       First draft of guidelines on co-creation in mental health.

The Board of Horatio European Psychiatric Nurses is a participant on the Taskforce represented by General Secretary Aisling Culhane and joins with colleagues and “all actors” (experts by experience, their supporters, health and social care actors, professionals, researchers, educators, advocates and activists) in working towards these activities.To achieve a common vision from the diverse range of stakeholders is not an easy task as different stakeholders such as family representatives’ consumers professionals interpret population mental health needs in different ways. However, this initiative allows for discussion, sharing of ideas with stakeholders, helps negotiate boundaries and defines a general image of the future of Mental Health. As the representative organisation for Psychiatric / Mental Health Nursing in Europe Horatio provides a rich source for reflection on some of the issues required to successfully integrate a person-centred, recovery-oriented and rights-based approach in mental health, whereby countries must change and broaden mindsets. It is in that space Horatio will contribute to the:

1.       Development of glossary on mental health terminology planned for 2022-2023. Methodology for conducting training on co-creation. Digital format available in EN, FR, DE, SP, IT, BG, HU, RO

2.       Draft Guidelines on co-creation in mental health that can be put into practice by different stakeholders. Digital format available in EN

An essential part of psychiatric/ mental health nursing is that one not only provides services but ardently seeks to improve them. Whilst we have a duty to provide the best of care, we also have a responsibility to influence those that determine how services are provided. The founding members of Horatio saw the value of a united approach to influence and shape policy, to advocate for our clients and together co produce the improvement of services and conditions for those who experience mental health problems - to transmit new knowledge or review and discuss new policies and principles of interest, to bring together psychiatric nursing representatives and to further the application of the most recent knowledge and to foster common action on priority issues. We acknowledge in order to do these changes will require shifts in the knowledge, competencies and skills of the health and social services workforce. Horatio represents 23 countries across Europe with membership from organisations in Canada and the UK. Horatio celebrated its 15th birthday last year.

Mental Health Europe CO-CREATION TRAINING JUNE 2022

Separately our colleague Liesbeth va Bos from the Belgian Nurses Association represented Horatio last June in Brussels at this event. The purpose of co creation training is to increase Knowledge, Skills and Confidence for Putting Co creation into Practice so members return and grow knowledge in their respective organisations regarding: 

• What co creation is and why we use it
• The 4 P’s of co creation; participants, principles, process and personal narratives
• The barriers and benefits of co-creation
• Good practice through practical examples of case studies.

By attending this training participants committed to organising a session back in their organisation to transfer the knowledge acquired to members of their organisation (staff, volunteers).

Mental Health Ireland are delighted to announce that applications for our Kevin Plunkett Award 2022/23 are now open!

About the Kevin Plunkett Award:

The Kevin Plunkett award is named after the former Area Director of Nursing for Waterford/Wexford Mental Health Service who passed away in May of 2021.

Kevin was a dedicated mental health nurse and mental health volunteer who showed great courage and leadership throughout his career. This award seeks to honour Kevin’s contributions and innovation in the psychiatric nursing field and inspire and support others to do the same.

This Award aims to recognise the work of Registered Psychiatric Nurses (RPN) working throughout Ireland and celebrate and support the projects and initiatives contributed by these individuals. These may include Mental Health Promotion, Co-Production, Facilitating Recovery, Service Quality, Innovation and Improvement Public Understanding or Community Engagement.

Awards may be utilised to advance; Further Education / Training / Research / facilitate Educational Travel / Study / Conference attendance / Innovate / Pilot projects (small scale).

Partnerships and evidence of co-production with people who use mental health services, family members will be distinct advantage.

We encourage applicants who bring new thinking or fresh insights aligned to the recommendations of the new National mental health policy ‘Sharing the Vision’ and Mental Health Ireland’s own strategy. We wish to recognise best practice, innovation, sustainable and impactful change being brought about by RPNs at all levels. Nominations will be accepted for nurses working in public and private sector, hospital or community settings, NGOs, research and the academic centres.

The nomination processes will allow for self-nomination, nomination by peers, service users, supervisors and colleagues.

The nominee must agree to have their name go forward and must have the support of their management.

Applications are now open through our website.

In keeping with MHI’s co-production principles, a Working Group has been convened which includes a Mental Health Ireland Board Member, an Area Director of Nursing nominee, a member of Kevin's family and a Person with Lived Experience. The working group have already set out the framework below.

Outline of the Mental Health Ireland Kevin Plunkett Award

Eligibility Criteria: Nominations for the award would be welcomed for Registered Psychiatric Nurses working in Ireland in the public and private sectors, as well as RPNs working in academia, NGO, projects and research sectors. The awards would include psychiatric nurses working in practice, in leadership, in education, innovation and service reform.

Award criteria would be influenced by and aligned to the National mental health policy ‘Sharing the Vision ‘and Mental Health Ireland’s strategic themes. Themes may include; Mental Health Promotion, Recovery, Co-Production, Social Inclusion, Human Rights, Trauma.

Awards may be utilised to advance; Further Education / Training / Research / facilitate Educational Travel / Study / Conference attendance / Innovate / Pilot (small scale). Partnerships and evidence of co-production with people who use mental health services, family members will be distinct advantage.

Mental Health Ireland does not accept funding from or work in partnership with the Pharmaceutical, Alcohol or Gambling industries, the awards will reflect this position.

The nomination processes will allow for self-nomination, nomination by peers, service users, supervisors and colleagues. The nominee must agree to have their name go forward and must have support of their management.

Awardees would be expected to provide follow-up feedback on the impact or success of their work so that this can be disseminated and shared. The continued ownership of the Intellectual Property would remain with the nominee, the support of the award should be acknowledged in subsequent presentations.

What is the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act (2015)?

The Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act (2015) is about supporting decision-making and maximising a person’s capacity to make decisions. This Act applies to everyone and is relevant to all health and social care services.

The act says that everyone is presumed to be able to decide for themselves unless the opposite is shown. The new law sets out ways to support people who lack capacity to make decisions. The new assisted decision-making act moves away from a ‘best interests’ approach for people who need support with decision making.

It is a move to a rights-based approach to decision making with respect for the will and preference of the person.

Under the new legislation Ward of Court will be replaced by a system of graduated supports for decision making.

This new Act will assist in complying with human-rights obligations contained in the Constitution of Ireland, the European Convention on Human Rights, and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. 

The Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act (2015) reforms the law relating to persons who require or may require assistance in exercising their decision-making capacity.

Key reforms include the establishment of the Decision Support Service (DSS), abolition of wardship, statutory functional test of capacity, statutory guiding principles, new decision supporters, and advance healthcare directives.

RNID’s are expected to take all practical steps to help a person make a decision for themselves. If a person is found to lack decision-making capacity in one matter, this will not necessarily mean that the person also lacks capacity in another matter. The Act recognises that decision-making capacity can fluctuate, is issue-specific and time specific.

A person’s capacity to make a specific decision is their ability to:

• understand information and facts relevant to the decision;
• retain that information long enough to make a voluntary choice;
• use or weigh up that information as part of the process of making the decision; and
• communicate the decision by any means, including by assistive technology

If there is a valid reason to assess a person's decision-making capacity, a functional approach must be used. 

The Act:

• Introduces new guiding principles about interacting with a person who has decision-making capacity challenges.
• Establishes a tiered system of decision support arrangements for people who may require support making decisions
• Abolishes the current wardship system for adults and requires all adult wards of court to be discharged from wardship within three years of commencement of the Act.
• Establishes the Decision Support Service (www.decisionsupportservice.ie) with clearly defined functions in relation to the Act, including promoting public awareness.
• Provides a human rights-compliant legal framework for decision-making where a person lacks capacity to make a decision(s) and for advance healthcare directives
• Provides for legally recognised decision-makers to support a person to maximise their decision-making powers.
• The Director of the Decision Support Service will have the power to investigate complaints in relation to the actions of decision supporters appointed under the Act in relation to their role as a decision-supporter.
• Provides for the individual’s right of autonomy and self-determination to be respected
• Moves to a functional approach to the assessment of capacity – moving away from “all or nothing” status approach
• Puts the person and their will and preferences at the centre of their healthcare treatment, even when they may lack capacity to consent to treatment
• Provides improved oversight of Enduring Powers of Attorney process.

The amending bill has now passed all stages of the Seanad and was finally debated in the Dáil on the 14th December 2022. It is anticipated that all formalities will be completed by year end and the amending bill will be enacted early 2023

An announcement as to a date for commencement will be made by the Minister after the 14th December 2022. It is our understanding that it will be in the first quarter of 2023 however this is subject to Ministerial discretion.

Wardship

When the Act fully commences the Ward of Court System for Adults will be abolished.  In the interim a HSE guidance document was developed to provide a clear and consistent approach on steps required before an application for wardship of an adult is considered by the HSE. 

The Office of the Wards of Court has information on their website in relation to their plans for commencement of the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015.

Currently there are approximately 2200 Wards of Court in Ireland.

The establishment of an Expert Review Body on Nursing and Midwifery was agreed following the 2019 Nursing Dispute, with the purpose of carrying out an extensive examination of the nursing and midwifery professions. The Review Body carried out their work for almost two years and finally published their report on March 29th this year. Their recommendations reflect a review of important aspects of the profession in relation to the future of nursing and midwifery in Ireland dealing with a range of issues such as – undergraduate and postgraduate education and development, digital health, nursing and midwifery workforce planning and management, and leadership and governance, in total 47 recommendations. You can read the full report here. In our communications with Chief Nurse Rachel McKenna, we have noted this ambitious programme of work and detailed that such work must align and support the implementation of Sharing the Vision 2020 and Shaping the Future of Intellectual Disability 2018 particularly in matters relating to Capacity and Workforce Planning.

The PNA supports the Expert Review Body’s report where it seeks to strengthen and co-ordinate the integration of Mental Health and Intellectual Disability services with those nurses supported through further investment in aligned Workforce Planning, Educational and Career Pathway.

A national oversight group referred to as the ERB Implementation Oversight Team (IOT) has now been established and is chaired by the Chief Nurse to oversee implementation of the 47 recommendations.  The IOT consists of a confined group of key stakeholders the PNA and other nursing unions along with representatives of the HSE and Department of Health and leads from clinical, operational, HR, finance, policy, and regulation. The first meeting of the IOT was held in November this year, PNA is represented by General Secretary Peter Hughes. The IOT will oversee the development of an action plan, work priorities identified, and the proposed membership and start dates of Implementation Action Groups (IAGs).  The IOT will oversee and report on the progress being made by the Implementation Action Groups whilst referring to Expert Advisors as Required

17. How did you manage to transition from PNA Branch Secretary to Industrial Relations Officer as this is quite a big change?

1. It was quite challenging initially, if you look at it in geographical terms, when you are a Branch Secretary or Branch Member you're looking after one branch, so when I came into the organization in 2016 the Healy Report had just come out and the merging of the CHO’s had also just happened, so just overnight I had multiple branches across multiple geographical areas. The key things are even though this was challenging you need to draw on the experience of the headquarter staff. You need to get to know the branches and you need to know how they work. I was blessed that in my areas, I had very strong branches and very good relationships with people within the branches, this made the transition smoother. It does take time to get recognized, going out and meeting the people, establishing those relationships so that if an individual has an issue, they can contact you at any time and feel comfortable doing so. Even in terms of structure it’s important to look at the tiered approach to industrial relations you know that if an individual has an issue, they try to resolve it locally and through their own branch, if it can’t be established there, then it can go through the Officer Board Representatives and then come up to ourselves. So, it was challenging but the big thing is getting support not only from the branches but also from the headquarters staff.

17. What learning developments or changes would you suggest could be of benefit for Full Time Officials and Officer Board Members.

1. Whenever you’re involved in the IR scene the PNA should probably look at developing a leadership in learning and development framework for both Officer Board OB, Staff and Full Time Officials. Education should be viewed as an investment in staff and a fundamental development in growth. The PNA should look at, but not limited to, issues around Employment Law, Governance, Leadership and just look at those kinds of issues so that it will enable staff to develop themselves and also become more aware of themselves and in self-development and self-awareness because it's such ever evolving situation that you need to tailor your approach to certain situations. 

Employment Law Seminars could be worthy of consideration as we deal particularly with industrial relations issues there's a lot of emerging things that have an influence within the way we carry out our business, such as things emanating from the Court System & Workplace Relations Commission WRC, there's lots of things in around a precedent that has been established on certain issues.

You could also look at a Journal Club around WRC decisions to explore these issues. Sometimes I could pick up something someday and think this is worth consideration, then you could share theses idea’s/ thoughts amongst each other.

You could look at the pressure of OB, Staff and Full Time Officials can be under; you could also look at employee support and case supervision because we all think we're really resilient at times, but you could/will get to deal with some stressful cases in terms of very emotive things that are going on for an individual at different times of their lives. So, it’s very important to disconnect and not take it home with you, as things might lie in your mind and you can run them over in your head.

As with every change in the HSE the PNA must look at re-organization we have the whole concept of Slainte Care, Regional Health Authorities and the area of Professional Development in line with the PNA/RCSI collaboration. The PNA might be involved in industrial relations, but it was very prudent of them to take a big leap into the professional development of staff in terms of offering education packages and programs. If you look at it, there is not only an increase in the development of the profession at the current stage, but it also leads to the foundations for people that are coming after them. That specialisms are developed and established in areas, it lays the groundwork and foundation for the development of Mental Health Nursing.

17. After 5 Years in the post of an IRO what advice would you give to someone stepping into this role and the big shoes you left for them to fill.

1. Firstly, you should enjoy it and grasp the role. I always said it was an honor and a privilege to work in such a role. The exposure and the experience you will get as an IRO in the PNA is second to none. You will get exposure and experience at National Level, at Local Level and at Regional Levels. You will get to form key relationships at all those levels. I will give you a piece of advice that I was given about five years ago that has stood to me today and that advice is:

“When you come into the PNA, unfortunately mistakes will be made and they may be made on a monthly or yearly basis, but it's not always the mistake you need to focus on, it’s what you do with it and how you go about learning from it”

This will help you not only in your decision making, but more importantly in self-development and self-awareness you should take ownership of it and it’s that whole concept of ok something didn't go according to plan, why did it not and how do I improve on it.

You could also look at self-management and switching off, I touched on this briefly earlier, the role all though it has been a real privileged position can overwhelm you at times, particularly when you are dealing with very sensitive and personal issues, I've had experience with this when dealing with cases that are tragic and distressing. The focus really is always on managing the case succinctly and I think sometimes we lose focus of that, in that our job is to manage this case and we want to do this in the best possible way. However, sometimes we forget about ourselves and maybe that sounds selfish, as we feel we need to get this done ASAP.  We don't look at the lengths or stresses that we put ourselves under which could lead to burnout.

Another thing to do is to get to know the branches, I presume that's probably one of the first things you will get to do. You will need to get yourself right out there and look at the kind of people that's there, look at the branches and get to know them, get to know how they work, how they deal with things, how they manage cases and establish those relationships

Drawing on the experience of headquarters staff, I can’t emphasize enough the team in headquarters is very well established and very knowledgeable this assistance in the early days is paramount, every organization is built on a strong office, and it would be remiss of me not to mention the roles of Peter, Michael, Aisling, Caroline, Elayne and Paula.

I enjoyed my time there immensely and I miss them terribly it’s a great and rewarding position. I don't think any of the four in terms of Peter Michael Aisling or Caroline wouldn’t mind me mentioning the roles of Elayne and Paula in the office they are extremely helpful at all times, so I would draw on that and always be nice to the staff in the office they are there to support you.

 Q.  What were the learnings and the highlights over the past five years.

 A.   All IRO’s have good and bad days but all that is asked of you on any given day is to do your best, so if members can see you working alongside them then that's all that's ever asked of you.

The highlights were probably the 2016 & 2020 disputes how it goes on and how its resolved.

I have mentioned it before, but the PNA/RCSI collaboration was really worthy of emphasis and the huge leaps that the PNA took from industrial relations to staff and personal development of staff, and the development of the profession cannot be emphasized enough. I've always felt it wouldn't be appropriate to draw on any personal highlights with members given up a lot of issues and personal time to answer to the role. I wouldn’t want to emphasize anyone’s success in any personal way, but there have been lots of occasions where people have got very good outcomes. 

I have at all times; I hope, represented both members and the PNA with distinguish over the past five years. With the lows and there are lows at times, and it can lead to times when you will reflect on yourself and the situation, and you will look at the situation and examine what went right and what things went wrong, it's also good to do that in every situation. You should see if you could have dealt with it in any other way, could I have done anything differently, that whole thing of pausing and reflecting on things, that's a skill that you need to learn as well and sometimes situations you are dealing with you just need to take a step back and you need to pause and reflect and review that whole helicopter view to get a sight of what is there. If something doesn't go according to plan you need to put your hands up straight away and say, “this didn’t go according to plan” and you take ownership of it, and I suppose that that's kind of the highlights in the journey.

I would like to offer Niall every success in the role, I know Niall nearly 17 years and I know Niall has the key skills and attributes to be a success in the role , as I said before it is a really rewarding role with the PNA and it's a really privileged position to get into, so you should grasp it at all times, just to give your best , that's all that's ever asked of you in any given situation whether that's life work or whatever you do. If you can do your best and you can show the members that you're working towards resolving their issues succinctly and represent them in the best possible way, that’s all that can be asked of you.

Thanks Rory I really appreciate the kind words.

The strategic alliance with the Psychiatric Nurses and the Faculty of Nursing and midwifery RCSI  continues to deliver innovative continuing professional development (CPD) programmes under the leadership of Aisling Culhane, Research and Development Advisor, at the PNA and Catherine Clune Mulvaney, Operations and Education Manager, Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery.

The PNA/RCSI College of Continuous Professional Development offers an extensive range of programmes which have been developed in response to service need. The delivery of the collaboration’s programmes by clinical experts is a key feature of this initiative, and clinicians assist participants with the application of complex theoretical concepts to the real world of patient care. The programmes are facilitated in an interactive manner, using discussion, group work, questioning and case studies to create an interactive experience for participants. In response to the pandemic, the collaborative pivoted from classroom delivered study days to virtual programme delivery. In collaboration with programme facilitators, a series of short 1.5-hour webinars were designed, developed and delivered. The webinars were well attended, and positive programme evaluations have been received. Given the continued challenges with COVID-19 over the last year, the collaborative embraced virtual programme delivery, facilitating colleagues across the country to engage with CPD from their own homes. Cognisant of the workload of PNA members in response to significant COVID-19 surges, the collaboration provided a free Autumn/Winter Webinar Series in 2021. The series featured new programmes titled “Psychological Trauma and the Family: An EMDR Perspective to Improve Nursing Care”, and a new suite of programme focused on the management of chronic disease. These programmes were focused on “An Overview of the Gap in Life Expectancy from Preventable Physical Illnesses. The Multifactorial Factors that Impinge on Physical Health in Individuals with Mental Illness”, “Overview of Chronic Illness – Cardiovascular Diseases, Cancers, Chronic Respiratory Diseases and Diabetes” and “Bringing it all Together – Make Every Contact Count Framework for Self-management Support (Physical activity, Obesity, Alcohol and Smoking)”.

The collaboration, informed by PNA members at the coalface, took the decision to pause the delivery of a Spring 2022 programme in response to the significant burden on clinical staff. The Autumn Winter series of webinars have just finished, covering important areas of clinical risk assessment and management in mental health, chronic disease management, integrated care and the management of people with eating disorder and recordings will be provided on our website in the New Year.

We look forward to seeing you in 2023 for the continued contributions and programmes. If you have a particular interest, you wish to present / cover please contact Aisling aculhane@pna.ie or Catherine ccmulvaney@rcsi.ie

This November, Psychiatric Nurses Association (PNA) is launching its second Breast Health Assessment initiative, under the banner of ‘Pink Power’, for eligible members of its Salary Protection Scheme. For males, the ‘Blue Power’ programme, a Prostate assessment, will also be available**.

The potentially life-saving prostate and breast health assessment & education programme was built in response to a high level of cancer claims in the Scheme. The ultimate goal is to promote awareness and early detection to help save lives.

PNA got behind the programme for the very first time back in 2019 and the impact was profound:

• Over 1,000 members were invited to attend
• 200 GP assessments took place
• 50 members were referred for further tests
• 59 scans and 4 biopsies were performed.

Cancer was diagnosed in two PNA members (one breast cancer and one case of prostate cancer). Thankfully, their outlook was improved due to swift intervention***.

Feedback from members****

The feedback from PNA members shows the programme has a real potential to save lives. One member told us through the post programme survey: “It’s a lifesaver. Anyone who gets an invitation should avail of this service. I had a mastectomy. I’m just so grateful to the GP who referred me & to everyone in Beaumont Hospital who looked after me so well. They are an exceptional team of professionals each & everyone.”

After his medical appointment, one member said: “I probably would not have gone myself. Being male, I thought I’ll do it sometime and just kept putting it off”.

Another PNA member commented on the vital education she received: “Thank you for the opportunity to avail of Pink Power! I had a mammogram, ultrasound and biopsy. It was a very positive experience that alleviated my concerns and also gave me confidence and skills to do self-breast checks”.

The programme aims to have a lasting impact on the future health of those who access the programme. 93% who attended a Pink Power appointment said it increased their awareness of how to self-check and what symptoms to look out for.

How it works

Accessibility is key. GP appointments will be available in over 30 GP locations nationwide. The ‘Pink Power’ assessment offers a clinical physical breast exam, a guide on how to self-check and the signs and symptoms to look out for. ‘Blue Power’ provides men with a physical exam and a PSA blood test.

If a member requires further tests, breast referrals will be sent to Beaumont Private Clinic in Dublin or Bon Secours Hospital in Cork for a Mammogram, Ultrasound and Biopsy, if necessary. Prostate referrals will take place in Bon Secours Private Hospitals in Dublin, Cork or Galway and an MRI/CT scan and biopsy will be carried out, if necessary. Over 80 doctors, consultants and radiologists of the highest calibre are involved in delivering the programme.

PNA teamed up with Cornmarket to negotiate this benefit for Scheme members. The programme is endorsed by Breast Cancer Ireland and facilitated by Full Health Medical.

Clodagh Ruddy, Head of Client Services, Cornmarket, said "We would like to thank PNA members for supporting the initiative. The numbers show it is greatly valued and really does make a difference by spreading awareness and education. That is the core purpose of the programme; to give members a face-to-face medical appointment, so they can learn how to self-check, so if something abnormal should occur, it can be caught earlier and swiftly treated.”

Invite rollout plan

Invites will be sent to members* by post from November 2022 and will be rolled out in 3 phases over 12 months to manage clinical capacities and ensure a smooth flow of referrals. 

• Rollout 1 – November 2022
• Rollout 2 – March 2023
• Rollout 3 – July 2023

If you are eligible when the programme comes to your area, you will be invited by Cornmarket.