Cross Party Group

The Scottish Partnership for Palliative Care provides the secretariat for the Cross Party Group in the Scottish Parliament on Palliative Care.  The Cross Party Group provides an opportunity for MSPs from all parties, members of the public, and representatives from various organisations to meet and discuss a shared interest in palliative care.  All are welcome to join or attend meetings of the Cross Party Group.  If you are interested in attending, please e-mail: pauline@palliativecarescotland.org.uk

Cross Party Groups are regulated by Section 6 of the Code of Conduct for Members of the Scottish Parliament. For more information about Cross Party Groups, see the Scottish Parliament website: www.scottish.parliament.uk/msp/crossPartyGroups.

Convener: Michael McMahon MSP

Vice-Convener: Jamie McGrigor MSP

Secretary/Treasurer: Mark Hazelwood, Scottish Partnership for Palliative Care

Dates of meetings in 2010:

  • Wednesday 8 September
  • Wednesday 8 December

 

Notice of meeting of the Cross Party Group in the Scottish Parliament on Palliative Care

The next meeting of the Cross Party Group in the Scottish Parliament on Palliative Care is on Wednesday 8 September 2010 in Committee Room 5, Scottish Parliament Headquarters, Holyrood at 5.45 pm. Papers will be available nearer the time of the meeting.

This meeting will be dedicated to the Proposed Palliative Care (Scotland) Bill and Gil Paterson MSP has agreed to attend.  The full text of the Bill is at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/s3/bills/50-PalliativeCare/index.htm

Please note that attendance at the meeting will be limited to two members per organisation and will be on a first come first served basis as numbers are restricted due to the size of the room available at Holyrood.

 

Please click on the links below to access papers for previous meetings of the Cross Party Group in the Scottish Parliament on Palliative Care. 

16 June 2010:

Jan Killeen, Policy Director at Alzheimer Scotland, delivered a presentation at this meeting about the newly launched Dementia Strategy.  Please find below a link to the strategy:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Health/health/mental-health/servicespolicy/Dementia 

23 March 2010:

Contrasting points of view regarding the End of Life Choices (Scotland) Bill were put forward by guest speakers Dr Stephen Hutchison, Consultant Physician in Palliative Medicine at the Highland Hospice and Mr John Paley, Senior Lecturer at the University of Stirling as a forerunner to discussion at the meeting. Please note that on this occasion an audio recording of the presentations and discussions was made, please click on the link to dowload mp3 audio files: Audio Recording of Debate on Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia.

9 December 2009:

This meeting was cancelled.

9 September 2009:

This was a joint meeting between the Cross Party Group in the Scottish Parliament on Palliative Care and the Cross Party Group in the Scottish Parliament on International Development.

A series of three x 15 minute presentations on the topic: What can we learn from international development work in palliative care? were given by Dr Tom Middlemiss, Research Fellow, University of Edinburgh, Helen Dryden, Palliative Care Clinical Lead, Angus Community Health Partnership, NHS Tayside and Dr Bruce Cleminson who was an NHS GP principal for 29 years and GP Trainer for 22 years in Scalloway, Shetland and is now a Sessional GP, a GP Appraiser and Macmillan doctor.

17 June 2009 (incorporating the AGM 2009):

At the time of this meeting the General Medical Council (GMC) was running a consultation to gather views on its new draft guidance for doctors: End of Life Treatment and Care: Good Practice in Decision Making which would replace and extend the scope of the current guidance Withholding and Withdrawing Treatment. Suzanne Wood, Policy Adviser, Standards & Ethics at the GMC delivered a presentation and led a discussion around this subject at the meeting.


4 February 2009:

On 8 December 2008 Margo MacDonald MSP launched a consultation for her proposed End of Life Choices (Scotland) Bill. Mrs MacDonald and Dr David Jeffrey, Honorary Senior Lecturer in Palliative Medicine at the University of Edinburgh, former Palliative Care Consultant, NHS Borders and former Chair of the Ethics Committee of the Association of Palliative Medicine presented opposing points of view as a forerunner to discussion at the meeting.

7 January 2009:

Dr Elizabeth Ireland, National Clinical Lead for Palliative Care at the Scottish Government and Professor John Welsh, Professor of Palliative Medicine, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde presented on LIVING and DYING WELL a national action plan for palliative and end of life care in Scotland.

There was also a discussion led by Roseanna Cunningham MSP for Perth on her Proposed Palliative Care (Scotland) Bill launched on 17 November 2008.

8 October 2008: Joint meeting with the Cross Party Group in the Scottish Parliament on International Development

Dr Mhoira Leng, previously NHS Grampian, now Medical Director of Cairdeas International Palliative Care Trust, Aberdeen and Head of Palliative Care, Mulago Hospital and Makerere University, Kampala and Professor Scott Murray, St Columba’s Hospice Chair in Primary Palliative Care, the University of Edinburgh, who previously worked in rural Kenya presented on International perspectives on palliative care from economically developing countries.

11 June 2008: (incorporating the AGM 2008)

Professor Henry J Dargie, Director, Scottish Advanced Heart Failure Service, Golden Jubilee National Hospital, Glasgow and Andy Carver, Prevention and Care Advisor, British Heart Foundation, Scotland introduced the recent publication from the Scottish Partnership for Palliative Care. British Heart Foundation Scotland and the Scottish Government.

Presentations were given by Dr Martin Leiper, Consultant in Palliative Medicine, Roxburghe House, Dundee and Chairman of the Working Group and Dr Chris Ward, Honorary Consultant Cardiologist, Ninewells Hospital, Dundee.

Suzanne Wood, Policy Advisor, Standards & Ethics Team at General Medical Council (GMC) gave a presentation about their new guidance Consent: Patients and Doctors Making Decisions Together

05 March 2008:

A presentation You’ve got the wrong the disease: COPD and Palliative Care Services was given by Andrew Powrie-Smith, Head of British Lung Foundation Scotland & Northern Ireland.

There was also a discussion led by Sharon Burton, Senor Policy Advisor, General Medical Council regarding the General Medical Council's review of its publication Withholding and Withdrawing Life-prolonging Treatments: Good Practice in Decision-making which was published in 2002.

5 December 2007:

A presentation The findings of the Macmillan Scotland-wide Lymphoedema Service Mapping Project was given by Margaret Sneddon, Head of the School of Nursing and Healthcare at the University of Glasgow.

26 September 2007:

Meeting to elect Office Bearers of the Cross Party Group in the Scottish Parliament on Palliative Care.

6 June 2007 (incorporating the 2007 AGM):

A presentation Palliative and end of life care in Scotland: the case for a cohesive approach Report and recommendations submitted to the Scottish Executive May 2007 was given by Maria McGill, Chairman of the Scottish Partnership for Palliative Care and Chief Executive of Highland Hospice.

 

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