Definition of Terminal Illness for the purpose of Disability Assistance

The Scottish Government is currently consulting on draft guidance for medical professionals, designed to support them to make clinical judgments relating to whether someone is ‘terminally ill’ according to the new definition of terminal illness that has been established for the purpose of assessment for eligibility for fast-tracked disability assistance.

More information is available here:

• Chief Medical Officer Letter
• Draft Guidance for doctors completing benefits assessment under special rules in Scotland (BASRiS) form for terminal illness

The closing date is 19th April 2019. You can respond to the draft guidance by following this link: Respond to consultation

Scottish Parliament Health and Sport Committee

The Scottish Parliament’s Health and Sport Committee has published the topics and timescales for three new inquiries which will take place before the 2021 election. These include: Primary Care (Spring / early Summer 2019); Social Care capacity (expected later in 2019) and Medicines(likely to be 2020.

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Sharing current Scottish Practice

Each month our blog focus on a few of the posters displayed at previous SPPC Annual Conferences. This month we look at six posters from the 2018 conference...

• A Critical Investigation of the Outcomes of Specialist Palliative Day Services on Specific Components of Attendee Quality of Life: A Mixed Methods Study
• A road less travelled
• A 'Vicious Cycle' of Heart Failure Care
• Bereavement in Prisons
• Brief Engagement and Acceptance Coaching for Community and Hospice Settings (the BEACHeS Study)
• Building Blocks of End of Life Care

Sharing your practice

The SPPC hosts a 'sharing current Scottish practice' blog as a platform for people to share examples of current Scottish palliative care practice that might be of interest to the palliative care community more widely. If you know of work underway that might be relevant for sharing on our website, please get in touch

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Editorial: Should palliative care be rebranded?

Kirsty Boyd, Sebastien Moine, Scott A Murray, Deborah Bowman and Nicole Brun.

BMJ 2019;364:l881. Read the article here: weblink.

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Book now to attend this major national conference exploring how to encourage open and supportive attitudes and behaviours relating to death, dying and bereavement in Scotland.

Keynote Speaker: Dame Barbara Monroe

Drawing on 40 years experience as a social worker, and 14 years as Chief Executive of St Christopher’s Hospice, Barbara will provide a thought-provoking exploration of some of the current issues and challenges facing those wishing to ‘unleash’ the compassion within themselves and their communities.

Launch of two new national initiatives

The conference sees the launch of a new Compassionate Communities Toolkit - a collection of resources to provide ideas and inspiration to those wishing to make their own community more compassionate relating to death, dying and bereavement. The conference will also mark the beginning of the new Connecting Compassion Project: A community development project aiming to support communities who are interested in taking local action to improve people’s experiences of death, dying, loss and care.

Other plenary topics and speakers include...

Shifting perspectives: Community Development vs Healthcare models

How do community development approaches differ from the traditional healthcare models that many of us are used to? Susan High is Community Development Worker at Strathcarron Hospice, and currently leads work aimed at nurturing more community-led support related to death, dying and bereavement in Forth Valley. A nurse by background, Susan will share some reflections on how her leadership of a community development project has changed her perspectives.

Compassionate Inverclyde

What happened when Inverclyde decided to make itself into a 'compassionate community'? People from the project share their experiences, including reflections on how to get started, and some of the initiatives that have worked well, including Back Home Boxes and No-one Dies Alone.

Pushing up the Daises

Pushing Up The Daisies started as the response of a group of women in Moray to their experiences of death and dying. It has grown into a Scotland wide charity network that provides opportunities for people to learn how to care for the body of a loved one at home after their death. Kate Clark, one of the founders, will reflects on the practicalities of establishing, running and promoting Pushing up the Daisies.

Food Train

Food Train began in Dumfries in 1995 following a community survey of older people that found many of them struggling with their weekly grocery shopping. Food Train is now a thriving multi award winning charity supporting older people in 7 local authority areas in Scotland. Michelle Carruthers, Chief Executive of Food Train will reflect on the the development of Food Train and some of the lessons they've learned.

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Small grants available

We are running a small grants scheme to support people to participate in Good Death Week, which takes place across Scotland from 13 - 19 May 2019. The grants (of up to £50) can be used for any event that furthers the aims of:

• Raising public awareness of ways of dealing with death, dying and bereavement
• Promoting community involvement in death, dying and bereavement

More information about Good Death Week and the small grants scheme is available on our website. If you'd like to apply for a small grant, please download and complete this form and e-mail Robert by 31 March 2019.

Good Death Week, 13 – 19 May

Good Death Week is taking place again this year in May. It’s an opportunity to promote the positives of living in a society where people can be open about death, dying and bereavement. Organisations and individuals are encouraged to hold events to mark the occasion, as well as make a noise over social media. SPPC will be leading the way with their own programme of activity, and more information will be available soon.

If you'd like to do something practical at your workplace, community group or among friends and family, we have prepared a variety of resources that can be used during Good Death Week, including films, leaflets, conversation menus, an ACP origami game, online resources and an art exhibition.

Scottish Government Action Plan on Neurological Conditions

The SPPC has submitted a response to the Scottish Government's consultation on its draft National Action Plan on Neurological Conditions.

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Paediatric End of Life Care National Managed Clinical Network (PELiCaN)

The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing has formally approved the establishment of a Paediatric End of Life Care National Managed Clinical Network for Scotland from 1 April 2019, supported by NHS National Services Scotland.

The network will aim to improve access to high quality, patient and family centred, end of life care for some 2,200 children and young people with a life-limiting condition in Scotland who are unstable, deteriorating or dying who should benefit from a higher level of support.

In the media

BBC Radio Scotland: Kaye Adams talks to Kate Clark from Pushing up the Daisies and Rehana Rose, film-maker of Dead Good. From 2hr19 min)

The Scotsman: Hundreds die waiting to be discharged from hospital

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Unleashing Compassion Conference

Organised by the Scottish Partnership for Palliative Care and Good Life, Good Death, Good Grief. 2 May 2019, Glasgow. More information is available here: weblink.

Scottish Partnership for Palliative Care Annual Conference 2019

18 September 2019, Edinburgh. More details to follow.

Compassionate Communities: No-one Dies Alone

St Margaret of Scotland Hospice Lunch & Learn session with Alison Bunce. 5 March, Greenock. More information is available by emailing Margaret Donnelly.

Solution focused approach to bereavement

Organised by Children in Scotland. 8 March 2019, Edinburgh. More information is available here: weblink.

Improving End of Life Care for People with Dementia

Organised by Healthcare Conferences UK. 11 March 2019, London. More information is available here: weblink.

Cross Party Group in the Scottish Parliament on Palliative Care

The next meeting will take place on Wednesday 13 March at 5.45 pm, Scottish Parliament, Edinburgh. The meeting will explore the key issues identified in Alzheimer Scotland’s recent report Delivering Care for People with Advanced Dementia. If you would like to reserve a place, please email Pauline. More information is available here: weblink.

Palliative Care Conference

Organised by Healthcare Improvement Scotland and Macmillan Cancer Support. 19 March 2019, Edinburgh. More information is available here: weblink.

A Practical Guide to Effective Non-Medical Prescribing for Pain

Organised by Healthcare Conferences UK. 18 March 2019, London. More information is available here: weblink.

Don't judge a book by it's cover

Organised by Marie Curie. 2 April 2019, Edinburgh. More information is available here: weblink.

Children and young people – loss, death and grief

Organised by Child Bereavement UK. 3 April 2019, Dumfries. More information is available here: weblink.

Effective Non-Medical Prescribing in End of Life Care

Organised by Healthcare Conferences UK. 5 April 2019, London. More information is available here: weblink.

Care of Dying Adults in The Last Days of Life

Organised by Healthcare Conferences UK. 29 April 2019, York. More information is available here: weblink.

Compassion in Practice

Organised by Tayside Palliative and End of Life Care MCN. 1 May 2019, Dundee. More details will be available soon, in the meantime, please email if you would like to get in touch with the TayPEOLC MCN team.

Working with bereaved teenagers

Organised by Child Bereavement UK. 3 May 2019, Stirlingshire. More information is available here: weblink.

Reducing & Managing Pressure Ulcers at the End of Life: Third National Conference

Organised by Healthcare Conferences UK. 10 May 2019, London. More information is available here: weblink.

Clinically Assisted Nutrition and Hydration Supporting Decision Making: Ensuring Best Practice.

Organised by Healthcare Conferences UK. 10 May 2019, London. More information is available here: weblink.

Alzheimer Scotland Annual Conference

3 June 2019, Edinburgh. More information is available here: weblink.

Continence: A Growing Challenge

Organised by the Association for Continence Advice. 10 & 11 June 2019, Harrogate. More information is available here: weblink.

Paediatric Continence Workshop

Organised by the Association for Continence Advice. 10 June 2019, Harrogate. More information is available here: weblink.

Care Home and Social Care in the Community Continence Workshop

Organised by the Association for Continence Advice. 11 June 2019, Harrogate. More information is available here: weblink.

British Lymphology Society Conference

7th & 8th October, Staffordshire. More information is available here: weblink.

Compassionate Communities in Action: Reclaiming ageing, dying and grieving.

6th Public Health Palliative Care International Conference. 13-16 October, Blue Mountains, New South Wales, Australia. More information is available here: weblink.

St Margaret of Scotland Hospice courses

A full list of courses delivered by St Margaret of Scotland Hospice is available on their website.

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