On June 18, 2019 a Health Passport in paper format was developed by the Office of Nursing & Midwifery (NMPDU) in North West for people with Intellectual Disabilities to recognise the challenges that exist for persons with a disability accessing health care and communicating their health needs to health care staff compared to their general population counterparts. This work was done by Niamh Walsh as part of her PhD programme with the Ulster University in collaboration with Dr. Anne Gallen in the NMPDU.
The aim of the Health Passport (HSE) was to standardise a passport that is recognisable to both healthcare professionals and consumers and is adopted by disabled persons, families, carers, third sector agencies, and the whole healthcare delivery system. In 2021, this document was developed into an App. This project was subsequently turned over to the HSE Disabilities Quality Improvement Team (DisQI) to disseminate throughout the HSE.
In 2023, with Sláinte Care funding, the HSE DisQI Team brought together people who were interested in, or already using the Health Passport to identify how best to encourage its use. This group consisted of disabled people, families/carers, staff in residential care, acute hospitals, GP practices etc. The group identified the barriers and challenges in using the Health Passport (hard copies and App) and decided to enhance the Health Passport (HSE) App, with updated layout and information to allow ease of access to necessary and critical information and communication of information between healthcare professionals and individuals using the App.
This update has also ensured that the App can be used by any person for whom communication is difficult (e.g. people with dementia, mental health issues, people from other countries who do not have English as their first language).
The update of the App is complete and has been tested in several areas such as Acute Hospital wards, older persons services, Disability Services (including residential, community, day, and respite), A&E, GP practices.
This App includes sections on Critical Information, Personal Information, Communication, Decision Making, Medical History, Food and Drink, and Personal Care. There is an option to email the passport, if required, to a health or social care professional prior to an appointment or admission to the hospital.
The Health Passport (HSE) will support healthcare staff understand the needs of the passport holder, and ensure they have supports required, before any assessment, examination or treatment of the person.
All information is saved to the passport holders personal device and can be viewed by opening the App and clicking on the relevant tab.
The guidance document will support the passport holder or anyone supporting them to complete the App.
The Health Passport (HSE) has been updated this video contains some information on the features of the App and how information can be put into the Health Passport.
If you have any questions, please contact: Health.Passport@hse.ie
Download the app from the App Store
Download the app from the Google Play Store
