Dublin Simon Celebrates World Health Day
To celebrate World Health Day we collected a series of stories and updates from our frontline staff working each day to protect the welfare of clients. These stories showcase just how proactive our staff members are in meeting the specific needs of our clients and why they deserve to be celebrated not just on World Health Day but everyday.
Safe Administration Medication Training (SAMS)
Throughout the past year over 100 of Dublin Simon’s social care staff have completed Safe Administration Medication training (SAMS). The training was mainly rolled out in Long Term Supported Services and was put in place to ensure all staff, including support workers and project workers were fully equipped when facing the many health related challenges that arise on a daily basis within our services. It allows our teams to offer an in-house solution for complex cases which in turn increases the positive health outcomes in our client group.
In the case where a client is struggling to collect their medications, we offer a service that has weekly medication delivered directly to the service for them. The client can then easily come to the medication room in the service and take their medication under a trained health workers supervision. This is a vital service to offer, particularly in cases where a client has quite complex and serious health concerns. This piece is staff led and is a testament to the commitment of staff in our services.
Expansion of Nursing Team within our Short Term and Long Term Accommodation Services
Dublin Simon’s nursing team has expanded over the past year within our Short Term and Long Term Accommodation Services, with now 5 nurses providing care in Dublin Simon Community accommodations.
The expansion of our team has led to positive health outcomes for residents, positively impacting the following areas:
- Aiming to reduce hospital admissions by responding to emergencies / identifying infections / liaising with community GP & pharmacy
- Complex wound management on site
- Direct access to sexual health clinics, inclusion health & diabetic podiatry
- Referrals to primary care including OT, physio, dietetics, PHN, social work, tissue viability
- Advocating for clients who require a higher level of needs & liaising with external services for this e.g. nursing home placements
- Advocating for residents experiencing acute mental health crisis and working in line with the mental health act 2001 to ensure they receive care
- Client education on medication, psychical/mental health, blood borne viruses, infectious diseases
- Harm reduction education & needle exchange
Sexual Health Month
The team in our High Support Housing Service Chester House ran a sexual health month in February as part of our ongoing push in terms of health and education awareness within our client groups. The awareness month took the form of advice and information, the supply of condoms for all who needed them and some quizzes to flag gaps in knowledge and awareness. The team also ran a campaign encouraging female service users to get smear tested!
Sean Mc Dermott Street’s Public Health Nurse
Frances O’Keeffe has been a Public Health Nurse on the North side of Dublin since 1994. She has been visiting residents in our Long Term Supported Housing service on Sean Mac Dermott Street since then and in that time has developed a close relationship with many of the clients over the years.
Over the years Frances has developed a very strong bond with the residents, especially Paddy whom she has known for many years. She tells the staff that his gentle manner and intelligence makes him a pleasure to work with.
Frances’ expertise and commitment to the job give the staff at Sean McDermott Street a great peace of mind, knowing that the clients are in such capable hands.
Today, on World Health Day, we celebrate all the work that Frances and all our Health and Social Care staff do. One of the team members in Sean McDermott wrote – “Dublin Simon owes Frances a true debt of gratitude for all that she does, we are so lucky to have found an amazing partner in this truly amazing & dedicated nurse”.
