Nursing Homes Ireland welcomes the publication of the HIQA National End of Life Survey 2023
Thursday April 11, 2024Nursing Homes Ireland welcomes the publication of the HIQA National End of Life Survey 2023. While we are heartened by the findings and responses reported in relation to the experience of people at end of life within nursing homes, we also acknowledge that work remains in ensuring any shortcomings in end-of-life care are addressed.
These results reinforce the results of the national nursing home experience survey published in 2022 that indicated that 90% of nursing home residents had a good or very good experience.
In HIQA’s 2023 National End of Life Survey, 4,570 bereaved family members and friends participated in the survey. The findings showed that almost 89% of participants rated the care that their relative or friend received at the end of their life as ‘very good’ or as ‘good’, while 11% said that their relative received ‘fair’ to ‘poor’ care.
Over 27% of deaths in Ireland take place in nursing homes. It is well known that nursing homes provide care inclusive of addressing end of life care for residents and those important to them. Indeed, many NHI members pride themselves on providing a high standard of end-of-life care.
As for the overall experience of care in a nursing home or residential care facility, HIQA reports that 85.4% of bereaved relatives rated the overall care that their relative or friend received from healthcare staff in a nursing home or residential care facility in the last three months of their life as ‘good’ or ‘very good’.
Tadhg Daly, CEO of NHI said: “As the national representative organisation, we strive to support our members who are at the forefront of providing person centred care to older people across the country. The findings are a testament to the caring committed staff in our nursing homes across the country.”
Members of NHI are supported with training and education opportunities that address relevant areas of practice. In the last 4 years, our Strategic Clinical Nurse Expert, has led on several webinars for our members addressing palliative and end of life care. We have also co-funded education with LHP Skillnet addressing care planning, and residents’ rights that is inclusive of addressing the end-of-life care needs of residents.”
Deirdre Shanagher, Strategic Clinical Nurse Expert with Regulatory Compliance of NHI said:
“We have a long history of collaboration with stakeholders including Irish Hospice Foundation (IHF) and the All-Island Institute of Hospice and Palliative Care (AIIHPC), and we will continue to work with all stakeholders to continue to support nursing home staff to provide quality person-centred end of life care in nursing homes.”
NHI are also proud supporters of palliative care week and are actively involved in the Caru Programme currently being rolled out by IHF, AIIHPC, and the HSE. This continuous learning programme is being made available to all nursing homes across the country and is supporting staff in nursing homes to address palliative and end of life care.”
Nursing Homes Ireland has actively engaged with stakeholders on the findings outlined in the report and is committed to collaborating with members, HIQA, the HSE, and the Department of Health.
Together, NHI and its members are committed to using the findings to support continuous improvement in the nursing home sector and work towards supporting staff in addressing shortcomings in end-of-life care experiences reported by bereaved families.