Dec 07, 2015

Atlantic Philanthropies; Trinity College Dublin;

This report examines the cost of providing palliative care in Ireland for individuals facing life-threatening illnesses, outcomes for patients and families resulting from that care, and the patterns and variations among the measures studied. Focusing their examination on three regional areas, researchers found: Wide variations in the availability of palliative care services across the regions. Significant differences in how those services are resourced and models of care. Despite the variation in availability and models of care, costs remain broadly the same across regions. Among the conclusions from examination of key outcomes for the patients: High patient satisfaction with palliative care services across all regions. Where available, hospice care is easier to access and rated more highly on every quality measure than in-hospital care. The ability to access in-hospice services in the last three months of life would be preferable for patients and may provide savings within hospitals.

Apr 29, 2014

Irish Hospice Foundation;

This report describes how care for people who die in Irish hospitals is planned and provided for; and how those processes evolved over the period 2007-2013. The report details a journey and we do not claim to have reached journey's end. The 'Hospice Friendly Hospitals' (HFH) programme, as an aspiration or an idea, meets with very little resistance. Its aim - to transform the culture of hospital care for dying patients is a shared and transparent aim which we believe has now made its way into Irish discourse. While the aim may be agreeable, the means for change are not so straightforward.

May 01, 2013

Irish Hospice Foundation;

The aim of this report is to provide data, analysis and commentary to stimulate discussion on emerging trends in relation to the provision of specialist palliative care in Ireland. The report mines existing data from four key sources -- the Health Service Executive's (HSE) Minimum Data Set for Palliative Care; the National Cancer Registry; the Hospital Inpatient Enquiry, and HSE population records (2011) -- to compare and contrast administrative regions of the health service against national averages on a number of key indicators (number of hospice beds, waiting times for first assessment of patient, place of death, etc), and to examine the impact of varying levels of investment in palliative care on access to services and service activity. In particular, the report seeks to explore possible relationships between access to specialist palliative care services and place of death. It is clear from the data emerging from all four sources that there is a marked correlation between the availability or otherwise of hospice/palliative care services and where people die.

Apr 09, 2013

Trinity College School of Social Work and Social Policy;

In the context of limited resources, evidence on costs and cost-effectiveness of alternative methods of delivering health-care services is increasingly important to facilitate appropriate resource allocation. Palliative care services have been expanding worldwide with the aim of improving the experience of patients with terminal illness at the end of life through better symptom control, coordination of care and improved communication between professionals and the patient and family. The aim of this paper is to present results from a comprehensive literature review of available international evidence on the costs and cost-effectiveness of palliative care interventions in any setting (e.g. hospital-based, home-based and hospice care) over the period 2002 -- 2011. Key bibliographic and review databases were searched and the quality of retrieved papers was assessed against a set of 31 indicators developed for this review. A total of 46 papers met the criteria for inclusion in the review, examining the cost and/or utilisation implications of a palliative care intervention with some form of comparator. The main focus of these studies was on direct costs with little focus on informal care or out-of-pocket costs. The overall quality of the studies is mixed, although a number of cohort studies do undertake multivariate regression analysis. Despite wide variation in study type, characteristic and study quality, there are consistent patterns in the results. Palliative care is most frequently found to be less costly relative to comparator groups, and in most cases, the difference in cost is statistically significant.

Jan 17, 2013

Trinity College School of Social Work and Social Policy;

Investment in end-of-life care has made Ireland a world leader in advancing palliative and hospice care but regional inequities persist, according to an evaluation by Professor Mary McCarron and colleagues at Trinity College Dublin. This evaluation examined The Atlantic Philanthropies' End of Life programme -- which aimed to improve the care and quality of life for patients dying from an incurable illness and to ensure they and their families received excellent end-of-life care and services. From its first grant in 2004 through its final grant in 2010, Atlantic invested €25 million in the programme.

Feb 01, 2012

Globe; Irish Society for the Protection of Cruelty to Children (ISPCC);

In 2007, the Child and Family Research Centre, NUI Galway, was commissioned by the PMC to evaluate Globe: All Ireland Programme for Immigrant Parents. From 2007 - 2009 a number of interim evaluation reports were submitted to the PMC on the development phase of the project and its resources. In 2009, following the extension of the project, the objectives of the evaluation were revised. These objectives, which underpin this final evaluation report, are as follows: Examine and assess the pilot phase; Examine and assess the uptake and use of the Information Packs by parents and practitioners; Examine and assess the partnership working and development on a multi-sectoral and crossborder basis of the PMC, and more generally in meeting the needs of immigrant parents; Examine and assess the mainstreaming of learning and good practice; and Examine and assess the training/awareness raising and support of practitioners in delivering the programme.

Dec 01, 2011

Milford Care Centre; University of Limerick;

Milford Care Centre is the lead organisation that provides a comprehensive range of services for the elderly and palliative care patients in the Mid West Region. In tandem with the growing requirement for specialist palliative care in the community, it expanded its existing and limited community-based services in 2006 to include a specialist 'Hospice at Home' service for patients who require palliative care in their own homes. With inputs from a multi-disciplinary clinical team, the Hospice at Home Service delivered by Milford Care Centre represents the first service of its kind within the Republic of Ireland. The Hospice at Home Service is supported by funding from the HSE and donations from the public, as well as a significant donation from The Atlantic Philanthropies. A condition of the funding from The Atlantic Philanthropies was that the Service would be evaluated, thus providing Milford Care Centre with research information regarding various of aspects of the service, including the viewpoints of carers and patients. In 2009, Milford Care Centre commissioned the University of Limerick to undertake an independent evaluation of the Hospice at Home Service, with the aim of examining whether it offered a viable and effective model for delivering a range of palliative care services to patients and their families in the community. The evaluation was conducted between February 2009 and June 2011. It should be noted that an evaluation of the cost effectiveness of the Service was also commissioned and will be undertaken by another group.

Oct 01, 2011

Health Service Executive; Milford Care Centre;

This document reviews the progress made in the implementation of the recommendations of the Seven Year Strategic Plan for the Development of Specialist Palliative Care Services in the Mid-West Region. The Seven Year Strategic Plan for the Development of Specialist Palliative Care Services in the Mid-West Region (2004-2011) is a progressive and ambitious document. As the Review will indicate, very much progress has been achieved and a platform has been put in place for further development and expansion of services. This progress has been made possible by the long-standing partnership between the HSE (formerly MWHB) and Milford Care Centre. The continuing focus on the strategic approach, evidence-based practices, research initiatives, supported by continuing evaluations and reviews have been the hallmarks of what is a progressive and forward-looking service.