4858 Mental Health Report - National University of Ireland, Galway

Findings from the Investigation of
Cross-Border Collaborative Mental Health
Promotion Practices
All the support group meetings take place in various hospitals, leisure centres and
health clinics in Northern Ireland. All the support group contact is at a patient
level.
This cross-border work developed because people from the South would ring the
cancer support services in the North. They might ring about advice on mastectomy
bras and other pieces of equipment and would hear about the support group
meetings. There are no similar support groups in the Republic of Ireland so they
want to attend those in Northern Ireland. This is particularly true of the border
counties, and of breast cancer patients and laryngeal cancer patients.
Perceptions of Cross-Border Working
Prior to the informal arrangement between the Irish Cancer Society and the Ulster
Cancer Foundation, cross-border contact would not have been made between
people. New contacts have been made both professionally on a cross-border basis
and at community level through the support groups. These new links are
beneficial in other aspects of work. Existing contacts have been strengthened and
there is a sense of enjoyment in being able to facilitate and support people from
anywhere who all have the same needs.
No expectations had been set for this project. The service is seen more as an
information source and it is up to the individuals to use the information that is
made available to them. The main benefit of this service is that it is a patientfocused
service and there are few patient-focused services available. The project
has not led to a greater understanding of cultural differences between service
users. The cross-border nature of this project is described as a positive experience,
which is working well at the moment, although there is plenty of scope for
expansion.
The single greatest difficulty of this project is getting access to patients’ names
and addresses in the Republic of Ireland. Meeting with breast cancer nurses from
the Republic of Ireland would help in co-ordinating project services.
The single greatest success of this project is offering support to patients who are
in need of it and do not have the service in their own jurisdiction. In terms of its
cross-border function the project could become more active and have more
participants. In order to see the project become more active the Ulster Cancer
Foundation should work more formally and closer with the Irish Cancer Society.
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