A day in the Life of Anna Marie Nagle
My name is Anna Marie Nagle, and I am the Operational Team Lead for the Integrated Care Programme for Older Persons (ICPOP) within the HSE’s Acute and Older People Services in the Mid West.
About my work
I am based with ICPOP in the Clare hub, where we provide a single point of access for specialist assessments, investigations and outpatient rehab for older people with complex needs. Each day is diverse and rewarding. As a team, we work closely together to ensure that older people who may be experiencing challenges such as frailty, falls, changes in cognition, memory, mobility, or independence receive the comprehensive support they need.
Our team has a Consultant, GP, Admin Support, Advanced Nurse Practitioners, Case Manager, Clinical Nurse Specialists, Community Connector, Dietitian, Multitask Attendant, Occupational Therapist, Occupational Therapy Assistant, Physiotherapist, Physiotherapy Assistant and Speech and Language Therapists. Working together, we support each older person’s needs.
Each patient receives a comprehensive assessment which allows us to tailor care to address their individual needs. We work with patients over a six to eight-week period with the ultimate goal of supporting older people where possible to live safely and independently in their own communities. Where appropriate we provide an alternative to Emergency Department admission and support early discharge from hospital.
What I enjoy most about my work
What I love most about my role is seeing the positive impact our work has on people’s lives. Over the past three years, the feedback from patients has been overwhelmingly positive, expressing and showing improvements in their physical, psychological, and social wellbeing. Knowing that our team’s integrated, person-centred approach is genuinely supporting older people to live well at home brings a sense of accomplishment to our day.
A typical day
A typical day involves coordinating with colleagues on scheduling and patient care, following up on the feedback and outcomes we are seeing with patients while ensuring high standards of care are provided.
One of the highlights is working with our interdisciplinary team; each team member brings unique expertise which allows us to deliver care which is truly integrated for patients.
Interacting with patients, hearing their stories and feedback on the service is such a privilege. The opportunity to witness each person’s progress as they regain independence, confidence and return to activities they previously enjoyed is a pleasure.
Our current focus
Right now, a key area of focus for the ICPOP team is increasing public awareness of the service while also ensuring that all older people who attend are supported to improve their health, well-being and independence. As a relatively new service we are keen to receive feedback from users of our service. We provide opportunities for feedback to all patients to ensure that the service we are providing is truly meeting their needs.
Looking forward
As a team, we are continuously looking for ways to improve our services and enhance patient experiences. We are eager to increase access to ICPOP services for older people in North, West, and East Clare who may not be able to travel to Ennis due to distance and or challenges in accessing transport.
Our hope is to establish outreach services to bring ICPOP closer to those in rural areas with the aim of ensuring that all older people living in Clare have equal access to ICPOP and the care and supports needed.
The work we do is deeply rewarding, and I’m incredibly proud of our team’s commitment to supporting older people in leading healthy, fulfilling lives in the Mid West. The opportunity to work with a team with many professionals under one roof, focused on delivering care that is fully coordinated and integrated which benefit’s patients continues to motivate and inspire us on a daily basis.
If you or a loved one are interested in ICPOP, please reach out to our team, your GP or Consultant to learn more. We currently have ICPOP hubs in Clare, Limerick, and North Tipperary. We are here to help and look forward to making a positive difference in more people’s lives.
About ICPOP
The Integrated Care Programme for Older Persons referred to as ICPOP provides a single point of access and one stop shop for specialist assessment and outpatient rehab for Older People who have complex needs or may have challenges relating to:
Frailty; falls or fear of falling or concerns relating to a change in cognition, memory, mobility or independence.
Contact tel. no. for ICPOP Clare: 065 686 3841