Your time in Homecare

You can get information below on what happens when you are referred to our Homecare service and how the admission process works.

Click on the + sign beside each topic to read more about it.

• How referrals work

  You can be referred to SPMHS by a GP, a psychiatrist, the Health Service Executive (HSE), and other healthcare professionals. Your referral will be reviewed by a consultant psychiatrist and team of clinicians. If, through this review, Homecare is identified as the service most suited to your needs, our Referral and Assessment Service team will contact you by phone to discuss the service with you in detail. You will also be asked to provide your health insurer membership details (if applicable) and any relevant documentation, such as letters or referrals, from your GP or referring consultant at the time.

• How admission works

  When it is confirmed that you will be availing of the Homecare service, the Referral and Assessment Service team will get in touch to let you know when you will be admitted to the service and to make arrangements to contact you at the time of your admission.

  On the day of your admission, members of the Referral and Assessment Service team will contact you by phone or video call, as arranged, and complete a full mental health assessment with you. As part of this, they will gather some information from you and you will complete a number of admission forms together. This will involve them asking questions about your mental and physical health, as well as your personal and family situation; work situation, if this applies; and social background.

  After your assessment and admission , you will be informed of the next steps and what’s to come for your time in Homecare.  

• Contact with our team

  Our Homecare service includes a nursing Homecare Hub that is made up of a team of highly trained and skilled mental health nurses, dedicated to providing nursing care in the service. You will receive a daily appointment with a member of the nursing team in our Homecare Hub; each day, a member of the Homecare Hub nursing team will carry out a mental health assessment with you and provide nursing interventions to support your recovery.  

  You can find out more about your care team and treatment in the “Receiving care” section below. It is helpful to know that there may be a short period from the time of your admission to when you meet your treating consultant psychiatrist. Please be reassured that our nursing team is monitoring your care throughout this time with daily mental health assessments and interventions.

  Please be assured also that you have 24-hour access to support throughout your time in the Homecare service, so you can get in contact at any time if you need support. You will be provided with the contact details you need.

• Routine

  Starting your day by getting dressed and taking care of your personal appearance is important while you are in the Homecare service. By doing so, you'll establish a daily routine that helps you feel more grounded and prepared for the day ahead. This small but significant step can also boost your confidence and set a positive tone for the rest of your day, allowing you to make the most of your time and experiences.

  We will let you know how you will get your timetables and notifications of your appointments so that you are aware of your schedule each week.

• Quiet space and privacy

  You will need to be available for all your scheduled appointments with your treating team in Homecare so that you can get the most from them. This is because it would not be possible to talk to your care team or take part in appointments in a private, safe, and relaxed way if you are in another busy or public environment.  

  It is best to find a quiet, private space at home where you can engage with the members of your team in confidence and without disturbance. You might find it helpful to discuss the best place for this with your family or anyone you live with and to let them know you would like privacy there. It can be helpful to share your schedule with them so they know when to give you space.

• Remote care support

  The Homecare service is delivered remotely, which means through phone, video and online technologies on smartphones, tablets, or computers.

  You will be fully supported in getting set up with the technologies being used in your care. Our Service User IT Support (SUITS) team can help you with technical queries around accessing Homecare. Video appointments in Homecare take place over the Microsoft Teams, or MS Teams, platform. SUITS can answer your questions or offer technical advice if you have issues in using MS Teams to access your appointments. You can find out more about or contact SUITS here.

  We have information available which gives an overview of how you can get started with your online appointments and explains some of the terminology and services you might hear of while accessing Homecare; you can see information on remote appointments here. We have also developed a video on the same topic: you can watch our video on remote access here.

• Your Portal

  You can sign up to Your Portal, which is our online platform to support your mental health recovery. You can find out more about Your Portal here or register through our website.

  Through Your Portal, you can get details of your appointments, receive notifications from your care team, complete forms which are part of your care and treatment, access lots of helpful information and resources, and more.

  We have a number of written and video guides to using Your Portal available, while our SUITS team can also provide support in using the portal. You can also attend a tutorial from our SUITS team on Your Portal, which runs twice a week for our inpatient and Homecare service users. Information about these tutorials is shared in the daily activity sheet which is emailed to you.

  You can learn more about Your Portal here.

• Confidentiality

  You will meet and spend time online with other service users through the different programmes and activities you take part in while you are in Homecare.

  To protect everyone’s privacy, please do not take photographs or record other service users or members of staff.

You will receive high-quality care while you are in Homecare, with a range of mental health professionals working with you to support your recovery.

You can see more below about what to expect from your care and treatment; click on the + signs to learn more.

• Multidisciplinary team (MDT)

  You will be assigned an MDT, which is a mental health team made up of a number of mental health and healthcare professionals with different areas of expertise. The team members combine their expertise and skillsets to identify and progress the care and treatment that will best meet your needs. Your MDT will depend on your needs but usually includes a consultant psychiatrist, nurse, occupational therapist, psychologist, social worker and pharmacist.

  You will meet with your MDT regularly to discuss your care and mental health recovery. You can learn more about MDTs here.

• Care plan

  You will develop a personalised care plan with your MDT. A care plan is a set of goals for your mental health treatment. It includes details about the care and treatment you receive, the different supports you will use, the goals you have, and more. It is individual to you and means that you can be confident that you, your MDT and the people supporting you are all focused on your needs and working to achieve the same purpose. You will review and update your care plan regularly, together with your MDT.

  If you use Your Portal, you can view your care plan in your portal records any time you like.

• Typical day

  A typical day in Homecare from Monday to Friday will include structured, appointment-based therapies. These can be group programmes or individual sessions, depending on your care plan.

  You will receive a weekly timetable of sessions for any group programmes you are attending. Individual appointments with your consultant and some other members of your MDT are arranged with you in advance, and the nursing team in our Homecare Hub will schedule the daily appointment with you up to 24 hours in advance: these appointments are not included in your weekly timetable, but details will be provided to you.

  If you are attending video appointments, you will be sent a text or email in advance to remind you of the time. These will include a link to join your appointment online at the scheduled time. You can join a video appointment on a smartphone, tablet, laptop or computer. If your appointments are taking place by phone, you will be contacted by phone at the scheduled appointment time. You will also receive a text message with a reminder notification for your daily appointment with the nursing team in the Homecare Hub. You can get your appointment information in Your Portal if you are signed up to use it.

  There are periods of free time built into your day also, which we encourage you to use in support of your mental health recovery. This includes getting involved in the different activities we have available to support various aspects of your recovery. A daily activity sheet will be emailed to you so that you are aware of what these activities are. See the “Making the most of your Homecare experience” section below to learn more about these. Please note that you might not feel up to taking part in activities when you are first admitted to Homecare; do take the time to rest until you feel ready to get involved in them.

  Please remember that you have 24-hour support available to you, seven days a week, in the Homecare service. If you need support outside of your appointments, your daily nursing appointment or other activities, please use the contact details provided to you to get in touch.

• Key worker

  You will be assigned a key worker; they may be a nurse, social worker, occupational therapist, doctor, psychologist, counsellor or therapist. Your key worker is the health professional who is responsible for ensuring that you and your MDT are working together to progress and achieve the goals of your care plan.

  Your key worker will act as a link between yourself and your MDT while you are in Homecare. They will liaise with your family members or carers, where appropriate, or with other healthcare professionals in our service.

  When the time comes for you to finish up in the Homecare service, your key worker will coordinate your discharge.

  If you are signed up to Your Portal, you can see your key worker information in your portal records.

• Medication

  A member of our Pharmacy team will meet with you around the time you start Homecare to talk about any medication you are taking. They also attend MDT meetings to discuss the most appropriate medicines for you, check the medicines prescribed are safe for you, and order these medicines.

  If you are prescribed any new medication as part of your care, the mental health professional prescribing this will discuss it with you and ensure it is safe for you. You will also have the opportunity to meet with the Pharmacy team to learn more about new medication.

  While you are in Homecare, we make arrangements with local pharmacies to dispense your medication at no charge to you.

  You can learn more about medication here.

• Family input

  You can make a request to your team for family input, which means that your family would receive some supports, such as psychoeducation (learning about mental health) or others. This may be ongoing while you are in Homecare. Details of this family input will be shared with you and those family members taking part in the relevant supports.

• Leaving Homecare

  We understand that, from time to time, you may need to change your availability for appointments while you are in Homecare. It is very important that you let us know if you need to make a change to your schedule or if you cannot attend an appointment; it can cause concern for our staff and your family or carers if we are not able to get in touch with you as expected. If you need to adjust your schedule, please discuss this with the nursing team in the Homecare Hub or an MDT member, who will do what they can to make arrangements which suit.

  Please be aware that you must be in the jurisdiction of Ireland while attending the Homecare service. This is because, if your mental health was to worsen, you may need to avail of our inpatient service.  

  The length of time you are in the Homecare service will depend on how much support and care you need. The decision on when you are ready for discharge from Homecare will be made by you and your MDT together. Follow-up care will be discussed with you around the time you are preparing for discharge. This could involve attending a day service, aftercare group, or appointment in our outpatient Dean Clinics, with the best option for you being based on your personal needs.

Throughout the Homecare service, you can choose from a diverse range of supports which can progress your recovery and help you to get the most of your experience of care and treatment. For example, you can join in social and recreational activities, get mental health information, and take part in other wellbeing supports. A daily activity sheet is emailed to you so that you know what activities are coming up, and you will be informed of all the different supports and resources we have available for you to get helpful information for your recovery.

Watch the video below, or keep reading and click on the + symbols to learn more about the different topics.

• Mental health information

  You can access downloadable information on a wide variety of mental health difficulties and medication information through our Information Centre. You can call the Information Centre on 01 249 3469.

  A range of mental health information and resources is also available from the Library in Your Portal. You can watch a video about using the portal Library here.

  We also run several mental health informational talks for service users, which are open for you to access remotely. These include the morning lecture, which takes place every weekday morning on a different mental health or related topic. Details on how to join the morning lecture are shared in the daily activity sheet which is emailed to you.

• Evening activities

  We run an online Pillars to Wellness programme during the week which you can take part in. Pillars to Wellness is a recovery education programme which covers a broad range of topics. As well as offering information on our services and giving overviews of different mental health difficulties, the programme explores areas such as what mental health is, coping skills, sleep, and stress.

  We also have a range of evening and weekend recreational activities, with many of these taking place online for you to access at home. Together, these include but are not limited to anti-tension (relaxation), yoga nidra, mindful yoga, and mindfulness. These activities change from week to week, and are based off service user feedback.

  At SPMHS, we regularly run events for service users, family members, and the general public. There are many different types of events, including informational talks and conferences, arts and culture events, campaign events, and more. As well as being included in the daily activity sheet, information on these is available in the Media Centre of our website and in the Library of Your Portal. You can also watch back past events on our YouTube channel.