In partnership with ALONE, the Irish Gerontological Society presents a symposium

Living Well in Our Community - Opportunities and Challenges

#aloneigs2019

Older people make many positive contributions to society - and health and social care expenditure for older people must be seen as an investment, not a cost.  Investing in age-attuned health services, practices and policies brings benefits to older people and returns for our society as a whole.  The Irish Gerontological Society is delighted to present this important symposium in partnership with ALONE.

As Ireland's ageing population increases - a tribute to many things that have gone well in our society - it poses new challenges and opportunities around living well in our community.  This symposium will focus on our responses to some of these issues and suggest some solutions to these challenges.

The symposium will be of interest to a multi-disciplinary audience including: clinicians, general practitioners, gerontological nurses, ngos in ageing, allied health professionals, planners and policy-makers, academics, researchers, gerontologists, nursing home mangers and caregivers, social workers, economists.

Moderator:

The Irish Gerontological Society, together with ALONE, wishes to express its gratitude to Vincent Browne who will moderate this symposium.

Speakers:

Colette Bennett. Research and Policy Analyst, Social Justice Ireland. Exploring Housing Options for Older People

Karl Duff, Dept. Health. Living Well in the Community

Prof. Graham Hughes, Consultant Geriatrician and Associate Professor in Clinical Medicine UCD. 

Dr. Siobhán Kennelly, Consultant Geriatrician, Connolly Hospital. Driving Improvements for Older People in Ireland

Prof. Brian Lawlor, Consultant Psychiatrist, St. James's Hospital. How Loneliness can affect your Brain Health 

Seán Moynihan. Chief Executive Officer, Alone. Linking Health and Community Services

Ciara O'Reilly, Clinical Specialist Physiotherapist, Beaumont Hospital. FITT - Implementation of a Home First Model 

Dr. Diarmuid O'Shea, President, Irish Gerontological Society. Welcome and launch of IGS position paper* Addressing the Challenge of Delayed Discharges from Hospitals

*In 2018 the Minister for Mental Health and Older People Jim Daly TD established a Working Group to carry out an independent expert review of delayed hospital discharges.  Following consultation with our stakeholders and other interested parties, the IGS made a submission to the Working Group outlining our views and concerns.  The development of our submission generated a level of debate such that our discussions continued long after our submission was made. These deliberations have resulted in the publication of a comprehensive position paper Addressing the Challenge of Delayed Discharges from Hospitals. The IGS proposes seven key recommendations as to how discharge supports could be enhanced in the community.  During his welcome address at this symposium, our President, Dr. Diarmuid O'Shea, will give an overview of these recommendations.  Delegates may downloaded the full position paper at the link above.

Please note that given the dynamic theme, the programme, speakers, and the working titles of speaker contributions may be subject to minor changes, and might be updated up to the day of the conference.