A System That Cannot See: IHNAPA at the Irish Humanities Alliance Conference

On Friday, 4 September 2026, IHNAPA's CEO and our Head of Governance and Compliance presented at the Irish Humanities Alliance Conference, Un/Silencing Healthcare: Voices, Power and Imagination, at SETU's College Street Campus in Waterford.

Our paper, A System That Cannot See, looked at the patients whom Irish healthcare struggles to see: people living with long-term artificial nutrition whose care falls between hospital, community services and home. We explored how gaps in data, pathways and accountability can leave these patients and their families invisible to the institutions meant to support them.

The conference's theme, un/silencing healthcare, fits closely with IHNAPA's purpose: making sure the voices of patients and family carers are heard where decisions about their care are made. The session prompted a valuable discussion with academics, clinicians and policy colleagues about how patient narratives can inform better governance and service design.

We are grateful to the Irish Humanities Alliance and SETU for the opportunity, and to everyone who attended and contributed.

This work sits alongside our national policy submissions calling for a National Home Artificial Nutrition Programme for Ireland. To find out more, or to invite IHNAPA to speak at your event, please contact admin@ihnapa.com.