The Truacanta Evaluation Report has been published. The report presents the findings from this four-year 'compassionate communities' project which used a community development approach to support five communities to improve local experiences of death, dying, loss and care.
The report reflects on the impact achieved and learning gained from the project, which ran from 2019-2023. You can read the full report here: Truacanta Evaluation Report
The Truacanta Project was set up to support local communities in Scotland who were interested in taking community action to improve people’s experiences of death, dying, loss and care, using a community development approach. The project was funded by Macmillan Cancer Support and run by the Scottish Partnership for Palliative Care.
Groups in Ayrshire, Dundee, Highland, North Berwick and Perthshire were supported through Truacanta to build their own local compassionate community activity. The Evaluation Report shows that
You can find out more about the project here: Truacanta
The report of the Scottish Bereavement Summit has been published. The report draws attention to the difficulties faced by people who are grieving in Scotland, and sets out recommendations of how to address some of the key issues.
Access the full report here: Scottish Bereavement Summit Final Report
A summary version of the report is available here: Scottish Bereavement Summit Summary Report
Who supported the summit?
The Scottish Bereavement Summit took place on 13 October 2022. It was supported by a collaboration of organisations working to improve bereavement support in Scotland, including: Richmond’s Hope; Good Life, Good Death, Good Grief; Held in our Hearts; Accord Hospice; The Haven; Kilbryde Hospice; Independent Age; Macmillan Cancer Support; Brightest Start; Bereavement Charter Group; Cruse Scotland; Team Jak; ARC; Fife Young Carers; Funeral Link; Scottish Partnership for Palliative Care; St Vincent’s Hospice; Sands; St Andrew’s Hospice; Marie Curie; MND Scotland; Ardgowan Hospice; Childhood Bereavement Network; Child Bereavement UK; Faith in Older People; Baby Loss Retreat; Sue Ryder; Scottish Care; IANPC; Whyte Family Trust; The Prince & Princess of Wales Hospice; Hospice UK; Alternatives Counselling & Listening Rooms; Sunrise Partnership; St Margaret of Scotland Hospice.
What happened at the Summit?
The Bereavement Summit brought together 136 people who work within the bereavement sector in Scotland. The gathering gave attendees the opportunity to explore how to work together to improve experiences of bereavement in Scotland, focusing on three specific areas:
Recommendations
The Report suggests the following 10 recommendations:
Access the full report here: Scottish Bereavement Summit Final Report
A summary version of the report is available here: Scottish Bereavement Summit Summary Report
More information about the Bereavement Summit, including a film of the presentations, is available here: Bereavement Summit outputs.
The SPPC has submitted a response to the Scottish Government's review of the National Outcomes. The SPPC response can be viewed here: SPPC Response to Review of National Outcomes
SG has committed to developing a new strategy for palliative and end of life care, taking a whole system, population and public health approach to development and delivery.
Leadership, Governance Structures and Membership
Kirsty Boyd (former Palliative Medicine Consultant, NHS Lothian, and Reader in Palliative Care Edinburgh University) took up her role as the SG National Clinical Lead in Autumn 2022. Kirsty is supported by a Clinical and Practice Advisory Group (CPAG) which provides specialist and practitioner expertise and experience in palliative care within acute hospitals, the community, and hospices for adults and children.
A Strategy Steering Group of around 30 stakeholders will oversee the development and delivery of the strategy, and has met in October 2022, December 2022, and February 2023 so far. A wider Palliative Care Reference Group is also being established (primarily email-based). There is also an SG Internal Contacts Group which aims to link palliative care to other relevant workstreams in SG.
Work to Date
A high-level statement of aims, principles, priorities and approach to developing the strategy has been produced. This paper, which continues to evolve, can be found here.
There is a strong commitment to developing a strategy which is evidence informed. With this in mind evidence is being gathered on:
While the steering group develops the strategy over the course of 2023, work on key priorities will continue in parallel. One positive recent development has been the identification of funding by SG to sustain the Scottish Palliative Care Guidelines through Health Improvement Scotland.
SG are planning to establish a webpage to host papers and updates relating to the development and delivery of the strategy. The Policy Team can be contacted via peolc@gov.scot.
The Scottish Partnership for Palliative Care has won the prestigious Voluntary Sector Partnership Award at this year's annual Scottish Public Service Awards.
The award, sponsored by SCVO, is designed to recognise public and third-sector organisations working in partnership to deliver better outcomes in public services. It highlights that these partnerships provide the day-to-day public services that support and care for people and communities throughout Scotland. And they are often lifelines for vulnerable citizens who could otherwise go unnoticed.
The SPPC won the award in recognition of its work to improve people's experiences of living with serious illness, caring, dying and grieving in Scotland.
SPPC brings together over 100 partners from across Scotland, within the statutory, third sectors and independent sectors, including NHS Boards, hospices, HSCPs, charities, professional associations, social care and community groups. Partners bring money, expertise and a passion to improve experiences during the most difficult phases of life.
The award highlights that, over 30 years, quietly and with a low profile, SPPC has enabled collaboration which has led to service improvement, innovation, education, policy development, problem solving and education, within a domain that people often find hard to think about. It also works directly with the public, enabling community-led action, public education and information resources.