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Current Research

In April each year the Council plans what research will be conducted in the following 12 months. This is outlined in the Council's annual Programme of Work. Sometimes there is an overlap from year to year as it is not always possible to complete research within the calendar year as very often a project is not started until later on.

For further information on any of the projects listed below contact Stella Cunningham, Chief Officer.

For completed and published research click here.

Patient Access and Communication – An Assessment of the New GMS Contract
Patients' Experiences of Dental Services

Report on Northern Ireland Bugwatch

We Are People Too!
Assessing The Impact Of Service User Participation In The Southern Area

Casualty Watch January 2006

Strengthening Links with Community and Voluntary organisations

Patients' And Relatives' Views Of Hospice Services

Day Care Services For School Leavers With Learning Disabilities

Provision Of Mental Health Services For Children And Young People

Children As Complainants In The Health And Personal Social Services In Northern Ireland

Evaluation Of Intermediate Care Services

Audit Of South Tyrone Day Procedures And Theatre Services

 

Patient Access and Communication –
An Assessment of the New GMS Contract

Click here for the report

 

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Patients' Experiences of Dental Services

In late 2004 the DHSSPS commenced the task of developing a strategy for the delivery of Primary Dental Care Services for Northern Ireland over the next ten years. This report on Patients' Experience of Using General Dental Services was published in August 2005.

Click here for the report

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Report on Northern Ireland Bugwatch

The NI Bugwatch pilot was developed by the four Health and Social Services Councils to support the Councils' lay visiting activity in relation to Healthcare Associated Infection (HCAI) and to promote patient/public input into the NI strategy. NI Bugwatch was based on a model developed by the Commission for Public and Patient Involvement in Health in England (CPPIH). It provides a simple tick-box checklist in relation to hospital hygiene that
allows lay visiting teams to carry out the survey.

The NI Bugwatch surveys were carried out in 8 hospitals

Altnagelvin Hospital
- Antrim Hospital
- Belfast City Hospital
- Causeway Hospital
- Craigavon Area Hospital
- Daisy Hill Hospital
- Royal Group of Hospitals
- Mater Hospital

during 'Bugwatch Week' 19-23 September 2005, and the report was published in November 2005.

Click here for the report

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We Are People Too!

The report, 'We Are People Too', explores the patient's journey through the GP service from the perspective of the Citizenship Group at Prospects Day Opportunities Newry. This group of 16 adults with a learning disability and their support staff worked with the Southern Health and Social Services Council to jointly produce the report.

Click here for the report

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Assessing The Impact Of Service User Participation In The Southern Area

This research is based upon work by the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) which identified two stages of service user participation. The first stage is ‘adaptive’ and is concerned with establishing the principle of service user participation and the setting up of processes. The second is ‘transformational’ and describes organisational change brought about by service user participation. This appeared to us to be a helpful idea in looking at the current situation and prompting debate about where we should go from here. This report provides an overview of what is happening in the Southern Area.

Click here for the report

Click here for the summary report

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Casualty Watch January 2006

Casualty Watch January 2006

This Casualty Watch Report details the findings of the snapshot survey.

The Southern Health & Social Services Council undertook a snapshot survey of Casualty departments at both Craigavon Area Hospital (CAH) and Daisy Hill Hospital (DHH).
The survey aimed to assess the throughput of patients and what the experience and environment was like for those using the service.
The survey was carried out each day between 3.30pm - 4.30pm from Monday 30 January 2006 to Friday
3 February 2006.

Click here for the report

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Strengthening Links with Community and Voluntary organisations

The purpose of this report is to:

- provide baseline information on the community and voluntary sectors' current awareness of the role and remit of the Southern Health and Social Services Council (SHSSC)
- propose ways in which the SHSSC can develop a more participative relationship with the sector.
- recommend ways in which the SHSSC can integrate community development approaches into their work.

Click here for the report

Patients' And Relatives' Views Of Hospice Services

The Council is working in partnership with the Southern Area Hospice on a study of the views of patients and carers of the services provided by the hospice. A steering group has been established to guide the research, and ethical approval had been granted from the University of Ulster Research Ethics Committee. A 3-strand qualitative methodology has been developed to explore the views and experiences of patients, relatives and bereaved relatives of the quality of care provided by the Southern Area Hospice. This includes:-

  1. One to one interviews with hospice inpatients.
  2. One to one interviews with relatives of inpatients who themselves are not able to participate.
  3. Focus group discussion with relatives of inpatients who were bereaved 6 months to 1 year previously.

Interviewing of patients and relatives for Strands 1 and 2 began in June 2003 and has just been completed. Strand 3 has yet to be conducted.

Status:- Ongoing.

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Day Care Services For School Leavers With Learning Disabilities

Work on this project was initiated late in 2002/03. A steering group of Council members and MENCAP representatives has been established to oversee the project, and in line with MENCAP policy their representatives include 2 members with learning disabilities.

There are 4 main elements to this fact-finding project:-

  1. Policy analysis
  2. Literature Review
  3. Review of the provision of services in Southern Board area
  4. Comparison with other areas

On completion the report will form the basis for the Council's advocacy work on behalf of service users and their families.

Status:- Ongoing.

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Provision Of Mental Health Services For Children And Young People

 

The Council included in its 2002/03 work programme a study to examine the provision of mental health services to children and young people, with particular emphasis on the provision of acute mental health services, Work on the project has not yet commenced and the project has been carried forward to the 2003/04 programme.

Status:- To be initiated.

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Children As Complainants In The Health And Personal Social Services In Northern Ireland

There are 2 sets of procedures operating in Northern Ireland with regards to complaints about health and social services made by, or on behalf of, children - the Children (NI) Order 1995 Procedures and the Wilson NHS Complaints Procedures. The 4 Health and Social Services Councils jointly funded the Centre for Childcare at Queen's University to carry out some research into the working of these two sets of procedures. The report of the research was published in July 2003. It includes a number of recommendations as to how to improve the complaints process for children including some relevant to the Council's work. Implementation and follow-up will form part of the Council's programme for this year.

Status:- This project has been completed and a report was published in July 2003

The report is available here in Adobe Acrobat PDF format, or you can request a copy by e-mailing us.

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Evaluation Of Intermediate Care Services

The Southern Health and Social Services Board is currently conducting an evaluation of the intermediate care services operating within the Southern Board area. Intermediate care is the name given to the special type of short-term care provided to patients to help them to be as independent as possible. This is provided after a patient leaves hospital or to prevent a patient being admitted and it can be provided in the patient's own home, in a nursing or residential home or in a daycare setting. As part of this evaluation, the Council agreed to conduct a study to find out the views and experiences of users of the various intermediate care schemes throughout the Southern Board area. In order to undertake this project the Board provided the Council with funding to employ a Research Assistant for 20 weeks.

All patients admitted to one of the intermediate care schemes between 1 April and 30 June 2003 are currently being invited (after they are discharged) to take part in a one-to-one interview. The interviews explore patients' views of the following aspects of care:-

  • Admission to the scheme
  • Quality of care received
  • Staff
  • Information and communication
  • Involvement in decision making
  • Perceived benefit
  • Discharge
  • Overall satisfaction.

Status:- Ongoing.

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Audit Of South Tyrone Day Procedures And Theatre Services

South Tyrone Hospital has requested the assistance of the Council in conducting a consumer audit of the theatre and day procedures departments. The Council has agreed to undertake this audit and will look at areas such as the provision of information, accessibility, waiting facilities etc. Council members will be actively involved in the audit, and the Council will draw on the experience of similar work carried out by the Northern Health and Social Services Council.

Status:- To be initiated.

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Southern Health and Social Services Council, Quaker Buildings, High Street, Lurgan, Co. Armagh, BT66 8BB
Telephone: (028) 3834 9900  Fax: (028) 3834 9858 -  Minicom: (028) 3834 6488
Freephone: 0800 917 0222 © 2006.
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