The Department of Health has today launched a 12-week consultation on a draft policy statement setting out a new approach to promoting organ donation and transplantation, to mark Northern Ireland’s Organ Donation Day on 11 December 2017.
The policy aims to save more lives through a coordinated program of activities designed to raise public awareness of this important health issue and encourage people to discuss their wishes with family and friends. The aim is to make the organs that are saved available for transplantation.
New legal obligations introduced by Parliament in 2016 require the department to promote organ transplants by providing information and raising awareness about donation.
The draft policy proposes a number of commitments that can achieve this by enabling structural engagement with all sectors of society to foster long-term positive change for 2020 and beyond. . We focus on two main objectives:
- Encourage positive behaviors and actions related to organ donation, such as discussing your wishes for organ donation with family and close friends and joining the Organ Donor Registry (ODR).and
- Develop and provide appropriate awareness training for healthcare professionals involved in the consent process
Dr Paul Glover, Regional Clinical Director for Organ Donation in Northern Ireland and Chair of the Clinical Advisory Group that drafted the policy, said: We truly believe this will build on the existing positive attitudes of people in Northern Ireland towards organ donation and ultimately save and improve more lives. It’s important to hear people’s opinions first about what they feel will be most effective, and this will help you design and prioritize those activities. ”
Organ donation is a gift of life, and one person’s decision can improve or save up to nine lives. Families are always asked for consent to proceed with the donation, and are usually given the opportunity to speak to a specially trained medical professional, but in around a third of cases consent is not obtained. One of the main objectives of this policy is to address the reasons for refusal and increase the consent rate of families in such difficult and sensitive situations. Achieving the Department’s strategic goal of an 80% consent rate by 2020 will require better education to encourage people to communicate their wishes to family and friends, as well as more training for health professionals in this area. It is up to us to provide appropriate awareness training.
Kidney transplant surgeon Dr. Tim Brown spoke about the importance of a collaborative approach to organ donation: “Northern Ireland has made significant progress in developing its organ donation infrastructure in recent years and is benefiting from a generally positive attitude across the country.”However, there are still people waiting for a transplant and the number of donations that will take place remains high. It is important to make the most of every opportunity. Developing progress is an issue for everyone in our society and through this new policy we want to make it easier for people to have informed conversations with their loved ones. Masu. ”
The Department would like to encourage you to comment on the commitments contained in the draft policy statement. To support this process, the Department will also hold a series of public meetings early in the new year, which will be hosted by the Health and Social Care Leadership Center, as well as working with relevant charities. It is. Details of these public meetings will be published in due course.
The consultation document can be viewed on the ministry’s website.
Written submissions should be addressed to:
Organ donation consultation
Ministry of Public Health
Annex Room 1 1
stormont estate
belfast
BT4 3SQ
Email: [email protected]
For more information please contact [email protected].
Note to editors:
1. Part 4 of the Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2016 (NI) places a legal obligation on the Department of Health to promote organ transplantation by providing information and raising awareness about donation. To inform these provisions, a new draft policy guidance (statement) has been produced by the Organ Donation Clinical Advisory Group (ODCAG), established in 2016.
2. ODCAG members include Dr Paul Glover (Chairman, Regional Clinical Lead for Organ Donation), Dr Tim Brown (Kidney Transplant Surgeon, Belfast Health and Social Care Trust) and Regional Lead Specialist Nurse for Organ Donation. Includes Monica Hackett (NHS Blood). and transplantation).
3. The Department is a signatory to the NHS Blood and Transplant UK-wide strategy for organ donation by 2020.1calls for a change in attitudes to consenting to donation and advocates for an ongoing, well-coordinated program of communications action to promote organ donation across the UK.
4. If you have not yet signed up to the NHS Organ Donor Register or would like to find out more about organ donation, please visit: www.organdonationni.info Packed with information and resources.
5. For media inquiries, please contact the Ministry of Health Press Office on 028 90520575 or email. [email protected]. If out of hours please contact our spokesperson on pager 07623 974383. I will call you back. Follow me on Twitter @healthdpt
[1] http://www.nhsbt.nhs.uk/to2020/
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