National Care Service Bill – evidence on palliative care

On 13^th December the Scottish Parliament Health, Social Care and Sport Committee held two evidence sessions relating to the National Care Service (Scotland) Bill. This included evidence relating to palliative and end of life care. A transcript of these evidence sessions is available here: Health, Social Care and Sport Committee, 13 December 2022.

The committee subsequently wrote to the Scottish Partnership for Palliative Care to seek further information, and SPPC’s response can be viewed here.

The Scottish Mental Health Law Review – publication of final report

The final report of the Scottish Mental Health Law Review has now been published and can be accessed via the following link. The report has now been presented to Scottish Government for consideration and the Review has concluded its work. All future enquiries in relation to the Review should be directed to MentalHealthLaw@gov.scot.

Bereavement Benefits (Remedial) Order 2022 approved by MPs

MPs have voted to change eligibility criteria for bereavement benefits, meaning cohabiting parents and their children will be able to get support when one parent dies, where previously this was only available to parents who were married. Read more about this in this Childhood Bereavement Network briefing.

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Scottish Palliative Care Guidelines Education Module

The Scottish Palliative Care Guidelines Education Module is now live on TURAS Learn. The module is open to all registered users on TURAS Learn. If you are a registered TURAS Learn user, you can access the module here.

Best practice in palliative and end of life care for cancer- Macmillan

Macmillan have published Best Practise in Palliative and End of Life Care for Cancer, a resource for healthcare professionals involved in palliative and end of life care. It highlights best practice when caring for patients in the last years of life.

Palliative and end of life care for people with heart failure

The British Society for Heart Failure has published a range of resources to support palliative and end of life care for people with heart failure on its website. In particular, the Supportive Palliative Care for Heart Failure guides are resources that have been developed by Pumping Marvellous along with their Patient Educators and specialist heart failure nurses. To find these resources, please click on the following link and click on ‘download guide’ at the bottom of the page. Patient info and HCP resources — British Society For Heart Failure (bsh.org.uk).

Sharing current Scottish Practice

The SPPC Autumn Season 2022 featured an online poster exhibition of 55 posters, sharing work and research underway across Scotland. Each month, our blog focuses on the content of a few of these posters. This month, we focus on:

• Adopting a risk management approach
• Assessing the impact of decant from South Ayrshire to East Ayrshire on the demographics of patients admitted to the in-patient unit
  
• Becoming a University Hospice: From shared values to innovative practice and research
• CHAS Fresh Meals: Nutritious and Delicious
• Confidence is Key: Neighbours Supporting Each Other Through Grief
• Courageous Conversations: Delivering expert level communication skills on a digital platform

The SPPC blog is a space to share practice currently underway in Scotland. If you have practice you'd like to share, please get in touch.

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New research on access to out-of-hours care

King’s College London’s Cicely Saunders Institute, Hull York Medical School at the University of Hull, the University of Cambridge and Marie Curie have published research on understanding and improving out-of-hours care for people with advanced illness and their informal carers. To read more, please click on the following link: Mind the gaps: understanding and improving out-of-hours care for people with advanced illness and their informal carers

NIHR call for research in palliative and end of life care

The NIHR is inviting research applications in Palliative and End of Life Care. The call is open across four of the NIHR’s programmes and includes the following themes (as well as others not listed):

• Workforce and skills issues
• Referral/transition across health and social care services, particularly continuity of care and care out of hours
• Managing symptoms and care needs in end of life care
• End of life care for infants, children and young people with life-limiting conditions
• Time and place of access to services
• Planning and managing end of life care
• Bereavement support
• Reducing health inequalities in relation to end of life care

The timescales for commissioning vary across each of the participating programmes but the call is open until the end of April/early May, and funding outcomes are expected at the end of 2023. Find out more and apply here.

NIHR call for research: Interventions that reduce loneliness

Evidence of the harmful effects of loneliness is growing. The NIHR are offering funding for research on interventions aimed at reducing loneliness. The deadline for applications is 15 August 2023. Find out more and apply here.

BMA Foundation research grants

The BMA Foundation awards research grants each year to encourage further medical research in a variety of areas. One of these grants, the Helen H Lawson, is to promote research into end of life decision making. Applications are invited from UK-registered medical practitioners or research scientists working in the UK and can be for either research in progress or prospective research.

In 2023, the Helen H Lawson grant will be awarded for an amount of up to £65,000. The application deadline is 03 March 2023. For more information on the Helen H Lawson grant, and other BMA Foundation research grants and to apply, please click here.

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Emerging Learning and Reflections from the Truacanta Project

The Truacanta Project is a community development, compassionate community project run by Scottish Partnership for Palliative Care and funded by Macmillan Cancer Support. It launched in 2019 and aimed to support Scottish communities to improve local experiences of death, dying, loss and care. The project is set to conclude in March of 2023. In this article for eHospice, Truacanta Project Manager Caroline Gibb talks about the project and discusses some of the early learning and reflections coming out of the work done so far. You can read it here and a fuller evaluation will be published later this year.

Demystifying Death Week

Demystifying Death Week will take place 1-7 May 2023 and is about shining a light on death, dying and bereavement in Scotland. Each year, organisations and individuals across Scotland organise events to mark Demystifying Death Week. All kinds of events take place, from death cafes to film nights, exhibitions to craft workshops, seminars to lunches. Would you like to be involved with this year's Demystifying Death Week? Find out more and get involved. And check out the small grants scheme below.

Small Grants Scheme

A small grants fund has been set up to support organisations to put on events as part of Demystifying Death Week.

We’re seeking applications of up to £250 from people who want to put on an event during DD Week. In previous years, events have included lunchtime get-togethers, information stands, film screenings, workshops, discussion groups, planning sessions, crematorium tours, craft sessions, lectures, art exhibitions, and death cafes.

The deadline for receipt of completed applications is 12pm on Wednesday 15 March 2023. More information including an application form is available here: DD Week Small Grants

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Grants for families to help with cost of living

Family Fund, the national grant-giving charity for families raising a disabled, or seriously ill child, or young person, is calling for families in Scotland to apply for a grant to help with the cost of living. Grants are available for essential items such as children’s clothing; white goods such as a cooker, fridge or freezer; sensory or specialist play equipment or technology for the child, and assistance with much-needed family breaks. Families can find out more about Family Fund, and apply, by visiting the charity’s grants page. (https://www.familyfund.org.uk/grants)

Together for Short Lives: A Support Fund has been established by Together for Short Lives to provide a one-off payment to a limited number of families with a child with a life-limiting/life-threatening condition dependent on medical technology to sustain life. This fund aims to provide extra money to alleviate financial worries. Check out these documents: information and application form.

Read the 7th Public Health Palliative Care International Conference Abstract Book

The 7th Public Health Palliative Care International Conference (PHPCI7) on “Democratizing caring, dying, and grieving” took place in September 2022 in Bruges, Belgium with about 380 people from 41 countries attending. The abstract book is now available and can be read here.

Discover Asset-Based Community Development for End-of-Life & Hospice Practitioners

This online course has been specifically designed for hospice and end of life care staff, and should provide a good understanding of the principles and potential of an ABCD approach at end of life. The taught modules will be supported by online resources. For more information or to enrol, please visit the website.

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Save the Date - SPPC Conference 2023

The next SPPC Conference will take place on 22 November 2023.

Caledonia Funeral Aid - Funeral Costs Training Free Online Workshop

Organised by Caledonia Funeral Aid with the support of Edinburgh Community Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund. 8 February 2023, online event.

This workshop is intended for staff of charities, advice providers, care workers, and anyone who may be asked to advise on how to plan or pay for a funeral. For more information on the initiative, please see the website, or for more on the training, see here. To register, please contact Caledonia@funerals.scot.

Marie Curie Research Conference 2023 - Improving End of Life for All

Organised by Marie Curie. 6-10 February 2023, online event, free for all to attend. More information is available here: website.

Discover Asset-Based Community Development for End-of-Life & Hospice Practitioners

Organised by Nurture Development. Online course, an hour and a half a week over 8 weeks, delivered February - March 2023. For more information or to enrol, please visit the website.

International Advanced European Bioethics course - "Suffering, Death and Palliative Care"

Organised by the Healthcare Ethics, IQ healthcare department of Radboud University medical centre, Nijmegen, the Netherlands. 21-24 March 2023, Nijmegen, the Netherlands. For more information, visit the course website.

Namaste Care Online Training Course Dates for 2023

Organised by Namaste Care Training. 6th April and 4th May or 3rd October and 7th November 2023, online. More information is available here.

Palliative Outcome Scale (POS + IPOS) Workshop

Organised by the Cicely Saunders Institute at King’s College London and the Hull York Medical School. 16-17 May 2023. More information is available here: weblink.

Association for Continence Advice (ACA) Annual Conference and Exhibition

Organised by the ACA Conference Organising Group. 15 and 16 May 2023, at the National Conference Centre in Birmingham. For more information and to register, visit the website.

Compassionate Cities: Igniting Community

Organised by Compassionate Communities UK. 10-11 July, Birmingham. More information is available here: weblink.

2023 Global Ageing Network Biennial Conference

Organised in partnership with Scottish Care and the National Care Forum. 7-8 September 2023, Glasgow. More information is available at the conference website.

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