ANNUAL REVIEW master Final3a - St Vincent's University Hospital

St. Vincent’s Healthcare Group Limited - Annual Review 2007
Allied Health Professionals
Medical Social Work Department
Staff
Firstly, we have had a number of new personnel who joined the service during the year. The positive news
was that there were 3 extra posts approved in the areas of Emergency Medicine, Old Age Psychiatry and
Cystic Fibrosis.
Rita Evrony took up a Senior Social Work part time position at the beginning of the year. Linda Groenewald
began in the area of Cystic Fibrosis in May 2007.
Nicola Flynn, Eimear Scahill and Jeanette Meany, all new graduates, joined the Department in the summer
period. Jennifer Allen obtained a permanent position in the area of Old Age Psychiatry in August. Alina
Popoescu also became a permanent member of the team the same month after being with us in a temporary
capacity for over a year. She provides a service to Medicine for the Elderly. Emer Bissett came to us as a
holiday locum for the months of June, July and August and got a temporary post in the Emergency
Department in October.
Enara Etxebarria Itaxso rejoined the department in March 2007 much to the delight of us all. Louise Morgan
also resumed her work in the Emergency Department in January after being on maternity leave. Those who
left for various reasons include Mary O’Connell, Eileen Ni Shulleabhain, Anne Marie O’Boyle and Ann
O’Donoghue. Others who also contributed handsomely to the service during the year were Amy Walter and
Olive Logan. We thank them for all the hard work and dedication given during their time with us.
Service Developments/Activities
2007 was a very busy and challenging year for our service both in terms of demand and the impact of both
internal and external factors. The provision of Delayed Discharge Initiative beds for most of the year enabled
us to successfully place 143 elderly patients in approved private nursing home care. The availability of Home
Care Grants also ensured that patients who needed a lot of care at home managed to leave the hospital. We
also utilised the 13 Intermediate Care Beds that exist both in Kiltipper Woods Nursing Home and Our Lady’s
Manor to maximum advantage both for “step down” from the acute hospital or diversion from the Emergency
Department. There were 80 patients who benefitted from this arrangement in 2007.
The role of the profession of Social Work was promoted extensively during the year in the hospital by all the
staff after much work from a sub committee devoted to the topic .The educating of hospital staff about our
role is vital in ensuring that we are used effectively in the care of patients. This work is ongoing.
We also contribute to the Schools Programme that is run in SVUH and this is invaluable in alerting secondary
students to opting for the profession as a career.
The Bereavement Service delivered by the department to all relatives/friends of patients who died in SVUH
continues to thrive. It is in its fourth year of operation and works very well. The feedback from the participants
has been overwhelmingly positive.
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