After the pandemic held back our in-person activity, this year was a great opportunity to build on our remote activity and create new opportunities for integrated care in Ireland.
All-Ireland Conference for Integrated Care in Dublin
In March, we held the first annual All-Ireland Conference for Integrated Care in Dublin. This in-person event was a great opportunity for people across the IFIC Ireland community to come together after a few years apart, share knowledge, and explore ways of improving care across the Island. The conference was attended by 256 delegates, with 30 presentations from Irish and international integrated care experts. Right now, we are planning for the next conference which takes place on Thursday, 23 March. Please keep an eye out for the call for papers in early January!
International Conference for Integrated Care in Odense, Denmark
In May, IFIC Ireland had a big presence at the International Conference for Integrated Care in Odense, Denmark. Many of our members spoke across panels and workshops, presenting case studies from the Irish and Northern Irish systems to an international audience of more than 700 delegates. This included a session on the Sláintecare Action Plan, which was delivered to a hybrid audience.
Webinars in 2022
Throughout the pandemic, our webinars were incredibly valuable to our members, so we kept them going this year as an easy, accessible way of sharing knowledge. This year’s topics were about how to get published in scientific publications with the IJIC and ERPIC teams, a collaboration on palliative and end of life care with the All-Ireland Institute of Hospice and Palliative Care, and a discussion of population health.
Project ValueCare
Here at IFIC Ireland we continue to contribute to research to support integrated care, including for example, Project ValueCare, an EU Funded project which aims to deliver personalised integrated (health and social) care services, better outcomes for older people and improved care experience. Several other research projects have been commenced or are close to completion so expert more information on those in 2023.
New Special Interest Groups
This year, IFIC Ireland began the process of forming two new Special Interest Groups (SIGs). SIGs are IFIC’s way of bringing together people with an interest in particular aspects of integrated care so that they can share knowledge, network, and work together to tackle issues through research and collaboration. In December, we held a kick-off session for a new SIG on Leadership in Integrated Care that will be led by IFIC Ireland and open to anyone across the world. We have also started our initial discussions on an Inclusion Health SIG. Expect to hear more on both early in the new year.
Farewell to Karen, big welcome to Kate!
In April, we bid a fond farewell to Karen O’Connell, who finished up as IFIC Ireland Co-ordinator to bring her talents to the HSE. Karen will always be a close friend to all at IFIC Ireland, and we have all been delighted to see her flourish in her new role.
IFIC’s new Communications Officer, David Linnane, filled in on an interim basis for much of the year, but we end 2022 by giving a big welcome to Kate Traynor. Kate has just joined the staff at UCD and will be working directly with our Co-Directors and steering board on IFIC Ireland in 2023. We all look forward to working with her.
Looking forward to working with you all again in 2023!
IFIC Ireland Team