The Sláintecare Integration Fund is part of the Sláintecare Action Plan 2019 that establishes the building blocks for a significant shift in the way in which health services are delivered in Ireland. It focuses on prevention, community care and integration of care across all health and social care settings. For further information and a list of the projects that have been funded please go to the following link.
The Community Mothers Programme (CMP) is an Irish-developed home visiting programme which supports parents in caring for their babies and young children while also encouraging them to look after their own health and wellbeing. Working closely with the HSE Public Health Nursing Service, it is an effective mechanism for the delivery of key child health and wellbeing messages and supports, particularly in relation to:
- Maternal and child diet, sleep and overall health
- Childhood vaccination uptake
- Infant stimulation and development
Funded through the Sláintecare Integration Fund and a philanthropic donor, this project is a collaboration between 10 local CMP sites, the Katharine Howard Foundation, the HSE, Tusla and ELI, with ELI the lead partner.
The Community Mothers Programme has provided a real life to parents and children during Covid-19. For these at-risk families, our Sláintecare project was and continues to be in the right place at the right time. It enabled staff to learn from and empower each other to continue to provide a vital front-line service during the pandemic.
Programme Objectives:
There are various delivery models currently being implemented across the 10 Community Mothers sites in Ireland. This project aims to create a standardized model for delivery and create a common dataset to inform ongoing internal review and in preparation for a future evaluation. This will ensure the standardised Community Mothers programme is available to be delivered in more communities across Ireland, supporting the health, well-being and development of parents and their infants.
Programme Delivery:
Work commenced on the Sláintecare Prevention is better than cure – Community Mothers Programme in January 2020 with Susan Brocklesby appointed as project consultant.
- Phase 1 of the project, funded by Sláintecare achieved the following outputs:
- Standardized Model for the new Community Parents Programme,
- Common dataset to monitor and evaluate the impact of the programme across the country
- Site-specific action plans to implement the new model and dataset in their area.
- Parent Consultation Report
- A project review took place in April 2021 with plans for Phase 2 developed
- Phase 2, which is funded by ELI philanthropic donors, commenced in July 2021, aims to achieve the following outputs:
- Support sites to trail the common model and the common dataset using the implementation plans.
- Develop supporting materials to implement the new standardised model and data set.
- Identify potential future local implementation supports; strategic capacity building structures along with ongoing quality assurance post phase 2.
Contact us:
For further information, please contact
Assistant Director Catriona Flood on (086) 0296894
Email Catriona.Flood@ncirl.ie
Senior Coordinator, Marion Byrne on (086) 6078654
Email marion.byrne@ncirl.ie
“…without this service, I would not be here today.” [Parent]
“The key element of our practice is taking the time to develop a warm, trusted and non-judgmental relationship with the parents. It is this relationship which allows us to share the vital health promotion information and advice that we deliver.” [Home Visitor]
"….. work together to share information, share experiences, listen to and learn from one another and keep the family at the centre of what we do and what we do well." [Director of Public Health Nursing]