The Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) has today published an online learning course and booklet, The Fundamentals of Advocacy in Health and Social Care, to support implementation of national standards. These resources aim to enhance the understanding of advocacy among service providers and staff working in health and social care services, and to help them support people using services to have their human rights met.

These new advocacy resources were developed in response to a recommendation of the COVID-19 Nursing Homes Expert Panel Report that HIQA ‘continue to highlight and promote independent advocacy services to residents’, and that the rights of residents – in terms of dignity, freedom, choice and equality – need to be respected and to be at the forefront of policy.

The National Nursing Home Experience Survey, published in November 2022, found that there was limited awareness of advocacy organisations and how to access advocacy supports among both nursing home residents and their relatives and friends.

In particular, most nursing home residents (77.1%) said that they did not know how to access advocacy services or organisations that could help them to express their views and wishes, and to help them to assert their rights.

Advocacy is about supporting and empowering people to communicate their will and preference, secure their human rights or represent their interests, and it is a key element in all national standards published by HIQA. Advocacy is essential to ensure person-centred care and support is provided across health and social care services in Ireland.

The online learning course and booklet have been developed alongside an educational video, all of which can be used by health and social care staff to learn more about advocacy. These tools are designed to help service providers and staff implement the national standards and enhance their understanding of advocacy.

Rachel Flynn, HIQA’s Director of Health Information and Standards, said: “An advocate is a person who protects and promotes people’s human rights, while also respecting their autonomy, privacy, dignity, values, preferences and diversity. Staff in health and social care settings have an important role to play in promoting advocacy services and supporting people to understand and access different types of advocacy.”

Ms Flynn continued: “We have developed these resources to support implementation of national standards.  The resources will help health and social care staff understand their role in advocacy, which includes listening to people and supporting them to have their voices heard, supporting them to have their will and preferences met, and respecting their autonomy and confidentiality.”

HIQA recommends that all health and social care staff complete the one hour online course, read the booklet and watch the video to improve their knowledge and understanding of advocacy and to help them put the national standards into practice in their day-to-day work.

Ms Flynn concluded: “We hope that these resources will be beneficial to health and social care staff in understanding advocacy and give them the knowledge to promote this through their work, to ensure that people using health and social care services have their human rights met at all times”.

The new resources are available on the HIQA website here, and the online learning course is also available on HSELandD.
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For further information please contact:
Cormac Farrell, Digital Media Manager
cfarrell@hiqa.ie

Notes to the editor:

• Under the Health Act 2007, HIQA is responsible for the development of national standards for health and social care services. National standards are a set of high-level outcomes that describe how services can achieve safe, quality, person-centred care and support. National standards aim to promote quality improvements and improve the experience of people using health and social care services.
• Principles have been developed that underpin all national standards. The principles are: responsiveness, a human rights-based approach, safety and wellbeing, and accountability, which work together to ensure person-centred care and support.
• Advocacy is a key element in all national standards published by HIQA and is highlighted in the National Standards for Adult Safeguarding and the Guidance on a Human Rights-based Approach in Health and Social Care Services.
• The Fundamentals of Advocacy in Health and Social Care online course is available on www.hiqa.ie and www.hseland.ie. HSELanD is the Health Service Executive's online learning and development portal and is accessible to all health and social care staff and students.
• There are a number of different forms of advocacy covered in the booklet and online learning course:
  • Independent advocacy: is provided to a person with their consent. It involves speaking up for and standing alongside a person or a group, and ensures that the will and preference of the person is placed at the centre of the process.
  • Self-advocacy: is when a person is supported to say what they want and access their rights.
  • Patient complaints advocacy: supports people who want to make a complaint about an experience they had in a health and social care service.
  • Group advocacy: when people facing a common problem come together to support each other.

Nursing Home Experience Survey

• The results of the first National Nursing Home Experience Survey were published on 1 November 2022. This survey offered residents in a representative sample of nursing homes, and their relatives or friends, the opportunity to share their experiences of nursing home care in Ireland. The survey aimed to learn from and understand these experiences in order to improve the care provided in Irish nursing homes.
• As part of the survey, participants were asked about their awareness of advocacy organisations and how to contact them. The survey found that there is limited awareness of advocacy organisations and how to access advocacy supports among nursing home residents and their relatives and friends in Ireland.
• Most residents (77.1%) said that they did not know how to access advocacy services or organisations that could help them to express their views and wishes, and help them to assert their rights. This was the lowest-scoring question in the survey, indicating a limited awareness of advocacy organisations among residents.
• Similarly, the lowest-scoring question in the survey for relatives and friends also related to awareness of advocacy organisations or supports; 28.9% of relatives and friends said that they did not know how to contact organisations that can support their relative or friend to express their views and wishes, and help them to assert their rights.
• The survey findings are detailed across three reports — a national overview report, a report on residents’ experiences of nursing homes and a report on the experience of relatives and friends – and are available at https://yourexperience.ie/nursing-homes/national-results/.
• Link to to national report: here
• Link to resident report: here
• Link to relatives report: here