Conference 2008
The End of Life Palliative Care Conference which took place at Bournemouth University, has taken steps to help fill the gaps in the provision of palliative care locally.
Chaired by Robert Talbot, Medical Director of Poole Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, the delegates heard speeches from professionals from the health and social care sectors and were able to engage in a debate on some of the issues.
Dr Richard Sloan, Medical Director at Weldmar Hospicecare Trust discussed the topic of non-malignant disease. Dr Paul Barker a GP with a special interest in palliative care was also on the panel of speakers. Martin Edwards, CEO of Julia's House Dorset Children's Hospice, touched upon transitional care in Dorset, completing the topics considered from the health professionals whilst Charlie Sheldrick, Service Unit Head of Adult Social Care and Well-Being at Borough of Poole gave a social care perspective focusing on public policy and its impact on services.
Charlie Sheldrick, Dr Paul Barker and Dr Richard Sloan who were amongst the speakers at the conference.
Very positive feedback was received from those who attended, who found the conference to be a constructive forum for highlighting current concerns and perspectives. The conference also tried to identify ways to further integrate health and social care services in end of life issues.
Elizabeth Purcell, LMH CEO, spoke of the conference's success and its outcomes, stating:
"I am delighted that the End of Life Conference "Mind the Gap" was such a success. This was the second annual conference looking at palliative care and end of life issues and we exceeded our target for delegate numbers. Within the audience were 20 nursing/social work students who were given free places in an effort to ensure that end of life is seen as a priority from an early stage in training.
The link between social services and end of life was well made and we are hopeful that the conference was able to air some of the issues that will lead to the continuation of integrated services for the benefit of patients and their carers."
There will be another palliative care conference next year which will focus on achievements within the locality.
