The HSE, together with the State Claims Agency, hosted the second AFFINITY -National Falls & Bone Health Symposium in Chartered Accountants House, Dublin on the 18th September 2019. Building on the success of the inaugural symposium last year this year’s event provided a forum for networking, sharing and celebrating innovative practices in falls prevention and bone health across the country for the 300 people attending.
In keeping with the theme of this year’s symposium; Preventing Harm from Falls - Making it Happen Together those attending the symposium included health care professionals working in hospitals, residential settings and in the community, members of Age Friendly Ireland programme, Older Peoples Councils and service users; all of whom have a common interest in working together to reduce harm from falls. Attendees heard from national and international speakers and .Minister Jim Daly addressed the crowd at the plenary session.
Presentations and Speakers on the day included:
- Lianne McInally, Quality Directorate, NHS Lanarkshire, Scotland – (Key Note) Building Integrated Falls & Bone Health Care pathways including Telehealth – The Scottish Experience
- Dr. Frances Dockery, Consultant Physician & Geriatrician, Beaumont Hospital - Evidence Informed Interventions to Prevent Harm from Falls in Older People
- Claire Hickey & Katie Burke, Centre for Effective Services – The Implementation Black Box & Evaluation as a Driver for Change
- Eileen Moriarty, HSE - Update on AFFINITY National Falls & Bone Health Project
- Louise Brent, National Office of Clinical Audit (NOCA) - Highlights from Irish Hip Fracture Database, Major Trauma Audit
- Dr Donncha O’ Gradaigh, Fracture Liaison Services, University Hospital Waterford - Bone Health and Fracture Liaison
- Cork/Kerry Community Healthcare - Implementing a Falls Management Policy in Residential Settings across Care Groups
- Dr. Robert Briggs, St. James Hospital - Falls & Syncope Assessment in the ED
Presentations are available to download at end of page
Workshop sessions
Delegates also had the opportunity to attend workshops focussing on falls prevention and bone health in different settings including community, residential and in acute hospitals. This year a service user engagement workshop developed by the Service User Panel, Age Friendly Ireland and HSE National Quality Improvement Team was a new addition to the afternoon workshop programme.
The workshop sessions included the following presentations.
Community Residential Workshop:
- The Journey: Promoting Falls Awareness and Bone Health in a Population with Intellectual Disabilities
- Developing a Falls Management System of Adverse Event Prevention. Using Root Cause to Drive Quality
- Update on Community Residential work stream
Independent Living / Community Supported Workshop:
- Wellbeing Wednesday’s: A series of talks aimed at over 65’s in the Sligo Area
- Occupational Therapy Dublin North City and County Falls and Injury Prevention
- Establishing OTAGO Exercise Programmes in CHO DNCC (DNC) Primary care Services Through Interagency Working
Acute Workshop:
- Incomplete Adherence To Best Practice Guidelines For Environmental Falls Prevention May Increase The Incidence And Severity Of Falls
- Improving Quality of Multi-Factorial Falls Assessments
- A Service Development Initiative to Improve Physiotherapy Falls Assessment for Patients Admitted with Falls to Medical Wards in a Dublin Academic Teaching Hospital
- Falls Prevention Socks - Naas General Hospital
- Staff Members’ Perceptions Of The “End PJ Paralysis” Initiative – Beaumont Hospital & UCC
Service User Engagement Workshop:
- Strength & Balance Exercise in Falls Prevention
- Home Safety
All presentations are available to download at end of page
Poster Awards
Posters were displayed on Falls and Bone Health quality improvement projects. Prizes were awarded as follows:
- Community Residential Care prize went to Margaret Crowley, Spencer Turvey & Team, Cork-Kerry Community Healthcare (CKCH) - Early Learnings from implementing a Falls Management Policy in Residential Settings across Care Groups in CKCH
- Independent Living/Community prize went to Catherine Devaney, Vanda Cummins & Team - Establishing OTAGO Exercise Programmes in CHO DNCC (DNC) Primary care Services Through Interagency Working
- Acute sector prize went to Dr. Robert Briggs, St. James Hospital - Falls & Syncope Assessment in the Emergency Dept: Improving Patient Care and Reducing Admissions
On behalf of the AFFINITY Project group and sponsors we would like to thank everybody who participated in making the day a success including the speakers, chairs, those who submitted posters and all of the delegates who attended.
Queries
If you have any questions, please contact Affinity.Symposium2019@hse.ie
