Katherine Sleeman will explore recent progress, challenges and opportunities in illuminating and understanding people’s end of life care experiences in the UK.

Professor Katherine Sleeman is the Laing Galazka Chair in Palliative Care, at the Cicely Saunders Institute, King's College London, and an Honorary Consultant in Palliative Medicine at King's College Hospital NHS Trust.

Back to top

Aileeen Collier will look at using participatory visual methods to identify, understand, interpret and improve upon every day palliative care.

Dr Aileen Collier holds a joint appointment with the Research Centre for Palliative Care Death and Dying (RePaDD) Flinders University and the Northern Adelaide Local Health Network (NALHN) as Associate Professor in Palliative Care and Aged Care Nursing. 

Back to top

Erica Borgstrom will explore how palliative care strategies are actually understood, interpreted and implemented in the real world.

Professor Erica Borgstrom is a Professor of Medical Anthropology at The Open University (OU), where she specialises in death studies and leads Open Thanatology. She is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and a Fellow of the Royal Anthropological Institute.

Back to top

Laura Green will reflect on the suffering caused by healthcare, which is often unnoticed and unacknowledged.

Dr Laura Green is Programme Director of the Bachelors and Integrated Masters in Nursing at the University of Manchester, and a lecturer specialising in palliative and end of life care. In the past she has lectured in palliative care at the University of Bradford and worked as Clinical Academic Research Fellow for Marie Curie Hospice Bradford.

Back to top

Harvey Max Chochinov will provide an evidence-based practical approach to affirming each individual’s intrinsic worth towards the end of life.

Dr Harvey Max Chochinov is a Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Manitoba and a Senior Scientist and CancerCare Manitoba Research Institute.

(Acknowledging the reality of the Climate Emergency this talk is via video link.)

Back to top

Patrick Sullivan will explore how each of us carries our own motivations for vocation, and are possibly seeking to add more to sustain us. As we live this out, we do so near, alongside, or entangled with the stories and motivations of those in our care. What happens when stories cross over?

Patrick Sullivan is a Senior Healthcare Chaplain for NHS Tayside, overseeing education and reflective practice for the Department of Spiritual Care. He is a Honorary Clinical Teaching Fellow for the University of Dundee, a pastoral supervisor, and involved in National Training for Vales-Based Reflective Practice (VBRP). 

Back to top

Join Kirsty Cartin and Jane Douglas in this breakout session exploring changing the narrative and busting the myths about living and dying well in care homes. 

Kirsty Cartin is the manager of Rashielee Care Home, Erskine. A career care home nurse, having worked in the sector for over 20 years, Kirsty is passionate about unleashing the potential of care homes as places where residents are supported to live well and die well.  Kirsty is currently undertaking the Queens Nurse Leadership Development Programme and regularly challenges the perception of care homes through her twitter account @Justacarehomeg1

Dr Jane Douglas QN RN LLB MSc PhD, Dip H/SW is currently working for her own consultancy as an Independent Nurse Advisor and is a visiting lecturer with Queen Margaret University.  Jane has had a varied and diverse nursing career and was Principal Assistant with Scottish Borders Council and was the strategic lead and lead commissioner for older people living with dementia, and the lead commissioner. She then become Chief Executive for a registered charity in the Scottish Borders, where she led on a new design and development for small care houses to support people who are living with dementia.

Back to top

Join Donnacha O' Ceallaigh and Aileen Collier as they explore international perspectives on understanding people’s experiences and outcomes towards the end of life.

Donnacha brings perspectives from the development and implementation of the new National End of Life Survey in the Republic of Ireland.

Aileen will tell the story and offer reflections on Australia’s approach to patient reported outcome measures (PROMS).

Back to top

In this breakout session, Nancy Preston will explore what is palliative sedation? What is known about its current prevalence across Europe? What are the key ethical issues it gives rise to and how might the practice evolve?

Professor Nancy Preston is Co-Director of the International Observatory on End-of-Life Care and Professor of Supportive and Palliative Care at Lancaster University. Her research focusses on integrating palliative care into all aspects of health care, including non-cancer settings such as care homes. She also conducts research into decision making at the end of life.

Back to top

In this breakout session hear the story of End of Life Aid Skills for Everyone (EASE), a public education course exploring issues people face during dying, death and bereavement. 

Caroline Gibb is the Community Development Lead at Scottish Partnership for Palliative Care. She managed the compassionate communities initiative The Truacanta Project from 2019 – 2023 and has been involved in developing and delivering the End of Life Aid Skills for Everyone (EASE) public education course since its launch, which includes training and supporting EASE facilitators to deliver the course to communities across Scotland.  Caroline is an experienced trainer and facilitator with a background in community development and volunteer support. 

Rebecca Patterson is Director of Good Life, Good Death, Good Grief, an alliance working to make Scotland a place where everyone can help when someone is caring, dying or grieving.  Rebecca is interested in practical initiatives that increase opportunities, skills, knowledge and confidence around death, dying, loss and care within communities.  She has been involved in various related work including the To Absent Friends Festival, the It Takes A Village exhibition, the Bereavement Charter Mark for Employers and the Truacanta Project.

Back to top

Delegate fee: £190

Delegates from member organisations: £145

A list of member organisations can be found on our website: SPPC member organisations

Students: £85

Book your place here: SPPC Conference 2023 Bookings

Check out the conference website here: SPPC Conference 2023: Out of the Shadows

Back to top