Archives for November 2020

General Guide on the Management of COVID-19 Outbreaks in the Workplace
This HPSC guidance is available here.

 

Advice for People in the Community with COVID-19 (Coronavirus) and their Contacts
This HPSC guidance is available here.

 

Community Settings Webinar: Clinical Guidelines and PPE Usage 
Wednesday, 2^nd December 2020 (1-2pm). To attend the webinar please use this link here. Password: D7x@Khq*E3 (shouldn’t be necessary)

 

HSE Health and Wellbeing Webinar: Staying Connected in these times
Wednesday, 2^nd December 2020 (12 -1pm)

Guest speaker: Dr Eddie Murphy, Principal Psychologist

During this time of uncertainty when we are physically distancing ourselves from others due to COVID-19, our friendships and connections have become an even more important part of our lives – it’s important that we stay connected and keep talking about how we are feeling. We will go through some tips for how you can stay connected at work and with your friends and family in this period of uncertainty. We also want to share with you what others say has worked for them. You can pre-register for this webinar here.

 

Community Call Initiative
The “Keep Well” campaign, part of the Government’s Recovery and Resilience plan, is aimed at showing people of all ages how we can mind our own physical and mental health and wellbeing by adding healthy and helpful habits to our daily and weekly routines.  It will provide guidelines, information, and tips on things that will help us keep well through the coming months. All of this will be available on gov.ie/healthyireland

 The “Keep Well” campaign is focused on a number of themes including staying connected. Staying connected with people, addressing isolation, supporting volunteerism and initiatives that support person-to-person connection is important for everyone’s wellbeing.

 Building on the Community Call response earlier in the year, Local Authorities are being supported to provide a local community helpline and befriending service.  Working with partner organisations, including Local Development Companies, NGOs, Volunteer Ireland and An Garda Síochána, there is particular emphasis on identifying and supporting those most at risk of isolation. More information can be found here.

 

Irish Local Development Network – Local Development Companies as part of the “Community Call” and “Keep Well” Campaigns
The Irish Local Development Network of 49 Local Development Companies (LDCs) have been engaged in their communities offering a wide range of services as part of the “Community Call” and “Keep Well” Campaigns. With the support of the Social Inclusion Community Activation Programme (SICAP) and a number of other state funded programmes LDCs are inviting individuals in need of assistance to get in touch with their local development company:  www.ildn.ie/directory

 IDS-TILDA COVID-19 Report
The Intellectual Disability Supplement to the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (IDS-TILDA) is marking International Day of People with Disabilities with the launch of their report exploring the experiences of people with an intellectual disability during COVID-19 on Thursday, 3^rd December at 10:30am. You can register for the event here.

 

Public Health Information
As always, for the most up to date information and advice on Coronavirus, please go to: https://www2.hse.ie/coronavirus/ and https://www.hpsc.ie/a-z/respiratory/coronavirus/novelcoronavirus/. Clinical and professional guidance relating to COVID-19 is available on www.hpsc.ie where you’ll find up to date guidance for healthcare settings and non-clinical settings.

 Please check here for the most up to date partner resources for COVID-19.

 Please also check the Healthy Ireland site here with further resources.

 You can view the latest information on how Ireland is responding to cases of COVID-19 here.

 Ir​eland’s COVID-19 Data Hub is available here.

Public Health Measures
Ireland is now at Level 5. You can see all of the measures that are in place at Level 5 here.

Face coverings or masks are superior to visors as a measure for prevention of transmission of COVID-19
The HSE would like to remind everyone that cloth face coverings or masks are superior to visors as a measure for prevention of transmission of COVID-19. Expert opinion and international guidance indicates that cloth face coverings or masks are more effective than visors.

There is evidence that visors reduce exposure to droplets to a certain extent compared with no face covering. They may be an alternative in certain limited circumstances including:
-People with breathing difficulties
-People who are unable to remove masks/face coverings without help
-Anyone with particular needs who may feel upset or very uncomfortable wearing the mask/face covering
-In settings where people who have learning difficulties or hard of hearing or deaf are present.

For more information, please see the HSE’s face coverings page and the Brief Evidence Summary: Efficacy of visors compared with masks in the prevention of transmission of COVID-19 in non-healthcare settings.

BreastCheck Screening Resumes
The BreastCheck programme resumed screening on October 27th, after being paused in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The new BreastCheck campaign, which starts on November 16th, highlights the restart of breast screening. The campaign provides information on some changes to breast screening appointments, including new COVID-19 safety measures, using text messages to confirm details of the appointment and asking those who can’t make their appointment to let us know. The ads will run on video on demand and YouTube with an animated video, as well as a radio ad on national and local radio stations. We encourage all those who are invited to attend for screening.

Traveller COVID-19 Resources
In response to COVID-19, resources have been developed nationally by the Traveller Health Units (THUs) and Traveller groups and are available on the Traveller COVID-19 Resources page.

International Men’s Day Webinar: Men’s Mental Health in these Challenging Times
The International Men’s Day webinar will take on the 19th November at 11am, and focus on men’s mental health in these challenging COVID-19 times. This HSE/Healthy Ireland webinar is in partnership with the Men’s Health Forum in Ireland and the Centre for Men’s Health in IT Carlow. You can register for the webinar here.

Public Health Information
As always, for the most up to date information and advice on Coronavirus, please go to: https://www2.hse.ie/coronavirus/ and https://www.hpsc.ie/a-z/respiratory/coronavirus/novelcoronavirus/. Clinical and professional guidance relating to COVID-19 is available on www.hpsc.ie where you’ll find up to date guidance for healthcare settings and non-clinical settings.

You can view the latest information on how Ireland is responding to cases of COVID-19 here.

The Government has recently launched the “Keep Well” campaign. This campaign focuses on minding your own physical and mental health and wellbeing by adding healthy and helpful habits to your daily and weekly routines.  The Healthy Ireland “Keep Well” campaign will provide guidelines, information, and tips to help everyone keep well throughout the coming months.

This Resilience and Wellbeing information is being added on  www.gov.ie/healthyireland and placed under the following sections:

Staying Active
Keeping Connected
Switching Off
Eating Well
Minding Your Mood.

For further information click on KEEPING WELL – Campaign Overview FOR ALL

Public Health Measures
Ireland is now at Level 5. You can see all of the measures that are in place at Level 5 here.

 

New COVID-19 Testing, Self-Isolation and Restricted Movements Ad
This new ad explains that COVID-19 wants to spread from person to person, but there’s a lot you can do to stop it reaching someone near you or dear to you. It’s important to know when you should self-isolate and when you should restrict your movements. You can watch the ad here. It’s currently live on TV, radio, digital and social media.

 

Living with COVID-19 Ad
The Living with COVID-19 ad focuses on protective measures and is currently on TV, radio, digital and social media. The newly updated version of this ad is available here.

 

Webinar Invitation:  COVID-19: Infection Prevention and Control Guidance for Palliative Care Services
This webinar will take place on Friday, 13th November 2020 from 12-1pm. You can pre-register for the webinar on this link.
Irish dial in number:  01 5260058

Access code: 163 577 4868

If you wish to raise a query for discussion at the webinar, please send the question over to mary.mckenna@hse.ie by Tuesday, 10th November.

 

Enhanced Illness Benefit for COVID-19
Last week, the Department of Social Protection launched a public information campaign to raise awareness of Enhanced Illness Benefit for COVID-19.

 Enhanced Illness Benefit for COVID-19 is available to employees or self-employed people who are unable to work due to:

-A diagnosis of COVID-19, or

-An instruction by a doctor or the HSE to self-isolate/restrict their movements.

The payment is €350 per week. To apply, a person will require medical certification and will need to make an application to the Department of Social Protection. The online applications can be made at:  www.mywelfare.ie

 

A series of multi-lingual resources including posters and social media posts in a wide range of languages have been developed. These are designed to help ensure that as many people as possible are made aware of this important support. The resources are available to download by language here.

 

START
The START partnership campaign from the HSE, safefood and Healthy Ireland (Department of Health) encourages families with young children to adopt healthier lifestyles. Conscious of the impact of COVID-19 on families and recent research demonstrating that family time is highly valued at the moment, this month we are focussing on “Big wins start with small changes. Make the most of family time by adding a healthy habit.”

 

TV, radio, out of home and digital advertising are running for the month of November. You can view the TV ad here. If you and your family would like to get more information on healthy habits check out www.makeastart.ie/

 

Dementia Inclusive Tipperary
Partnering with the HSE’s Dementia campaign, Tipperary County Council is embarking on the journey of making Tipperary towns inclusive. Dementia awareness training for businesses, community and sport groups as well as training on dementia inclusive design and walkability audits are part of the programme. The outcome of this project is to ensure that people with dementia and their families are supported in our communities and to increase awareness across the county. We would like to encourage representatives of all our partner organisations and local champions in Tipperary to join this programme to ensure that all groups and organisations are connecting, working together and supporting each other to achieve this goal – which is now more important than ever due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The first step is dementia awareness training and you are invited to attend this programme which will take place online on The Alzheimer Society of Ireland’s Moodle Workplace site. We are focusing on the Thurles, Templemore, Roscrea area first and will then roll it out across other towns. The course will begin with an Introductory Video Meeting on Monday 16th November 2020. During the Introductory Video Meeting you will be guided and shown how to get the most from the online course. The course is free, and to secure your place please email learninganddevelopment@alzheimer.ie with your name and email address. This initiative is funded by Tipperary County Council and Healthy Ireland.

If you are interested in dementia or inclusive design training for your county/organisation, please contact fiona.foley1@hse.ie.

 

Public Health Information

As always, for the most up to date information and advice on Coronavirus, please go to: https://www2.hse.ie/coronavirus/ and https://www.hpsc.ie/a-z/respiratory/coronavirus/novelcoronavirus/.

Clinical and professional guidance relating to COVID-19 is available on www.hpsc.ie where you’ll find up to date guidance for healthcare settings and non-clinical settings.

You can view the latest information on how Ireland is responding to cases of COVID-19 here.

Public Health Measures
Ireland is now at Level 5. You can see all of the measures that are in place at Level 5 here.

 

Minding Your Wellbeing
HSE Health & Wellbeing are launching a new free on-line resource on the 3^rd November ‘Minding Your Wellbeing’.  Book your place here to join this webinar and learn more about this new resource.

This online training programme encourages everyone to take a positive approach to their mental health and wellbeing. You will learn about practicing self-care, understanding our thoughts, exploring emotions, building positive relationships and improving resilience. Also referenced in the ‘Keep Well’ campaign information below and attached.

 

Healthy Ireland Resilience and Wellbeing ‘Keep Well’ Campaign
We are pleased to share the next phase of the Healthy Ireland Resilience and Wellbeing campaign. Attached is a press release and an overview of the campaign.

The Government Plan for Living with COVID-19 – Resilience and Recovery 2020-2021 highlights the important role that individual and community resilience will play in contributing to our ongoing response to COVID-19. The launch today is a call to action to everyone across our society. It is an invitation to individuals, communities, voluntary groups, sporting organisations, those involved in creativity and the arts, local heritage and history, businesses, as well as local and national government to find ways to support everyone to discover new activities and routines that will do us good.

The “Keep Well” campaign will signpost to people of all ages about minding their own physical and mental health and wellbeing by adding healthy and helpful habits to their daily and weekly routines. The Healthy Ireland “Keep Well” campaign will provide guidelines, information, and tips on things to help all to keep well through the coming months. This Resilience and Wellbeing information is being added on www.gov.ie/healthyireland and under the following sections: Staying Active, Keeping Connected, Switching Off, Eating Well, and Minding Your Mood. Funding from Sláintecare to support a number of initiatives through the Healthy Ireland Fund will be rolled out over the coming months.  

The national campaign, which will unfold over the coming weeks across different advertising channels, and will be supported at a local level. We have a suite of creative assets and happy to share with you if you have use for them. Follow on support on social is always welcome.  #keepwell

 

New COVID-19 Campaign
We previously shared our Bubbles campaign with you. We have also developed an Irish language version of the ad. The idea of the Bubble is to create a visual reminder for the protection we share when we follow public health actions, and how easily it can be lost. The bubble idea makes the invisible, visible.

 

Flu Vaccine Animations
The following animations about the flu vaccine have been developed for people in the Traveller and Roma communities with support from the Wexford Roma Health Advocacy Project, the Intercultural Health Hub in Waterford and the HSE Traveller Health Office in the South East. 

 

CPR Training
Due to COVID-19, the Irish Heart Foundation had to cancel its free CPR training programme in communities nationwide, but CPR is still a very important skill. Around 70% of cardiac arrests happen at home, in front of a loved one and performing CPR can double, if not triple, the person’s chance of survival. The good news is that performing CPR is relatively simple and the Irish Heart Foundation has developed a new campaign ‘The Hard and Fast Rule’ to help everyone learn the two key steps in CPR. Take one minute to view this important video that’s available on their website. 

 

Public Health Information
As always, for the most up to date information and advice on Coronavirus, please go to: https://www2.hse.ie/coronavirus/ and https://www.hpsc.ie/a-z/respiratory/coronavirus/novelcoronavirus/. Clinical and professional guidance relating to COVID-19 is available on www.hpsc.ie where you’ll find up to date guidance for healthcare settings and non-clinical settings.

You can view the latest information on how Ireland is responding to cases of COVID-19 here.