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Social Work, Mental Health, Older People and Covid19

2020-05, Brennan, John, Reilly, Patrice, Cuskelly, Kerry, Donnelly, Sarah

In this commentary, we will explore the work of social work in Ireland in addressing the impact of the Covid-19 crisis on older people in general, and older people who have an enduring mental illness.

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“What Bothers Me Most Is the Disparity between the Choices that People Have or Don’t Have”: A Qualitative Study on the Health Systems Responsiveness to Implementing the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act in Ireland

2020-05-09, Ní Shé, Éidín, O'Donnell, Deirdre, Donnelly, Sarah, Davies, Carmel, Fattori, Francesco, Kroll, Thilo

Objective: The Assisted Decision-Making (ADM) (Capacity) Act was enacted in 2015 inIreland and will be commenced in 2021. This paper is focused on this pre-implementation stage withinthe acute setting and uses a health systems responsiveness framework. Methods: We conductedface-to-face interviews using a critical incident technique. We interviewed older people includingthose with a diagnosis of dementia (n=8), family carers (n=5) and health and social care professionals(HSCPs) working in the acute setting (n=26). Results: The interviewees reflected upon a healthcaresystem that is currently under significant pressures. HSCPs are doing their best, but they are oftenhalted from delivering on the will and preference of their patients. Many older people and familycarers feel that they must be very assertive to have their preferences considered. All expressedconcern about the strain on the healthcare system. There are significant environmental barriers thatare hindering ADM practice. Conclusions: The commencement of ADM provides an opportunityto redefine the provision, practices, and priorities of healthcare in Ireland to enable improvedpatient-centred care. To facilitate implementation of ADM, it is therefore critical to identify andprovide adequate resources and work towards solutions to ensure a seamless commencement ofthe legislation.>

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Survey of Bereaved Relatives:Voices MaJam

2017-06, Ó Coimín, Diarmuid, Korn, Bettina, Prizeman, Geraldine, Donnelly, Sarah, et al.

End-of-life care is an experience that touches the lives of everyone on a personal or professional level. Of all people that will die in Ireland this year, 43% will die in adult acute hospital settings. Acute hospitals are busy places with a predominant focus on diagnosis, treatment and cure. However, caring for people who are seriously ill is also an important responsibility. The Mater Misericordiae University Hospital and St. James’s Hospital are striving to ensure that people who are diagnosed with a life-limiting illness or who die in our care, experience a place of sanctuary where they are cared for in comfort and dignity and their families are supported in their bereavement. The Mater Misericordiae University Hospital and St. James’s Hospital have targeted end- of-life care as an area for improving the quality of care for patients and their families. To enable this, both hospitals have actively sought to improve end-of-life care through their active participation in the Hospice Friendly Hospitals Programme, an initiative of the Irish Hospice Foundation. Measuring the quality of care provided is recognised as being fundamental to quality assurance and provides information to further enhance patient and family care. This study sought to ascertain the quality of care provided to patients and their families during their last admission to hospital from the perspective of bereaved relatives.

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Ethics and Ethical Decision-Making in Adult Safeguarding Practice

2019-10-15, Donnelly, Sarah

Invited Keynote presentation to HSE National Safeguarding Office Annual Learning Forum.

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Speaking Up About Adult Harm: Options for Policy and Practice in the Irish Context

2018-03, Donnelly, Sarah, O'Brien, Marita

Current mechanisms for responding to the prevention and the protection of adults at risk of abuse in Ireland can be described as ad hoc and reactionary. For example, media reports exposing cases of abuse and neglect, such as Leas Cross and Áras Attracta, have resulted in the introduction of new safeguarding policies and inspection regulations. Whilst the current measures in place to identify and prevent harm and potential harm to adults at risk offer some protection, it is evident that deeply embedded resistance to cultural change within institutions and organisations demand that safeguarding procedures need to be placed on a statutory basis to ensure the safeguarding process is applied in a consistent and effective way.

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Position Paper on Adult Safeguarding, Legislation, Policy and Practice

2022-10-25, Mc Garry, Sinead, Donnelly, Sarah, Geiran, Vivian

The issue of adult safeguarding is of utmost importance for social workers and for the IASW. For those adults in need of safeguarding, the support and vindication of their integrity, autonomy, and human rights, as well as their protection and safety, may be dependent in large part on the role played by state agencies and civil society. Social workers have a particularly key role to play in adult safeguarding. The present position paper has been developed in the context of emerging legislation and new structures, policies, and services. In publishing the present position paper, which now supersedes a previous paper, the IASW seeks to influence the development and implementation of appropriate legislation, policy, and practice. This is in line with human rights values and best practices and based on our unique role, expertise, and experience as social workers, as well as being influenced by the voices and needs of the people we work with and their families. This is ultimately to seek to ensure that those adults who need professional safeguarding interventions, and their loved ones, receive the best possible services and protection.

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Care Planning Meetings with Older People: Issues for Policy, Social Work Practice and Patient Participation Symposium on Decision-Making Practices in Gerontological Social Work ESWRA 2019, Leuven

2019-04-11, Donnelly, Sarah

In recent years there have been national and international policy advances around capacity and decision-making and an apparent burgeoning human rights-based approach to the issue all of which have the potential to impact on the experiences of older people. There is little evidence however on whether these policies and principles are being translated into gerontological social work practice and whether traditional paternalistic approaches to decision-making are being challenged within our professional social justice remit. Although Care-Planning Meetings (CPMs) are an increasingly common part of gerontological social work within multidisciplinary teams (MDTs), it is uncertain how, and by whom, the voice and wishes of older people, including those with a cognitive impairment, are given due priority. In addition, there is little professional guidance on how to best plan and facilitate CPMs for older patients with cognitive and communication deficits and other often complex needs. An added challenge is the wide, often diverse, and conflicting range of perspectives held by health and social care professionals and other family members who may be involved in the decision-making process. The purpose of this presentation is to draw on best practices within the research literature as well empirical research on CPMs with older people carried out in the Irish context. This research highlights considerable variability in how older people participate and are involved in decision-making around their care. The findings show that family dynamics and existing relationships can also play a role in how older people participate and are involved. The facilitators and barriers to effective participation and decision-making for older people are considered and best practice guidelines for social workers in CPMs will be discussed which could help promote an individualised approach to participation that best reflects the older person’s will and preferences.

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Are you experiencing Carer Harm? Understanding Carer Harm: Autism

2023-03-27, Donnelly, Sarah

If you are a family carer, ask yourself: Does the person I care for behave in a way that causes me physical injury, emotional pain, or other kind of harm? In my engagement with professionals and organisations, is my coping capacity and need for support recognized and responded to? Carer Harm is where a family carer experiences intentional or unintentional harm from the child/adult they are trying to support. This leaflet may be useful to carers of autistic adults or children

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Falling Through the Cracks: The case for change. Key developments and next steps for Adult Safeguarding in Ireland

2019-12-11, Donnelly, Sarah, O'Brien, Marita

Adults are at risk of and experiencing harm and abuse all over Ireland, and for a variety of reasons including psychological, physical and financial abuse. According to a report commissioned by the Banking & Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI), entitled ‘Financial Abuse in Ireland, 2019’, 20% of adults have experienced financial abuse and physical abuse of vulnerable adults has been witnessed/suspected by 1 in 3 adults. Last year there were 11,780 safeguarding concerns received by HSE Safeguarding and Protection Teams across Ireland according to the National Safeguarding Office Annual Report. This study sets out to explore how the absence of Adult Safeguarding legislation in the Irish context may be impacting on adults within the current safeguarding system from the perspective of social work practitioners, professionals or advocates who are working with them. The study seeks to shed light on how practitioners are navigating cases in the absence of primary legislation and to explore what benefits or challenges there might be should Adult Safeguarding legislation be fully enacted in the Irish context.

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Are you experiencing Carer Harm? Understanding Carer Harm: Dementia

2023-03-27, Donnelly, Sarah

If you are a family carer, ask yourself: Does the person I care for behave in a way that causes me physical injury, emotional pain, or other kind of harm? In my engagement with professionals and organisations, is my coping capacity and need for support recognized and responded to? Carer Harm is where a family carer experiences intentional or unintentional harm from the child/adult they are trying to support. This leaflet may be useful to carers of people living with dementia.