Guidance for Doctors and Nurses Completing Benefits Assessment under Special Rules in Scotland (BASRiS) form for Terminal Illness

The Chief Medical Officer has published an updated Guidance for Doctors and Nurses Completing Benefits Assessment under Special Rules in Scotland (BASRiS) form for Terminal Illness. Read the updated guide in full here.

A Human Rights Bill for Scotland - Independent Analysis of Consultation Responses

The independent analysis of the Human Rights Bill for Scotland consultation responses has now been published. Please find links to the full report and Easy Read version below:

• Human Rights Bill Consultation Analysis – Full report
• Human Rights Bill Consultation Analysis – Easy Read version

The consultation responses have been published on the Citizen Space site, along with a short report which can be accessed here.

National Care Service Bill

In October 2023, Maree Todd MSP, Minister for Social Care, Mental Wellbeing and Sport, wrote to Clare Haughey MSP, Convenor Health, Social Care and Sport Committee of the Scottish Parliament with follow up information requested at the evidence session with the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee on 3 October 2023.  The Minister’s letter makes specific reference to palliative care, stating that she has asked officials to consider options to better reflect care for people with ongoing needs and end of life care in the NCS Principles as currently drafted in the Bill. SPPC has written to officials offering input and support to improve the NCS Principles.

In December 2023, Maree Todd MSP published a response to the request by Claire Haughey MSP for further information on proposed changes to the National Care Service Bill. Read the Minister's response in full here. 

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Survey: Coalition for Racial Equality and Rights 

The  Coalition for Racial Equality and Rights (CRER) is developing a suite of anti-racism resources for health and social care. They are currently undertaking a survey to inform the development of the new resources. The survey is for all staff working in health and social care in Scotland, as well as people who have left the sector within the past five years. The closing date is 9 February 2024.  The survey is available here: Health and Social Care Workforce: Help Us to Tackle Racism. 

New animated film on experiencing the death of a colleague

NHS Education for Scotland has launched a new short animated film and supplementary resource for health and social care staff who may experience the death of a colleague. Watch the film and read the resource here.

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The BMA Foundation awards research grants

The BMA Foundation awards research grants each year (totalling approximately £910,000) to encourage and further medical research in a variety of areas. One of these grants is the Helen H Lawson grant for research into end of life decision making. Applicants must be UK-registered medical practitioners or research scientists working in the UK. This grant, and other BMA Foundation grants are now open for online application via the BMA Foundation website.

The application deadline is 1 March 2024.

If you have any queries please contact researchgrants@bma.org.uk or telephone 020 7383 6341.

Survey: Palliative Wound Care Curriculum

The Palliative Wound Care Taskforce within the European Association of Palliative Care (led by the University of Galway) are currently working on defining a palliative wound care curriculum aimed at wound care professionals. They are currently seeking survey responses to inform this work. This survey closes on Friday 9th February 2024. 

Find and complete the survey here. Please contact georgina.gethin@universityofgalway.ie with any questions. More information can also be found here. 

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National Bereavement Alliance Survey: What's important to you?

The Childhood Bereavement Network and the National Bereavement Alliance have published What's Important to You? , a report outlining the findings of three recent surveys to find out the current priorities for bereaved children (those aged 5-12), young people (those aged 13-18) and adults.  

Marie Curie survey closing date extended: How can palliative and end of life care be improved?

Marie Curie is running a survey asking people living with a serious life-limiting illness, those close to them, and health and social care professionals involved in their care to help pinpoint the key issues that need to be addressed in future end of life and palliative care research.

The closing date has been extended to 19 February 2024.

To take the survey, please visit: https://palliativecarepsp.wordpress.com/survey/

To find out more about the project visit: https://palliativecarepsp.wordpress.com/

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Poster Parade: Call for Abstracts

Are you involved in a project or piece of work that you would like to showcase? Why not display it as part of the SPPC Palliative Care Poster Parade? This online poster exhibition aims to share best practice and new initiatives aimed at improving experiences of living with serious illness, dying and bereavement in Scotland and further afield. The closing date for applications is 9 February 2024. More information is available here: SPPC Poster Parade

Save the Date: SPPC Annual Conference 2024

SPPC’s annual conference will take place on Wednesday 6^th November 2024. We hope to see you there! More information will be available in due course.

Moving from Talk to Action on Bereavement: Improving Signposting

Organised by the Bereavement Charter Group and Good Life, Good Death, Good Grief, the first in a series of 'Moving from talk to action on bereavement' events took place on 23 January 2024. The series of events aims to explore how the bereavement sector can work together to achieve positive change, focusing on each of the recommendations from the Bereavement Summit Report in turn.  The event was extremely well attended and a recording of the event is now available: Recording of Moving from Talk to Action on Bereavement: Improving Signposting

A follow-up event has been scheduled for 19 March 2024.  You can book your place here: weblink.

Save the Date: Creating more bereavement-friendly workplaces event - 30th April

The Bereavement Charter Group and Good Life, Good Death, Good Grief are organising an event to explore ways of encouraging and supporting workplaces to be better at supporting bereaved staff. This is the third in a series of ‘Moving from Talk to Action on Bereavement’ events to explore how the bereavement sector can work together to achieve positive change, focusing on each of the recommendations from the Bereavement Summit Report in turn. The Workplaces event will take place in the morning of 30^th April in Edinburgh. More information about this event will be made available in due course.

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Sue Ryder's Human Rights Lead

Abbie Coutts, Human Rights Lead for Sue Ryder, is based in Scotland and keen to connect with anyone who is trying to embed human rights into clinical practice, especially palliative and end of life care.

"Let's share our ideas and I can share what training and approach we have. Please contact me at abbie.coutts@sueryder.org." 

Juggling paid employment and unpaid care: a state of caring in Scotland report

Carers Scotland has published Juggling paid employment and unpaid care: a state of caring in Scotland report. The report explores the key findings from the State of Caring Scotland survey 2023 on unpaid carers in paid employment. It is the third of three reports: the first two focusing on finances and health and social care.

Submissions Now Open: Current Issues in Palliative Care (CIPC) Conference

The Current Issues in Palliative Care (CIPC) Conference, organised by MA Healthcare, will take place on Thursday 25^th April 2024 at America Square Conference Centre in London.

The CIPC conference poster competition is now open. The deadline to submit is 22 February 2024. Anyone working in palliative care is invited to share their work. To find out more and submit an abstract, click here. 

Call For Abstracts: The European Grief Conference 2024

EGC welcomes a broad range of abstracts on bereavement and grief-related topics with a focus on research, education/policy or practice aligned to levels of the public health model of bereavement.  For the 2024 Dublin conference they especially welcome abstracts on suicide bereavement which will be curated into dedicated parallel sessions.   Full details on the abstract call are available here.

The European Grief Conference will be held in Dublin November 11^th to 13^th 2024.

NHS Education for Scotland: Bereavement Education Conference 2023 outputs now available

NES' fourth annual bereavement conference took place last November and attracted interest from over 1300 health and social care staff and generated extremely positive feedback. Speaker film clips, presentation slides and posters are available to view here.

Planning for the 2024 conference is already underway with the date to be confirmed soon.

SunLife's Cost of Dying 2024 Report

SunLife has published its Cost of Dying 2024 report, highlighting rises in costs for funerals, basic funerals, and overall death-related costs. Read the report in full here.

Macmillan Education and Training - "New for 2024: The Cancer Professionals Podcast"

Listen to the first episode of The Cancer Professionals Podcast brought to you by Macmillan Cancer Support.

"Throughout this series, we interview a wide range of guests, including health and social care professionals, to lift the lid on current issues faced by the cancer workforce. Expect to hear discussions of clinical practice, personal experience and practical advice to improve your knowledge and skills in supporting people affected by cancer.

In our first episode, we are joined by Natalie Harrison, a Macmillan Specialist Palliative Care Dietitian. Natalie shares her knowledge and expertise in diet and nutrition at end of life.

Future episodes include acute oncology, health inequalities and much, much more."

You can listen to the podcast on the Macmillan website, The Learning Hub, or on your favourite podcast platform (including Spotify and Apple Podcasts).

New episodes are released on the first Wednesday of each month.

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Save the Date: SPPC Annual Conference

SPPC’s annual conference will take place on Wednesday 6^th November. We hope to see you there!  Watch this space for further details.

Marie Curie 2024 Research Conference: "Improving End of Life for All"

Organised by Marie Curie. 5-9 February 2024, online. Registration is free. For further information and to book your place, visit the conference website here.

Coping with Professional Grief workshop

Organised by Hospice UK's Compassionate Employers programme. Tuesday 20 February 2024, 10:00 – 12:30, online. Registration £120+VAT. For further information and to book your place, visit the website here.

Advanced European Bioethics Course: “Suffering, Death and Palliative Care”

Organised by the section of Healthcare Ethics, IQ healthcare, (Radboudumc university medical centre). 12 - 15 March 2024, Nijmegen, the Netherlands. For more information please visit the website. Contact: Valesca Hulsman at Valesca.Hulsman@radboudumc.nl.

Improving Signposting to Bereavement Information and Support - Part II

Organised by the Bereavement Charter Group and Good Life, Good Death, Good Grief.  19 March 2024, online. A follow-up to the 'Moving from Talk to Action on Bereavement: Improving Signposting' event that took place on 23 January 2024.  More information is available here: weblink.

6^th All Island Children’s Palliative Care Conference: "Challenging the Boundaries: Antenatal to Adulthood"

Organised by the All Ireland Institute of Hospice and Palliative Care (AIIHPC). 25 – 26 April 2024. The Midlands Park Hotel, Portlaoise, County Laois, Ireland. To view the programme, submit an abstract, or register, visit the CPCC website.

Current Issues in Palliative Care (CIPC) Conference

Organised by MA Healthcare. Thursday 25 April 2024, America Square Conference Centre, London. For more information, or to submit an abstract or poster, visit the conference website.

NES Annual Virtual Conference 2024: "Developing a Compassionate, Skilled and Sustainable Workforce Through Innovative Education and Technology"

The NES Annual Virtual Conference will take place Thursday 25 - Friday 26 April 2024. Find out more at the conference website.

Save the Date: Creating more bereavement-friendly workplaces event

The Bereavement Charter Group and Good Life, Good Death, Good Grief are putting together the third in the series of Moving from Talk to Action on Bereavement events.  It will take place in the morning of 30th April in Central Edinburgh. More details will follow.

Building Bridges Between Science and People: 8th Public Health Palliative Care International Conference

Organised by PHPCI International. 22-25 October, Bern, Switzerland.  Find out more at the conference website.

European Grief Conference 2024

The next European Grief Conference 2024 will be held in Dublin Ireland, November 11 to 13 2024. The conference is being hosted by Irish Hospice Foundation with partners Bereavement Network Europe, Danish National Center for Grief and RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences. More details will be added to the conference website in the coming weeks and months.

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