Rolling work plan
The Patient Forum is a platform for dialogue and exchange on topics relevant to patients regarding the regulation of medicines and medical devices. The HPRA established the forum to give patients in Ireland a voice in the regulatory process, especially in areas of patient safety, licensing, and use, and how the Authority communicates with wider society.
The forum is based on a partnership approach to empower patients so their experience and perspectives are heard, acknowledged, and actioned. This approach aims to bring about positive improvements in the regulation of health products.
As set out in the Terms of Reference for the forum, members will work with the HPRA to prepare an annual rolling work plan. The plan will include topics aligned with the purpose of the forum. Agreed topics will also be of common interest to both patients and the HPRA.
The work plan will be kept under review. It will be updated as needed based on progress against agreed actions.
Members of the forum and the HPRA discussed the work plan for 2024 at a meeting on 12 December 2023. The work plan was later agreed at a meeting on 26 March 2024.
Topics for 2024
The focus for 2024 is to continue to deepen the engagement between the HPRA and forum members. The forum will continue work on topics from the 2023 workplan and explore new topics identified as a priority.
As part of the rolling work plan for 2024, the Patient Forum will:
- Prepare an annual report to the Authority on the work of the patient forum in 2023.
- Continue the review as per section 4.5 of the terms of reference concerning membership, including the diversity and inclusivity of representation of the forum. Relevant entities will be consulted to strengthen an inclusive approach within the forum.
- Explore approaches to better enable forum members access to meeting information (e.g. slides presented).
- Hold a patient speaker programme event for HPRA employees, building upon the success of the first event held in 2023. In this initiative, representatives of the patient community are welcomed to speak to HPRA employees and share first hand accounts of their experiences and challenges. It ensures that the views and values of patients in Ireland are central to the HPRA's regulatory work.
- Hold information sessions with forum members covering the following areas: How does the HPRA support the development of innovative medical devices, The current clinical trial landscape for medicines in Ireland - opportunities and challenges, and Considerations in relation to the online sale of medicines.
- Discuss with members how to raise public awareness of the availability of educational materials for specific medicines and seek feedback on how patient organisations could support this activity. Educational materials are additional risk minimisation measures relevant to the safe use of medicines for patients and healthcare professionals. They complement the approved product information of the Summary of Product Characteristics and Package Leaflet.
- Consult the forum on the redevelopment of the HPRA website, including, for example, new content relating to reporting safety issues, ease of use, and accessibility of reporting portals.
Download the 2024 rolling work plan of the HPRA Patient Forum in full on the link below. You can also view the 2022 and 2023 workplans.