Dear Colleagues,
Today we hear from our Head of Disability Services, Maurice Hoare.
As the new Head of Service for Disabilities, I am absolutely delighted to have the opportunity to acknowledge and thank all staff across Mid West Community Healthcare, particularly our Staff Team and all our Disability Service Providers for their commitment and resilience during these most challenging of times
In response to this Pandemic, the value of partnership and team work across all our services and agencies has never been more important. Over the last several weeks, it has been humbling to witness the commitment, generosity and selflessness across our entire sector with the ultimate goal to keep our service users and their families safe and well. The spirit of partnership and teamwork has been evident right across our sector from our Intellectual Disability Services right through to our in Home Support Services. Staff across all our Disability Services have shown great leadership, resilience and creativity in their efforts to support our service users and their families in these unprecedented times.
Our Children’s Disability Teams are continuing to support children and families remotely. They are acutely aware of the risk to children and families during this period of isolation with escalating levels of anxiety evident. The Teams continue to offer a service to children and families through psychological & psychiatry support through teleconferencing, home based activity programmes, visual schedules, social stories, and tele-therapy. Telephone supports are a vital link to worried and anxious parents, the need for support from the teams is critical in managing parent’s worries about their children. Where children and families have wished to avail of their respite services this has continued, and in some cases respite hours have been increased to support the family.
Similarly, our Adult Disability Services are committed to providing a service to the most vulnerable in our society. Our Residential Disability Services are putting in an extraordinary effort to protect and care for those residents in their care and while there have been challenges, they have responded in a professional and person centred way at all times. Our In Home Support services, through our personal assistants have demonstrated remarkable commitment and dedication to providing much needed community care keeping people safe and well in their own homes.
Training and Day Services have also had to find alternative ways to deliver services during Covid-19 and have developed new and innovative ways of supporting service users and their families from cooking and delivering home cooked meals, to developing home based resource packs and in certain circumstances delivering one to one individual supports maintaining social and physical distancing at all times. COVID 19 has meant that staff along with service users has had to work in a unfamiliar way, learning new skills along the way.
I would like to take this opportunity to highlight that last week marked the 30th Anniversary of the Dulick Training Centre in Ennis, Co. Clare and to congratulate all involved. The week was to be a week of celebration in the Dulick Centre but unfortunately due to Covid, a programme of planned events had to be cancelled. Instead, everybody has worked very hard in putting together their own weekly Newsletter. This Newsletter is a creative way to keep their vulnerable service users engaged. It goes out as as part of a weekly “pack” that is individualised to meet particular requests by service users. No doubt we will celebrate the 30th Anniversary in style when Covid stabilises.
I would also like to wish Pat Nash, Training Service Instructor who retired recently after 25 years of service, a very happy and healthy retirement.
Finally I would like to thank you again for your commitment and dedication to providing care to the most vulnerable in our society – ‘alone we can do so little but together we can do so much’.
For updates visit www.hse.ie/coronavirus or www.gov.ie/health-covid-19
Get involved in our ‘Take a Break’ Lunchtime work-outs!
Huge thank you to all who participated in this week’s ‘Take a Break’ Active Exercise initiative. We received great feedback from everyone.
Just a reminder that this initiative is brought to you by the three Mid West Sports Partnerships of Limerick, Clare and Tipperary whose experienced tutors will provide active exercise sessions three days a week on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 1.15pm.
The next exercise session will commence Monday 25th May at 1.15pm and the session will last for twenty minutes.
The sessions can be done in the work place so don’t forget to bring your runners and a bottle of water!
Photo of Anne Ryan, Head of Health and Wellbeing Services and Chief Officer, Maria Bridgeman joining in on Wednesday’s work-out.
Have You Downloaded Your New Staff App?!
How to find us:
Type mwch.staffapp.info into your web browser (Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Safari, Samsung Internet)
This will bring you to the page below, where you will be required to register.
If you have any issues registering or logging on please contact Sinead.walsh11@hse.ie or emma.dalgarno@hse.ie alternatively you can call 061 483316.
Donning Coveralls in the Context of Covid 19
The latest COVID-19 Interim Clinical Guidance
The HSE COVID-19 Interim Clinical Guidance and Evidence Repository aims to equip healthcare workers in all sectors with the latest COVID-19 Interim Clinical Guidance. The repository has been live for the last 8 weeks with great success.
134 guidance documents are published on this site with recent new and updated guidance on:
· Disability Services
· Residential Services
· Gastroentrology and Hepatology
· Women and Infants
We invite you to submit a clinical question through this site and our team will collate the latest relevant literature into a summary of evidence to support your clinical work and guidance development. Currently summaries of evidence are in development relating to Chronic Disease, Surgery and Older Persons.
To access this Guidance please go to: https://hse.drsteevenslibrary.ie/Covid19V2
Mid West Community Healthcare Staff on local radio this week
Niamh Doyle is a Senior Occupational Therapist at Ennis Primary Care Services (St. Joseph’s Hospital).
She spoke on Clare FM’s Morning Focus with Gavin Grace about her redeployment to a test centre, what her work there has been like, how the test centre operates and the Hold Firm campaign.
Click Here to listen to Niamh’s interview:http://www.clare.fm/podcasts/people-urged-holdfirm-covid-fight/
Cathryn Ryan is Service Manager for Mid West Community Healthcare’s Community Intervention Team.
She spoke on Live 95’s Limerick Today with Joe Nash about the CIT, how their work has changed (and what it has been like in general) with the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the Hold Firm campaign.
Click here, then click the #HoldFirm campaign to listen to Cathryn’s interview:https://www.live95fm.ie/on-air/limerick-today/,
Advice on shopping safely
When shopping
· Use the sanitiser provided for your hands and trolley or basket.
· Remember to avoid touching your face.
· Wearing a face covering is recommended for most people over 13 years old - but you do not have to wear one.
· If you cough or sneeze, cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your sleeve.
· Follow social distancing guidelines - keep 2 metres distance between yourself and others in queues and while shopping.
· Pay by card instead of cash and use contactless payment if possible.
After shopping
· Put away your shopping.
· Wash your hands again.
For more advice on staying safe while shopping please go to: https://www2.hse.ie/wellbeing/shopping-safely-coronavirus/shopping-safely-coronavirus.htm