caring Communication

Welcome to the
latest edition of
Health Matters
I think you will find the stories of Paddy Lyons
and Michael O’Shea inspiring and they show that
the fundamental reform of disability services in
this country is working, moving away from the
large institutional type model of service to a
model where people with a disability live in the
community.
Paddy and Michael now have their own space
and individual freedoms – like making a cup of tea
for yourself and your guests – that we all take for
granted.
I visited the headquarters of the National Medical
Card Unit just off the M50 in Finglas. I was
amazed by the sheer scale of the work involved,
with over 20,000 queries to be handled each
week. Huge boxes of mail are delivered every
morning to be sorted and dealt with. And the
main theme that I took from my visit was the compassion
and understanding that the team had for
the clients and the long lengths they go to to help
get applications over the line.
In this edition, we also look at how staff in the
HSE can use social media such as Twitter and
Facebook to engage better with the public and
to promote their services. The Digital Team talk
us through the changes in the way information is
delivered to the public in the modern age, with
the majority of people engaging with information
on their laptops and mobile phones and on social
media. Anyone who checks out the 10 Facebook
handles or 10 Twitter handles under the HSE banner
can see the amazing work that they do.
As ever, we welcome your ideas and feedback
on the magazine. Drop us an email at healthmatters@hse.ie
A big thank you to all of our contributors to this
edition and I hope you find plenty of interesting
reading in it.
Joanne
Weston
Joanne Weston,
Editor
This magazine is produced by the
HSE Communications Division
Publishers: Celtic Media Group
www.celticmediagroup.ie
Feedback: Send your feedback to
healthmatters@hse.ie
14
National Medical
Card Unit
Contents
You Section
08 LIVING ORDINARY LIVES IN
ORDINARY PLACES
Paddy and Michael share their stories of
moving from care home setting to their
own home in the community
11 #HELLOMYNAMEIS
Kate Granger talks about her campaign
for compassionate care among
healthcare givers
12 OPERATION TRANSFORMATION
HSE staff join the health revolution
14 MEET THE TEAM
We meet the Medical Cards staff at
their Finglas base and speak to them
about their work
17 STRIDES FOR LIFE
Cancer survivors speak about recovery
programme
18 QUITTING FOR GOOD
We talk to two people who have kicked
the cigarette habit, including Operation
Transformation leader Lucy
20 STAFF AWARDS IN LIMERICK
Eight inspiring winners named in
ceremony
22 TIME TO BLOSSOM
Anne Marie Frizzell launches new book
24 EUGENE VOLUNTEERS IN ETHIOPIA
Anaesthesiologist from Co Cork makes
fourth trip to African country
24 GOOD NEWS FOR ORTHODONTICS
Graduation day celebrations in Co Louth
25 BRAVERY AWARD
Dublin nurse honoured after heroic rescue
EXCELLENCE IN COACHING
Niall Gogarty gets award
26 A YEAR ON
HSE Information Officer Richard
Corbridge reflects on his first year
Features
28 UNDER THE WEATHER
Get advice and get better with the
help of this website
30 MANORHAMILTON TEAM
Pensions Unit develops Family Law
Expertise
32 USING SOCIAL MEDIA
The Digital Team explain how the
Health Services can get the most out of
new media
34 MATERNITY STRATEGY
Roadmap for the improvement of
services over the next 10 years