Scottish Parliament debate on Scotland’s National Health Service

At its meeting on 3 June, the new Scottish Parliament debated a motion on investing, protecting and renewing Scotland’s national health service.

The debate included references to palliative care from the new Cabinet Secretary for Health and Care, Angela Constance, and the new Minister for Community Care Alison Thewliss, who has the palliative care portfolio.

Bob Doris MSP went into more detail about palliative care:

“In the previous session, I chaired the cross-party group on palliative care—I hope that we get it back up and running in this session, as that is an important issue. To highlight that importance, I note that a Scottish Parliament information centre briefing indicated that, in 2021, 89 per cent of those dying in Scotland had palliative care needs. There is also a huge increase in those dying with complex needs and multiple conditions, which is a much more complex situation. [...]

Given the scale of the challenge, our health and social care sectors must deliver reform and renewal, as the Scottish Government motion highlights. The challenges may be substantial, but there is cause for optimism. We should not forget that, where palliative and end-of-life care is delivered, it is often done to an exceptionally high standard, with great care, respect and dignity. That can often get lost in the debate.

We also have an excellent hospice network, which has, in recent budgets from this place, received additional moneys, including some to help work towards pay parity with NHS agenda for change staff. That is something that I and other members have championed for some time. Reform and renewal must be done with Scotland’s hospices at the heart.

However, it is not just about hospices. Our vibrant hospice-at-home network also needs to be nurtured. Our care home staff and home care workers are all fundamental to the network of support that is required. [...]

In the few seconds that I have left, I note that, in the previous session of the Parliament, irrespective of whether people supported Liam McArthur’s Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill, which he took forward with great dignity, everyone on all sides of the debate believed that we must do better on palliative and end-of-life care. We promised to do that during this parliamentary session. This parliamentary session has been convened, and we must deliver for people who are approaching end of life.”

Read the debate in full here: Meeting of the Parliament: 03/06/2026 | Scottish Parliament Website

Scottish Parliament Debates the Third Sector

Scottish Parliament’s debate on motion S7M-00356, on strengthening Scotland’s partnership with the third sector, included mention of a new third sector partnership agreement and recognition of the significance of multi-year funding to third-sector organisations.

Read the debate in full here: Meeting of the Parliament: 16/06/2026 | Scottish Parliament Website

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Our Path Ahead: Chief Medical Officer for Scotland’s Annual Report 2025–2026

This year’s CMO report includes a case study on the provision of palliative care in Fife.

Read the CMO’s annual report here.

New guidance aims to change the conversation on adult social care and support in Scotland

Social care is a vital part of palliative care but it is misunderstood, undervalued and underfunded. New guidance has been produced which aims to help people challenge and change narratives around social care.

Find out more here.

Urgent need for system reform in future care planning, access to palliative care and care coordination

BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care has published an editorial on the need for system reform in end-of-life care, focusing on research within a Scottish context.

“Countries with an ageing population and rising rates of multimorbidity must shift away from single condition-focused systems to proactive, coordinated care centred in communities that is responsive to what matters to people.”

Read the editorial in full here.

Nursing Care of the Deceased Person: A Best Practice Video

Belfast Health and Social Care Trust recently launched a best practice video relating to “Last Offices”: Nursing care of the Deceased Person: A Best Practice Video.

Please note that there may be policy/legal differences between Northern Ireland and Scotland.  A film on care of the deceased/”last offices”/”final act of care”, developed in Scotland, is embedded within the e-Learning module on an “Introduction to palliative and end of life care” that can be found on Turas Learn here: Preparing for work in health and social care

Lord Mann review of antisemitism and other forms of racism in the NHS and healthcare regulatory system

In October 2025, the previous Secretary of State for Health and Social Care asked Lord Mann to lead a rapid review in response to antisemitism and other forms of racism across healthcare regulation and the NHS. This rapid report has now been published.

“While there is a focus throughout this review on antisemitism and the experiences of Jewish people working within and seeking care from the NHS, it does not address antisemitism in isolation. Race and religious discrimination and hatred should be addressed more broadly. Many of the recommendations of this review set out how in particular antisemitism must be recognised, acknowledged, and addressed, but the majority speak to the need to address racism at every level, no matter its form.”

Read the review in full here.

Small Grants available - To Absent Friends

To Absent Friends (1-7 November) is an annual festival initiated by Good Life, Good Death, Good Grief that gives people across Scotland an excuse to remember, in whatever way feels meaningful to them, people they love who have died. Offering community groups and organisations this opportunity to get together in remembrance reduces the isolation often associated with bereavement and strengthens community connections.

Past events have included concerts, film screenings, planting and gardening activities, creative and crafting sessions, guided walks, cafes of reminiscence, online sessions, and more.

Find out more about the small grants, including how to apply, here. 

Sharing current Scottish Practice

The Poster Exhibition at the SPPC Annual Conference 2025 showcased best practice and new initiatives to improve experiences of living with serious illness, dying and bereavement in Scotland and further afield.

Most of the posters are available to view on the SPPC website, and each month we highlight a few on our blog and in this e-bulletin. This month we highlight these five posters... click on the links to view the posters:

• Who Gets Hospice Care? Changing Demographics at Ardgowan Hospice, 2019-2024

• PELiCaN Police and Scottish Ambulance Service Occurrence Marker Process - Establishing a process for sharing key information with emergency services for children who are likely to die in the community

• “How do you go from talking about the weather to discussing your life?” Dignity Therapy applied in a Community Respiratory Team 

• Kilbryde Hospice (Dove Cafes)

• Living and Dying in a Care Home – the stories we can tell (photovoice methodology)

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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State of Caring 2026 survey

Carer experiences matter, and by taking part you will help ensure that carers’ voices are heard by policymakers, health and care services, employers and the wider public. Carers’ collective experiences are a vital source of evidence not only for Carers Scotland and Carers UK, but by many other organisations including Governments, local authorities, health and social care services, charities and carers groups.

The survey link can be found and shared here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/8GX7Z5T

Impact of Parental Bereavement on Children and Families During COVID-19 in Scotland

A PhD candidate at Strathclyde University is doing a study exploring how childhood parental bereavement during the COVID-19 period affected children, young people, and family dynamics in Scotland. The study aims to understand family experiences as well as professional perspectives on supporting bereaved children and families during a time of restrictions and service disruption.

Respondents are sought who are:

• Young people between 13-18 years old (8-13 during the COVID-19 isolation periods) who experienced the death of a parent between March 2020 and August 2021
• Their adult family members
• Professionals who supported bereaved children, young people, or families during COVID-19

Volunteers will take part in a semi-structured interview of 45-90 minutes, either in person or online.

Find out more about the study here. For any questions or to volunteer, please contact Bright Antony at bright.antony@strath.ac.uk. 

Wellbeing study for palliative care and hospice professionals

A PhD candidate at the University of Chichester is doing a study investigating the effectiveness of brief, mindfulness-based practices that may support the wellbeing of end-of-life healthcare professionals. 

Find out more about the study here. For any questions, please contact Lorena Covington at lcoving1@stu.chi.ac.uk 

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Study: Support Needs of Bereaved Parents in Neonatal Intensive Care Units

A new study has explored parents’ lived experiences of end of life care and their perceptions of support needs during and following the death of their baby in neonatal intensive care units in the United Kingdom.

A new visual tool, developed from the findings, has potential to support bereavement conversations between health professionals and parents.

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SPPC Annual Conference: Tools for a Changing World

The SPPC Annual Conference 2026 will take place on 28 October 2026 at the John McIntyre Conference Centre in Edinburgh.

Catch up with colleagues from across Scotland and make new connections at the Scottish Partnership for Palliative Care Annual Conference. Hear new and challenging perspectives, take part in interactive sessions and be energised and inspired.

Book by 18 September to get the Early Bird Discount: Book tickets

Call for Posters

Are you involved in an interesting project or in an area of work that you would like to share with others? Why not present your work in the poster exhibition at the SPPC Annual Conference? If you are interested in presenting a poster complete this poster proposal form and email it to susan@palliativecarescotland.org.uk by Wednesday 16 September 2026. More information is available here: SPPC Annual Conference 2026

Opportunities to Exhibit

There will be an opportunity to exhibit at the conference. The exhibitor area at the conference provides generous space for exhibitions and displays with easy access to the catering area, seating, posters and breakout rooms. If you would like to discuss bringing an exhibition stand to the conference, please email susan@palliativecarescotland.org.uk by Wednesday 16 September 2026. 

To Absent Friends 

To Absent Friends (1-7 November) is an annual festival of remembrance across Scotland. Organisations and community groups in Scotland are encouraged to take part in the festival in whatever ways are meaningful for them.  

Find out more about ways to take part here: To Absent Friends | Get Involved

There is a Small Grants Scheme to support groups to participate by holding To Absent Friends activities. The deadline to apply for one of the grants of up to £275 is 2 September. Find out more and apply here: To Absent Friends | Small Grants

There will be an informal lunchtime session for people considering holding a To Absent Friends event on 19 August 2026 at noon. This is a chance to meet others who have hosted events in the past, share ideas and concerns, and ask questions. Email samara@palliativecarescotland.org.uk to book your place.

Follow us on social media

For updates on SPPC and Good Life, Good Death, Good Grief work, follow us on Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.

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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.

• A Practical Guide to Effective Non-Medical Prescribing in End of Life Care, Thursday 2nd July 2026, online. For further information and to book your place, click here or email aman@hc-uk.org.uk.
• Supporting Staff Bereavement in the Workplace, Tuesday 22^nd September 2026, online. For further information and to book your place, click here or email emilyw@hc-uk.org.uk.
• DNACPR and CPR Decisions: Developing Competency in Effective & Person Centred Practice, Friday 25^th September 2026, online. For further information and to book your place, click here or email kerry@hc-uk.org.uk.
• Controlled Drugs Conference: Ensuring the Safer Management, Diversion & Abuse, Prescribing and Use, Wednesday 14^th October 2026, online. For further information and to book your place, click here or email emilyw@hc-uk.org.uk.
• Caldicott Principles & Information Sharing in End of Life Care, Friday 16^th October 2026, online. For more information and to book your place, click here or email emily@hc-uk.org.uk.

Right Decision Service (RDS) for Resident Doctors - learning webinars

Organised by Healthcare Improvement Scotland. Thursday 9th July - 12:30pm – 1pm 

The Right Decision Service is Scotland’s national decision support platform. These webinars for Resident Doctors are designed to introduce RDS and how to use it.

Find out more and sign up here. 

Networking: Befriending in Hospices / End of Life Projects

Organised by Befriending Networks. Tuesday 14 July, 2026, 1pm-2pm. This informal networking session is aimed at supporting befriending projects working in hospices or end-of-life projects.

Find out more and book your free place here.

European Grief Conference 2026: Bereavement, Grief and loss - responding collaboratively to local and global challenges

9-11 September, Porto, Portugal. More information is available here. 

Webinar: Financial Distress, Welfare, and Entitlements at the End of Life

Organised by MAIN. 15 September 2026, 12-1pm, online via Teams. 

Find out more and register here.

Public Health Palliative Care Conference: Bridging Culture, Building Compassion

Organised by PHPCI. 6-9 October 2026, Fullon Hotel Tamsui Fisherman’s wharf, New Taipei City, Taiwan.

Find out more and register here.

4th International Death Literacies Symposium

Organised by the Death Literacy Institute. 11-13 October 2027, Kerala, India. 

Find out more and register here.

SPPC Annual Conference: Tools for a Changing World

Organised by SPPC. 28 October 2026, John McIntyre Conference Centre, Edinburgh. 

View the conference webpage here to find out more about the programme and see the call for posters and exhibitors.

Early-bird rates are available until 18 September. Book your place here.

Save the Date: 2026 Bereavement Education Conference

Organised by NES. Wednesday 11 November 2026, online. Details to follow. 

The conference is now accepting abstracts for the hosting of parallel sessions and poster abstracts.

Further information about the event, how to submit an abstract, and the relevant deadlines can be found on this page of the NES Events website.

Registration is not yet open but to note interest in attending, please email events@nes.scot.nhs.uk.

European Association for Palliative Care: 21st World Congress

Organised by EAPC. 20-22 May 2027, Glasgow. The congress’ theme is Humanising the Future: New Generations, New Technologies, Enduring Values. 

Find out more here.

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