HSE Community Healthcare Network Research Collaboration

Working together collaboratively in interprofessional and multi professional teams is a cornerstone of future healthcare practice. Each member of these teams can make a unique contribution to achieving a common goal and ultimately enhancing patient care and wellbeing.  Collaboration is the essence of both the Enhanced Community Care programme and the operation of the Community Healthcare Networks (CHNs) to ensure decisions are made closer to the point of care and are specific to population needs. CHN’s aim to improve integration with health and community support services, delivering on the Sláintecare vision to provide the right care, in the right place, at the right time. The formation of the CHNs has brought to the fore the need for collaborative leadership capability in teams consisting of different skills, experiences and career stages to ensure more of an enhanced coordinated effort than was traditionally the case. The creation of Community Healthcare Networks and the need to work collaboratively with discipline managers has therefore created a unique interprofessional, multi professional and general leadership context that merits investigation to ensure impactful delivery of integrated services for enhanced patient care and staff wellbeing. The overall aim of the study is to undertake a review of the concepts, advantages, enablers, barriers, and opportunities for CHNs adopting a multi- stakeholder perspective.  It will identify a framework of factors that contribute to good practices in interprofessional and multi professional collaboration and from an individual, team, and network perspective.

Grant/Funding Attained

Funding of €181K form the HSE Mid-West Community Healthcare

Collaboration Partner

HSE Mid-West Community Healthcare

Team Members

Aisling Finucane - HSE Mid-West Community Healthcare

Niamh Wallace - HSE Mid-West Community Healthcare

Nuala Ryan – Kemmy Business School, UL

Briga Hynes – Kemmy Business School, UL