The annual multidisciplinary conference held on November 27th 2015 was a resounding success with an attendance numbering over 120, consisting of a broad range of disciplines within and without the hospital and including our colleagues from IT Sligo and NUIG. The conference was opened by Sligo University Hospital manager, Ms Grainne McCann, who was very complementary about the longevity of the conference and the people who make it work so well on the day and then announced the recipients of the seed grants:
Seed Grant Recipients
Carmel Silke: Rheumatology Unit OLHM
Body Composition analysis as a means of addressing injury prevention in GAA footballers
Emmeline Gillan: HSE Psychology Services, JFK Parade Sligo
Complicated grief or challenging behaviour? A retrospective study of the effects of bereavement on people with intellectual disabilities
Stephen Daly: School of Science Institute of Technology Sligo
Rapid flow multi-analyte flow immunoassay for the early diagnosis of acute kidney injury
Bernie McGowan: Rheumatology Unit OLHM
A study of the secular trends of hip fracture incidence in Ireland between 2000 and 2014 and the concomitant change in the prescribing patterns of anti-osteoporosis medications within this time period
Roisin Lennon: Women&Children Directorate Sligo University Hospital
Nurse / midwife prescribing: a satisfying or frustrating extended scope of practice?
Presentations
The presentations by local speakers generated much discussion amongst the audience. The eclectic subject matters ranged from social prescribing through the emerging services for suicide prevention, bereavement in intellectual disability and the burden on informal carers to the use of drugs in rheumatic disease, how endurance training affects the body, functional movement in a GAA team and the use of Ultrasound in diagnosing DVT.
After the break and viewing of the 49 posters presented on the day the two keynote speakers were welcomed and gave us all much food for thought and discussion.
Prof. Tom Fahey, Dept. of General Practice and HRB centre for Primary Care Research spoke about clinical practice and research at the GP / hospital interface. His thought provoking lecture spoke about safe prescribing, diagnosis and referral and the importance of health data to achieve quality improvement. These topics are the core of each health practitioners day to day work and were very well received by the large audience generating much discussion.
Prof. Joseph Keane Consultant Respiratory Physician, St James’ Hospital and Professor in Respiratory Medicine, TCD spoke about his extensive research in TB and enlightened a captivated audience about a difficult to understand subject. His controversial assertion that vaccination for all against TB is unnecessary at this time generated some heated argument but he has since been vindicated with the suspension of TB vaccination programme for all children in this country.
The conference drew to a close and was addressed by Professor Vincent Cunnane, President of IT Sligo who emphasised the importance of strong links between establishments such as Sligo University Hospital and the Institute of Technology to ensure best use of space, personnel, knowledge and instrumentation for the common good. He then announced the prizes for the posters exhibited on the day and available for viewing for a week.
Prizes sponsored by the Medical Board
Stephen Gilmartin and Luqman Helmi
Highly Commended: Ahmed Al Maksoud
Prizes sponsored by the Research & Education Foundation
Karl Milnes and Marcus Colon
Highly Commended: Bernie McGowan and Caithlin Stenson
