Irish Health National Promoting Hospitals Network
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Irish National Health Promoting Hospitals Network annual report Item Type Report Authors Irish National Health Promoting Hospitals Network Publisher Irish National Health Promoting Hospitals Network Download date 23/09/2021 12:47:02 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10147/75988 Find this and similar works at - http://www.lenus.ie/hse IRISH NATIO WORK IRISH NATIONAL HEALTH PROMOTING HOSPITALS NETWORK Received 2 3 NDV 1999 Chairman's Report Regional Libraly E.H.B. Director's Report The Development of the Irish National HPH Network - DEVELOPMENTPLAN 1999 - CO-ORDINATINGCENTRE ACTIVITIES - MAINACTIVITIES Network Activities for 1999 Financial Report 1998 Appendices - NETWORKMEMBERSHIP & BFHI MEMBERSHIP - FORUMREPRESENTATIVES & HOSPITAL HPH COORD~NATORS - COMMITTEES& SUB-COMMITTEES The year 1998.99 Hospitals have a hugely important and influential role in marked further pro~notinghealth in the community over and above their solid progress in traditional function to care for the sick and disabled. the affairs of our Progress in health promotion may appear to be slow but I National HPH am satisfied that the worldwide movement is an inexorable Network and of one. It is understandable that, after the millennia during the European which health professionals have been concerned solely networks with with treating the sick, the addition of health promotion to which we are our curricular and vocational comnlitments, however closely logical these may he, will take time. However, the Lime associated. required Lo bring about the necessary changes in political, professional and public attitudes will only be a small The Coordinating fraction of the time we spent treating but not preventing Centre at the ill-health. James Connolly / Memorial It is with sincere regret that f kave decided to retire as Hospital has been chairman of the Network this year. We are fortunate that further my cardiological colleague, Dr. Vincent Maher, Medical strengthened by a Director of the Irish Heart Foundation, and consultant fulltime attached to the Adelaide and Meath Hospital, Dublin, secretarial service incorporating the National Children's Hospital, has agreed and by the employment of a part-time Ieditorial and PR to accept the position for the next two years. He has had a assistant. We are in the process of establishing a website distinguished career already, not only in clinical Http.ilwww.ihph.ie thatbill be a valuable adjunct to our cardiology, but also in epidemiology, and particularly in information service. It will include full details of the the primary and secondary prevention of heart disease. I Network's activities and of the health promoting and wish him well and I am confident his will be an important relevant research activities of the participating hospitals in intluence in progressing the HPH movement. Ireland. It will also provide a valuable link with the international website wd access to the European national I am most grateful to all members of the HPH executive; networks. especially Jim Brown and Maureen Reed who reitred after several years of devoted service to the Network since its We continue our close association with the Department of early formative years. In their new positions they will Public Health Medicine and Epidemiology at University continue to work in health promotion. I am also grateful to College, Dublin and with the Health Promotion successive ministers and the Department of Health and its Department at the National University of Ireland, Galway. Health Promotion Unit, for continued suppol-t. The cui-rent The latter department will undertake a process evaluation head of HPU, Ch-is Fitzgerald, has made a seminal of the Network's organisation and activities to date and contribution to the organisation and deserves our thanks. I both departments are closely concerned with the welcome Shay McGovern who h:~sjoined the executive organisation of the scientific meetings and working parties from the HPU. that are an important part of the HPH programme. Finally, I thank Am ORiordan for her niajor contribution Programmes that received particular emphasis this year to the success of the Network since it was first mooted in included the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative, hospital this country in 1994. I am also grateful to Marie Carroll- staff health and in-hospital nutritional policies :md Browne who is in charge of the secl-etarinl services. activities. We continue to be involved with other European networksl especially in the area of Mcntal Health and the implementation of smoking control prc?grammes within Professor Ristebrd Mulcahy hospitals. C/7~lj~177~ll Irish National HPH Network Annual Report It is with great pleasure that I can report on the continued identify and and sustained growth within the National Health illustrate these Promoting Hospitals (HPH) Network in Ireland. The achievements Network continues to attract interest and participation at and to all levels: hospital, regional, national and international, encourage along with a steady increase in membership. This can he others to join attributed to a number of factors, not least of which has and become been Prof. Risteard Mulcahy's stewardship of the actively Network, since its inaugural meeting in 1995. The involved in the Network is deeply indebted to Prof. Mulcahy, who retires development of this year, for his persistent and invaluable support, the Network in personal commitment and active promotion of the health 2000. promoting hospitals concept and network in Ireland. Although, retiring from the visibly active role of chairman. Despite our his on-going involvement and panicipation in the successes, we network's future progress will be greatly welcomed. still acknowledge As we move towards the next millennium, the growing that the long tensions and challenges within the Irish health care sector journey towards needs to he acknowledged. While, it is a time of great a health gain orientation in Irish hospitals has only just change, it is also one of opportunity. It is imperative begun. Persistent growth in network membership is an therefore that this change period be given a sound and extremely encouraging sign, along with the growing coordinated direction. Many people believe that the evidence of documented health promotion activity within philosophy of the health promoting hospitals provides just hospitals. While the integration of health promotion activity such an approach. The HPH philosophy actively promotes in hospitals is to be welcomed, it is imperative that we do organisational change based on multidisciplinary not lose sight of our original vision and stated aim that of involvement in health service planning and delivery, reorienting hospitals within our health care system. greater integration and co-operation at community level and strongly advocates the use of project management I strongly believe that a cross-sectoral and comprehensive techniques in the development of new and existing communication system is an essential element for success. services. Unfortunately, due to the ever increasing demands being placed on the Coordinating Centre, inadequate and poor The World Health Organisation convincingly argues that communication has been identified as an area of concern. hospitalslhealth services can contribute substantially to the It is my intention and that of the Executive Committee to health and welfare of populations by widely adopting the further develop the Network's communication system next HPH approach within their setting and services. In our yeat; as it is an essential component of the network. Our endeavour to attain this end in Ireland, we wannly goal is to establish as many links as possible with the welcome Dr. Vincent Maher, our new chairman and look communication systems of other healthcare providers, in forward to his leadership and direction over the coming order to provide our membership with a complex and years. comprehensive communication system. The network's focus during the year 1998-99 was to 1 firmly believe that it is only by heing aware of the support and strengthen the health promoting hospital approaches and initiatives heing undertaken by others that concept within network member hospitals, to build and we can truly begin to work together towards the foster existing relationships with other healthcare attainment of common health gain goals. providers, while also actively seeking new partners and alliances. In many ways, we have been successful in Ann O'Riordan achieving these objectives. This report sets out to clearly Director The HPH concept has its origin in the Healthy Cities movement of the World Hcalth Organisations and has been a ~nove~nentin its own right since 1992. Originally a multi-city action plan of the WHO-Healthy Cities Project, it was introduced to Ireland in 1992. James Connolly Memorial Hospital, with the assistance of the Eastern Health Board and Helath Promotion Unit of the Department of Health and Children, initiated the Irish national HPH Network in 1995. It was formally launched by the Minister for Health and Children, Mr. Brian Cowen T.D. in 1997. The aim of the movement is to stimulate and influence hospitals to undertake, in addition to their responsibility for the provision of clinical and curative services, on active role in theprornation ofpositive health and well being in the hospital and through the hospital to the Two further documents published in 1994 and 1995 wider community. respectively, National Health Strategy Shaping u Heolrlzier Future and Hralrh Proinoriun Strutegy; nraking