Be a voice for residents in nursing homes and their relatives.
Work with other interested stakeholders to drive excellence in standards of care.
Improve the quality of life for older people in residential care in Ireland
A nursing home service that is:
Responsive to individual needs
Moves away from institutional culture and practices
Respects individual human rights
Listen and engage with service users
Influence operational and strategic decision making for the regulation of the sector
Influence quality driven services for people in nursing homes
Help drive continuous learning and improvement
The absence of an independent and timely procedure for handling complaints is one of the more glaring omissions from HIQA’s current model. This state of affairs has been a cause of much distress ..
The establishment of the Nursing Home Expert Panel in response to COVID-19 was a necessary and commendable step on the part of Government. While the group was given ..
Regrettably, the national standards and regulatory process is not robustly overseen by HIQA. It is observed that they take a punitive approach via the ..
There should be a public consultation process put in train to give the wider population an opportunity to contribute their views on the..
The nursing home sector requires a champion to lead a culture change around the wearing of duty uniforms outside of the nursing home ..
For years, nursing homes have operated in isolation with private nursing home residents denied access to routine health services open to others in the community ..
July 2021 – A snapshot survey, conducted by the Nursing Home Quality Initiative (NHQI) and completed by people identifying as relatives, advocates and in one case a nurse with over 30 years of experience, reveals Read more…
July 2021 – The Nursing Home Quality Initiative (NHQI) – a group of concerned volunteer citizens – is angry and saddened but not surprised at the scenes that unfolded on tonight’s Prime Time. In our Read more…
December 2020: A new group, Nursing Home Quality Initiative (NHQI) led by concerned, volunteer citizens from around Ireland, has pledged to campaign for systemic change in the care and quality of life of older people. The group Read more…
October 2020 – From a letter to The Sunday Independent A chara – I wish to refer to Maeve Sheehan’s article in the Sunday Independent of the 27th September last entitled ‘Care Home Put Elderly Read more…
October 2020 – https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2020/1019/1172393-an-post-initiative/
October 2020 – https://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/music-ensemble-gifts-huge-ray-of-sunshine-to-nursing-home-residents-1.4389588
https://lovin.ie/lifestyle/pen-pal-project-volunteers-wanted-to-send-letters-to-care-home-residents
From a Letter to the Irish Times – September 2020 A chara, – The Ombudsman is to be commended for drawing attention to a gap in the complaints system available to nursing home residents and Read more…
We want members, who have the time and energy to get actively involved from across Ireland but especially from areas such as the South West, South East, North West, North East and the Midlands. If you are passionate about making a difference and have a few hours to spare each week, we would love to hear from you. Activities includes monitoring news stories, developing position papers, writing letters to the media, contacting key stakeholders and developing submissions for expert panels.
Based in Cork, Ray Bowe joined NHQI in August 2020 and is actively committed to achieving collaborative improvements to the standards of care in the Irish Nursing Home sector. A graduate of UCC, Ray is Head of Food Safety & Quality at Musgrave, prior to which he has worked in various management positions in the food industry in Ireland and the US. He is currently Chair of the Food Safety Consultative Council of the Food Safety Authority of Ireland
Based in Dublin, Joe is a retired independent recruitment specialist. He formerly worked in the Irish Civil Service, where he led the Public Appointments Commission for a number of years. Joe is a chartered fellow of the Institute of Personnel and Development (FCIPD) and holds a Master’s in Social Science for which he researched the impact of National Standards on the quality of life of nursing home residents. Joe has observed nursing home care standards for the past 25 years through the experiences of close family members, who resided in such facilities.
Based in Tipperary, Annette is one of the founder members of NHQI. Inspired by the nursing home experience of several family members and friends, Annette has been working for improvements in older person care since 2010. A Corporate Affairs professional, Annette established her own communications consultancy in 2008. She previously served as Director of Corporate Affairs for both Amgen and Dell. A graduate of UCC, Annette holds an honours degree in French and German and is a member of the Public Relations Institute of Ireland.
Martin Cowley worked for 33 years in the Mater Hospital (including Chief Executive for 11 years) and for six years in a voluntary role on the Board of the Mater. After he retired, he served in a voluntary capacity on the Audit Committee of Leopardstown Park Hospital, a statutory provider in the nursing home sector. For five of those of those years, Martin served as Independent Chair of the Audit Committee.
While he was Chief Executive at the Mater, he established a Quality Committee, one of the first of such committees in Ireland. He was also a hospital accreditor, inspecting other hospitals. This scheme predated HIQA. Martin is a Chartered Accountant by profession-his initial appointment at the Mater was Financial Controller.
Based in Dublin, Mary Rose brings to NHQI over 25-years’ experience in the education sector in America and Ireland. A nursing home volunteer for over 40 years, Mary Rose has served on various nursing home committees and services for people with intellectual disabilities, including the Board of the Parents, Family And Friends Association of St John of God Carmona Services for 15 years.
For 18 years, Mary Rose was the primary carer for both her mother and brother, who had Downs Syndrome. Her mother spent the last eight years of her life in a nursing home while Mary Rose’s brother lived part-time in residential care before becoming ill and spending the last three years of his life at home.
Based in Co Clare and inspired by HQIA’s commitment to institutional, cultural, governance and legislative reforms in Irish nursing homes, Gabriella joined the team in 2020. She holds an honours BA degree in Philosophy, Sociology and Political science from NUIG and a first-class Master’s Degree in Social Science Research from UL. In 2010, Gabriella established at UL the Community Liaison Office (CLO) for the purpose of contributing to the development of civically engaged higher education institutions in Ireland. Gabriella focuses on the creation of reciprocal and mutually beneficial relationships with diverse communities both within and outside UL and in so doing employs the principles underpinning emancipatory work and civic engagement philosophies and practices.