Bringing Opioid Agonist Treatment to Rural Settings in West Clare

The HSE Mid-West Addiction Service has been shortlisted for the 2026 Irish Healthcare Centre Awards for its innovative outreach use of Buvidal®, a long-acting opioid substitution treatment, to support highly marginalised individuals in West Clare. Associate Prof Lisa Moran was the GP clinical lead on this initiative, which enables clients who could not access traditional services to receive safe, evidence-based treatment in their own communities, improving stability, health outcomes and engagement with wider healthcare and social supports. 

This initiative demonstrates how flexible, community-based care can reach people traditionally excluded from treatment. By bringing Buvidal® directly to clients in West Clare, the service achieved meaningful improvements in health, stability and social outcomes. This model now offers a blueprint for extending evidence-based addiction care across rural and underserved areas of not only the Mid West but nationally and internationally.