A Co. Wexford based HSE service was picked out as an example of best practice at the second national Enhanced Community Care conference hosted at Dublin Castle by the HSE.
The conference outlined how hospital attendances and admissions are down as a result of the ECC Programme. As part of Sláintecare, Enhanced Community Care (ECC) emphasises general practice, primary care and community-based services to provide care closer to home, reducing acute hospital attendance and admission.
As part of the conference, submissions were invited for poster presentations. Those selected had the professionals associated with the depicted service present on the day with their display, so to discuss their positive experience with delegates.
Winning entries were also chosen in three categories. As an illustration of how the ECC model contributes to improved experiences for patients and service users, two senior physiotherapists in respiratory care at the HSE/South East Community Healthcare’s Wexford Ambulatory Care Hub in the Enniscorthy Primary Care Centre were awarded a prize for their entry.
Titled “A Journey of Health and Wellbeing with Wexford Respiratory Services”, Aoidín Kiely and Niamh Cullen’s presentation on the Integrated Care Programme for Chronic Diseases represents the journey of a COPD patient within the Wexford Respiratory Services. The poster reflects the extensive engagements of multiple teams with “Tony”, a 66-year old male with a confirmed diagnosis of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). Centred on the reduction of pressure on the hospital system, the team worked to integrate Tony into newly established “Breathlessness Management Clinics”, supported self-management clinics and “Living Well” peer-led workshops – with the result that the patient has had no exacerbations or hospital admissions throughout, or after, his Pulmonary Rehabilitation programme.
Extending her congratulations to Aoidín, Niamh and their Integrated Care Programme for Chronic Diseases colleagues and taking the opportunity to underline the ongoing implementation of the Enhanced Community Programme (ECC) in the region, Grace Rothwell (Chief Officer, HSE/South East Community Healthcare said:
“As we see with the positive patient experience presented by Aoidín and Niamh, the ECC Programme continues to demonstrate significant progress in its implementation and daily operations.”
“The core ethos of this €240 million programme revolves around delivering timely and effective treatments, while minimising unnecessary referrals and hospital admissions through a ‘home first’ approach, where safety and appropriateness are paramount. The substantial investment commitment by the government – as well as the commitment shown by HSE colleagues across community healthcare and acute hospital settings to implement the ECC Programme – is now beginning to yield tangible results.”
“The ECC Programme, as we are seeing in Co. Wexford, is redefining healthcare delivery. The recent national conference on Enhanced Community Care, at which Aoidín and Niamh presented, was told that 91% of patients with chronic disease are now fully managed routinely close to home. Reduction in hospital admissions and attendance highlights the progress in transforming healthcare for all.”
