Scottish Partnership for Palliative Care: Update

Welcome to Update, a monthly round-up of news relevant to palliative care in Scotland, brought to you by the Scottish Partnership for Palliative Care.

Policy

Ministerial statement on the Future of the National Care Service

Minister for Social Care, Mental Wellbeing and Sport Maree Todd MSP has published a letter regarding plans for the National Care Service going forward.

Read the Minister’s letter in full here and an Easy Read version here.

House of Lords debate on hospice funding

A debate in the House of Lords on 6 January 2025 included a question on hospice funding.

Read the debate in full here.

Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill: call for evidence (England & Wales)

The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill would apply to England and Wales, and allow adults who have mental capacity, are terminally ill and are in the final six months of their life, to request assistance from a doctor to end their life.

The Public Bills Committee of the House of Commons is currently receiving written evidence from those with expertise relevant to the Bill.  They strongly advise people to submit written evidence as soon as possible. The sooner you send in your submission, the more time the Committee will have to take it into consideration.  

More information and guidance on how to submit evidence is available here.

Independent evaluation of palliative care in England 

The House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee has asked its Expert Panel to undertake an independent evaluation of the state of palliative care in England. 

Find out more here.

 

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Practice

Anticipatory Prescribing Evidence Resource

Dr Ben Bowers and colleagues have undertaken extensive research around anticipatory prescribing, covering topics such as reviewing the existing evidence base, changes in practice since the COVID-19 pandemic, the perspectives of dying people and their families, the financial costs of anticipatory prescriptions, and solutions for system-level change.  They have launched a resource sharing this research here: Enhancing Anticipatory Prescribing at the End of Life

To accompany the release of the resource, Dr. Ben Bowers has authored a blog that explores the current practices and understanding surrounding injectable anticipatory prescribing. You can read the full blog here.  For more information contact Ben Bowers on  bb527@medschl.cam.ac.uk

Sharing Scottish Practice

The SPPC Palliative Care Poster Parade is an online collection of posters showcasing best practice and new initiatives to improve experiences of living with serious illness, dying and bereavement in Scotland and further afield. All of the posters are available to view on the SPPC website, and each month we’ll highlight a few on our blog. This month we highlight these six posters... click on the links to view the posters:

  • Urgent Home Visiting Team click here
  • Using an adapted Shadowbox technique to teach healthcare staff how to manage a patient with end-of-life care needs: A blueprint for educators click here
  • What are the experiences, perceptions and educational needs of registered nurses to allow them to provide nurse led end-of-life care in an in-patient hospice setting? An extended literature review click here
  • What to expect and what is expected!: A competency framework for Band 6 Clinical Nurse Specialists in Palliative Care click here
  • Who is more death literate – bus drivers or students? A pilot of the Death Literacy Index in Scotland click here
  • Who’s calling? Evaluation of a Specialist Palliative Care 24/7 Telephone Advice Service click here

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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Academic and Research

A rapid review of the evidence for online interventions for bereavement support

Anne Finucane and colleagues have published a review of online interventions for bereavement support, looking at feasibility, acceptability, effectiveness, impacts and implementation of online interventions to improve wellbeing, coping and quality of life after bereavement. The review suggests that online bereavement support is feasible, acceptable and effective in improving grief intensity, reducing stress-related outcomes and depression.

Read the review in full here.

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Public-facing Information

NHS Inform website: palliative care updates

NHS Inform is Scotland’s main site for public health and care information. The Palliative Care Section has been redesigned and pages are being reviewed with input from staff and patient/carer groups. Site content is written by the NHS Inform team in line with their best practice guidelines for online public information. The Scottish Palliative Care Guidelines is the national resource for staff and collaborative work with the Guidelines Group aims to make sure information on NHS inform is consistent.

The following pages have been updated so far:

Several other pages are under review or being developed including pages for children, young people and parents. More reviewers are welcome. Please contact: palliativecareteam@gov.scot

Ember LGBTQIA+ End-of-Life Guide published

All Ireland Institute of Hospice and Palliative Care in partnership with LGBT Ireland and Irish Hospice Foundation have published an end-of-life guide for the LGBTQIA+ community.

This document aims to inform and empower LGBTQIA+ people to start thinking about Advance or Future Care Planning for end of life and support Health and Social Care professionals caring for the community at end of life. 

Please note that this document was produced for use in Ireland, and therefore refers to legal and procedural processes which do not apply in Scotland. However, there are useful sections on emotional and practical advice, tips, and things to think about which apply more widely.

Download the guide from the Palliative Hub Website.

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SPPC News

Demystifying Death Conference: Making Change Happen

The Good Life, Good Death, Good Grief conference Demystifying Death: Making Change Happen will take place at the Renfield Centre in Glasgow on 26 February 2025. 

Find out more about conference here. Tickets are selling fast - book your place here.

Demystifying Death Week

Demystifying Death Week takes place across Scotland from 5-11 May 2025. Find out more here.

The Demystifying Death Week Small Grants Scheme is now open. The closing date for applications is 21 March 2025. Find out more, including how to apply, here.

SPPC’s response to the public consultation on the Scottish Government Strategy for Palliative Care

SPPC have submitted a response to the public consultation on the Scottish Government Strategy for Palliative Care. 

This response draws on engagement with SPPC members and other stakeholders, and was additionally informed by a series of bespoke stakeholder workshops.

Read more here, and read the response in full here.

Save the Date: SPPC Conference 2025

The next SPPC annual conference will take place on Wednesday 12 November 2025 at the John McIntyre Conference Centre, Edinburgh. Further details will be announced in the coming months.

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Other News

Palliative and End of Life Care Commission - call for written evidence

A Commission on Palliative and End of Life Care has been set up to identify the current strengths and significant shortfalls in provision and the barriers that exist in the current systems of such care across the UK. It will look at the relationship between specialist palliative care services and generalist services.

The commission welcomes written evidence from those who have experience of palliative care services and those who are providers of services, both in health and social care and beyond. They welcome evidence from statutory services, third sector and commercial providers. 

Find out more at the Commission’s website here. The call for written evidence is open until 28 March 2025.

Inspiring Leadership Programme: Leading Self; Leading with others in a Palliative Care Setting

NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde’s Inspiring Leadership Programme cohort for 2025-2026 will open for registration on 20 January. The programme begins in May 2025. 

The programme is open to all registered health or social care professionals or senior colleagues working within specialist palliative care in Scotland, (this includes Specialist Trainees in palliative medicine and those working at AFC band 6 or 7 or senior equivalent).

Find the schedule and more details at the programme website here.

Macmillan Education and Training 

Macmillan Supporting Cancer Care Programme (SCCP)

This program is designed for professionals who want to increase their knowledge and understanding when supporting people with cancer. The SCCP takes 3 months to complete 4 modules and includes e-learning and 5 virtual classrooms. Participants are encouraged to reflect on their e-learning and discuss how they have applied their learning in practice when supporting people with cancer.

To find out more about the next cohort starting 3rd April please see the the information page.

Evidence Work Based Learning Module

Macmillan Cancer Support, in collaboration with the University of West of England, will soon be opening applications for the first 2025 cohort of the popular Evidencing Work Based Learning Module. The module develops you as a leader and supports you with a service development project in your own place of work.

Macmillan fully funds 30 masters level credits for suitable applicants (both Macmillan and non-Macmillan professionals). Any interested applicants should log into the Macmillan Learning Hub to book a space on the information session, running on Tuesday 28th January.

Please contact ServiceOpsSupport@macmillan.org.uk if you require any support with booking or head to the information page for more details.  

Person-Centred Primary Care Programme

The new Person-centred primary care programme is now available for the cancer workforce working in a primary care setting. This new programme aims to increase the quality and quantity of Holistic Needs Assessment and/or Cancer Care Review clinics in GP Practices, aiding the personalised care and support planning agenda.

The Cancer Professionals Podcast from Macmillan Cancer Support – Understanding agency: Alleviating suffering in cancer care

This episode of the podcast explores what we mean by ‘agency’ and how suffering can significantly disrupt a person’s sense of control and autonomy. Dr. Jennifer Corns, senior lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Glasgow explores how we can prioritise forms of agency to achieve person-centred care.

Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or listen online here The Cancer Professionals Podcast | Macmillan Cancer Support

Please visit Macmillan’s education and training community to find out more about how to access the valuable education and training resources.

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Courses and Events

Grief Academy course: When Grief is Complicated

Organised by Grief Academy. Seven-week online programme starting 1 February, exploring how and why people can feel ‘stuck’ in grief, as well as tools and strategies that might help. 

For more information, visit the course webpage here. Registration is available here.

Healthcare Conferences UK: CPD Virtual Conferences

Organised by Healthcare Conferences UK. For dates and times of individual sessions, see below. Readers of this newsletter can receive a 20% discount with the code hcuk20sppc.

2025 Marie Curie Research into Practice Conference 

Organised by Marie Curie. 11-14 February 2025, online.

More information on the conference is available here

Healthcare Conferences UK: Professional Development Conferences & Masterclasses

Organised by Healthcare Conferences UK. For dates and times of individual sessions, see below. Readers of this newsletter can receive a 20% discount with the code hcuk20sppc.

Good Life, Good Death, Good Grief conference - Demystifying Death: Making Change Happen

Organised by Good Life, Good Death, Good Grief. 26 February 2025, Renfield Centre, Glasgow.

Find out more about conference here. Registration is now open - book your place here.

Social Security Scotland’s Pension Age Disability Payment Stakeholder Events

Organised by Social Security Scotland. Pension Age Disability Payment is replacing Attendance Allowance in Scotland. SSS are offering a free online stakeholder information event to share details on Pension Age Disability Payment. These sessions will be online. Dates and times, as well as registration links, are below:

Save the Date: National Primary Care Improvement Event

Organised by Healthcare Improvement Scotland. Thursday 27 March 2025 (09.30am- 4.30pm), Assembly Rooms, 54 George Street, Edinburgh, EH2 2LR.

Please register your interest here.

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

Organised by the section of Healthcare Ethics, IQ Health, Radboud university medical centre Nijmegen. Nijmegen, the Netherlands, 25-28 March 2025.

For more information and to register, please visit the course website at Advanced European bioethics course ‘Suffering, Death and Palliative Care’ - IQ Health.

NES Annual Conference 2025 - Learning for Change: Tackling Health Inequity through Education and Workplace Learning

Organised by NHS Education for Scotland. Thursday 24th - Friday 25th April 2025, online.

For more information and to register, please visit the conference website.

Training course: LGBTQ+ Inclusivity in Ageing and Dementia

Organised by the University of Stirling’s Dementia Services Development Centre. Training will take place at the Dementia Services Development Centre, Iris Murdoch Building, University of Stirling FK9 4LA

Training dates are 27 March 2025 or 12 June 2025. Click on each date to find out more and to book your place.

Demystifying Death Week 2025

Demystifying Death Week will take place across Scotland 5-11 May.  Find out more and get involved here: Demystifying Death Week 

Save the Date: NES Bereavement Education Conference 2025

Organised by NHS Education for Scotland. Tuesday 11th November, online. More details about registration, abstract submission and the programme will be available in the coming months.

Save the Date: SPPC Annual Conference 2025

The next SPPC annual conference will take place on Wednesday 12 November 2025 at the John McIntyre Conference Centre, Edinburgh. Further details will be announced in the coming months.

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