At its May 2007 meeting, the HSNPF nominated Matt Merrigan, SIPTU, and Kevin Callinan, IMPACT, to a Steering Group for the development and implementation of a Framework for Community and Consumer Participation in the Development of Health Services.
The invitation to nominate came from the Joint Chairs of the Steering Group - Mary Culliton, Head of Consumer Affairs, HSE and Philip Crowley, Assistant Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health & Children. As well as representatives from the HSE, the DoH&C and the HSNPF trade unions, the Steering Group will also involve representatives from the voluntary sector.
Effective health services and good governance have a commitment to the constructive engagement of patients and the public at their centre. Involving the public can lead to greater understanding of local health issues and needs.
The development of the Framework is expected to take 6 months and will be informed by the Health Strategy - Quality and Fairness (2001), the HSE’s Corporate Plan 2006 – 2008 and the HSE’s Transformation Programme 2007 – 2010.
The objectives of this project - one of the 21 priority projects under the HSE’s Transformation Programme - are:
• to enable the HSE to provide more patient-centred care through the design and implementation of the consumer involvement framework
• to ensure that the consumers and communities have a voice in design, planning, delivery and evaluation of services
• to assist and enable service providers in how to effectively engage with consumers and communities
• to enable and empower service users and communities to become active health care consumers
• to improve the health literacy of health care consumers and communities
An implementation plan for the framework will be developed, prioritising the involvement of consumers at three different levels:
• One-to-one patient engagement
• Care management including local partnerships with communities
• National/policy level
Further updates on HSNPF and partnership involvement in the development of the Framework will be carried on www.hsnpf.ie as the process progresses.

A project entitled 'Improving Care Around Dying in Hospital' has won a prestigious Public Service Excellence Award. The Award was presented by An Taoiseach, Mr. Bertie Ahern, T.D. at a ceremony in Dublin Castle on 31st March 2006. The project was a partnership initiative between the HSE Dublin North East and the Irish Hospice Foundation. It was part funded by the HSNPF. It was one of three Award-winning projects which were chosen to go to go forward to represent Ireland at the 4th Quality Conference for Public Administrations in the E.U. (4QC), in Tampere, Finland in September 2006.

The HSNPF is holding four conferences, one to take place in each of the HSE regions, during the month of June 2006. The title of each conference is Celebrating Partnership. The conferences are being held to acknowledge and celebrate the work done through partnership and to set the scene for the next phase of partnership in the health services. The conferences will be addressed by management and union leaders from the HSNPF and by a range of speakers with wide experience of workplace partnership. Some speakers already confirmed include P.J. Fitzpatrick, CEO the Courts Service; Des Geraghty, ICTU; Finbar Flood, Labour Court and Isobel Butler, workplace psychologist and consultant. Invitations are currently being issued to the conferences through the partnership structures currently in place in the health services.

Conference details confirmed so far are:

HSE Dublin North East, Great Southern Hotel, Dublin Airport, June 6th, 13.30 – 16.30

HSE South, Silver Spring, Cork, June 8th , 10:00-13.00

HSE Dublin Mid-Leinster, Osprey Hotel, Naas, June 15th, 10.00 – 13.00

HSE West, Claregalway Hotel, Galway, June 22nd, 09.30 – 12.30 -

Celebrating Partnership Event HSE West – Programme 22.06.2006

Claregalway Hotel- Directions(PDF)

The reports entitled Ethnic Catering in Hospitals, Reducing Health Inequalities and Employing People with Disabilities in the Health Services North and South were launched at a conference – The Best of Health – held in Belfast in November 2005.

An Tánaiste, Mary Harney, Minister for Health and Children and Shaun Woodward, Northern Ireland Minister for Health, addressed the conference which looked at new ways of working together to reduce health inequalities and promote better health outcomes North and South.

At its meeting in January 05, the HSNPF discussed and endorsed a partnership initiative in the HSE North West area aimed at minimising delays in implementing management/union agreements. A letter has issued from the HSNPF to the joint chairs of partnership committees in the health service endorsing this initiative and recommending that consideration should be given to progressing issues through this method, where concerns around implementation of agreements arise. A brief on the HSE North West area initiative has also been issued.

HSNPF Published its Annual Report 2004 .

Download the latest HSE newsletter ( Issue 2, June 2005) which introduces the new CEO and the newly appointed Senior Managers.