Introduction

This interactive webinar is designed to explore the themes around pain management in the older person, the effect of COVID-19 on palliative care services, and in an age when self-awareness and self-care are as important as ever, we will also explore some practical ways in which you can watch out for and support yourself and your team.

Dr Dominic Hegarty will give an update on the challenges surrounding pain management in older people.  Clinical Nurse Specialist, Una Molloy will deliver a personal perspective on palliative care in the community, while Consultant Palliative Care Physician, Dr Des McMahon, will discuss the effects of COVID-19 on palliative care services.  

I am sure we all acknowledge that the past 12 to 18 months have been challenging for everyone across all ages.  Self-care has never been as important. Kate Steele, of the Irish Hospice Foundation, will highlight the importance of self-care and also care of those in your team.  Just prior to the panel Q & A she will give us all some practical hints and tips on how we can regain our balance in life and improve our wellbeing, and the wellbeing of those around us.

Dr Diarmuid O'Shea, Consultant Physician in Geriatric Medicine in St. Vincent's University Hospital Dublin

Programme

Moderators: Dr Diarmuid O'Shea and Elaine O Connor

Welcome      Prof Rose Anne Kenny, President of the Irish Gerontological Society

Introduction      Dr Diarmuid O'Shea

Navigating the challenge of pain management in the older patient post covid    Dr Dominic Hegarty, Consultant in Pain Management & Neuromodulation at the Orthopaedic Centre, Mater Private Hospital, Cork.

Palliative Care in the Community and Nursing Homes – a Personal Perspective   Una Molloy, CNS, St. Francis Hospice, Dublin

The effect of COVID-19 on Palliative Care Services  Dr Des McMahon, Consultant Palliative Care Physician in St Vincents University Hospital

Self-care for You and your Team   Kate Steele, Irish Hospice Foundation

Panel Discussion with Q & A

Participants
 

Rose Anne Kenny is Professor of Medical Gerontology and Head of the academic department of Medical Gerontology at Trinity College Dublin. She is the present President of the IGS. She is also director of the recently established Mercer’s Institute for Successful Ageing (MISA) at St. James’s Hospital Dublin, which is a state of the art facility hosting ambulatory care, inpatients, education and research facilities for older adults. She is the founding Principal Investigator of Ireland’s largest adult population study on the experience of ageing– for The Irish LongituDinal study on Ageing  (TILDA). She has a high international standing for her research on ageing ranked in the top 5% of geriatric medicine publications.

Diarmuid O’Shea is a Consultant Physician in Geriatric Medicine in St Vincent’s University Hospital and Registrar of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland (RCPI).  He is a UCD medical graduate.  He was Clinical Lead for the National Clinical Programme for Older People with the HSE until 2019 and Chair of the Irish Committee on Higher Medical Training from 2017 to 2019.  He has held the position of Vice-President of Education and Professional Development in the RCPI and acted as the Masterclass Series Convenor in the RCPI since its inception in 2007.  He is the immediate past president of the Irish Gerontological Society.

Dr Dominic Hegarty is a Consultant in Pain Management & Neuromodulation at the Mater Private Hospital, Cork. As a fellow at Guy's & St. Thomas' Hospital, London he developed his skills in neuromodulation and is presently an Honorary Consultant there.  At present, he is the incoming President-Elect of the World Institute of Pain (WIP), Immediate past Honorary treasurer of WIP and on the Advisory Board of PainCast. Dr Hegarty who is Clinical Director of Pain Relief Ireland (www.painreliefireland.ie) and senior medial advisor to a number of med-tech companies believes in providing multidisciplinary and interventional options for his patients in a timely fashion. He truly believes that neuromodulation offers great potential therapy options for certain individuals and we need to develop patient pathways to identify and manage these individuals.

Una Molloy RGN, RM, BNS, MSc Nursing, PhD.  Una works as a CNS in the community palliative care team at St Francis Hospice in Blanchardstown Dublin. Her patient population include those with malignant and non-malignant life-threatening illnesses. In particular, she has a special interest in palliative care for older people living in the community and in nursing homes and residential care settings. Una's PhD title is How Palliative Care is understood in Older Person Residential Care.

Des McMahon worked as a solicitor before studying medicine at Trinity College Dublin. He completed higher specialist training in Palliative Medicine in 2017. He then undertook a Masters in Healthcare Leadership, while working as an Academic Clinical Lecturer with TCD. He is a former chairperson of the Irish Association for Palliative Care Education & Research Forum. He now works as a consultant in palliative medicine, in a new post structured between St Vincent’s University Hospital and Our Lady’s Hospice and Care Services.

Kate Steele is the National Development Manager for Residential Care Settings with Irish Hospice Foundation. Kate leads a team in developing and implementing the CEOL Programme which focuses on providing compassionate end-of-life care in nursing homes. Kate has over 30 years of experience in the healthcare and disability sector, working with the following organisations; Muscular Dystrophy Ireland (2005-2017), Headway Ireland (2002 -2005), GOAL – Sudan (1999-2001).  She has a Masters in Rehabilitation & Disability Studies, a Higher Diploma in Health Promotion and is a qualified general and psychiatric nurse.