Marie Curie Palliative Care Research Conference: The Patient Experience
Friday March 27, 2009
This year our conference is looking at care from the perspective of patients and families. Healthcare providers are putting an increased emphasis on patient choice, and this includes Marie Curie Cancer Care with its service development initiatives and planned new Access Programme. Listening to what it is like to be on the receiving end of care can only increase our understanding of our day to day work. After all, each of us is likely to be a patient at some time in our lives, be it with a life threatening or other condition, and I am sure we would all like to think that our voices would be heard.
Almost all the research we conduct in the Marie Curie Palliative Care Research Unit (MCPCRU) takes account of patients’ own accounts of their experiences. We use this approach to challenge assumptions that are made in planning and delivery of care. Often our research is qualitative and uses a narrative approach. But quantitative methods can also ensure that the patient perspective is heard. We have just completed a patient preference randomised controlled trial, for example, in which we listened very carefully to patients’ views prior to them entering the study. We have also conducted cohort studies and developed interventions to address areas of particular need, taking direct account of patients’ views at every step.
At this conference, we will hear one patient’s individual story, we will get an overview of how we can start thinking more about the environment of care and manner in which it is delivered, and we will hear how volunteers too have a voice, how they can influence our thinking and give us ideas on which assumptions we should challenge most urgently to benefit patients and their families.
Programme
Our invited speakers include: the Baroness Julia Neuberger, the Prime Minister’s Champion for Volunteering; Dr Jocelyn Cornwell, Director of the King’s Fund Point of Care project; Mr Steve Dewar, Director of End of Life Research, Marie Curie Cancer Care; and Dr Adrian Tookman, Medical Director, Marie Curie Hospice Hampstead and Clinical Adviser to Marie Curie Palliative Care Research Unit. We are also very pleased to be welcoming Mr Colin Ludlow, TV producer and former patient of the Royal Free Hospital, Hampstead, to present his own personal experiences of care.
Research from across the Charity will be presented in the form of short oral presentations and a poster exhibition, for which researchers are invited to submit their abstracts (see below). This gives delegates an excellent opportunity to see the work going on across the UK and to network with colleagues from different areas.
Register your place
Registration will be opening soon (expected November). Please check this site again at a later date, or contact Anna (details below) to request email notification of the opening of registration.
A limited number of free places will be available for Marie Curie Cancer Care employees. These places get filled quickly, so book yours early to avoid disappointment.
Submit an abstract
CLOSES: 5pm, Friday November 28, 2008
Abstracts for short presentations and/or posters on research in palliative care are invited. Whilst abstracts relevant to the patient or carer experience will be more likely to be chosen for oral presentation, we welcome submissions on any subject in palliative care.
Abstract submissions will only be accepted by email and should be received no later than 5pm, Friday November 28, 2008. You will receive an email confirming receipt of your abstract. If you do not receive this email within 3 working days please contact Anna Hartikainen (details below). We will aim to notify you if your submission is successful by Friday December 19. Please use the submission form provided below.
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Abstract submission form
Delegates from the 2008 conference said:
“Have enjoyed the day – very educational and very interesting… Good networking in tea and meal breaks, new links made… Will improve my patient care and practice… Excellent day… Very stimulating… Poster exhibition excellent.”
This conference is organised by the MCPCRU and the Royal Society of Medicine. The MCPCRU, based in the Department of Mental Health Sciences, UCL, conducts high quality research in palliative care, with the aim of improving care for those affected by cancer and other life threatening illnesses. The MCPCRU’s main research themes include evaluation of interventions and effectiveness in palliative care, assessment of psychological need, end of life care planning, sexuality, spirituality, systematic reviews, and palliative care in advanced non-cancer conditions such as dementia.
Contacts
Until October 16: Beth Downe | T: 020 7794 0500 x36890 | E: e.downe@medsch.ucl.ac.uk
After October 16: Anna Hartikainen | T: 020 7794 0500 x35542 | E: a.hartikainen@medsch.ucl.ac.uk
Marie Curie Cancer Care Palliative Care Research Conference, March 14, 2008: Future Challenges for Palliative Care
The invited speakers included Sir Peter Williams, Trustee and Research Patron, Marie Curie Cancer Care; Mike Richards, National Cancer Director, Department of Health; Alison Blight, Dementia Services Project Manager, National Council for Palliative Care; Julian Hughes, Institute for Ageing and Health, Newcastle University; and Adrian Tookman, Clinical Advisor, Marie Curie Palliative Care Research Unit. Karen Harrison and her team from the Admiral Nursing Service also spoke about the work carried out by Admiral Nurses with dementia patients and their families/carers.
The Joanna Mugridge Research Awards were presented to the best posters and the best oral abstract presentation. The winners were:
Poster Awards
- Runner-up: Lindsay McNeil, Alison Mitchell
Are referrals to the specialist palliative care team influenced by the team’s presence at multi-disciplinary meetings?
Prize: £100 book vouchers - Joint winner: Dr Alice Jordan, Dr Julian Hughes, Prof John O’Brien
Assessing and managing pain in severe dementia
Prize: £200 travel expenses - Joint winner: Marlene Taylor, Gerardine Cunningham
Meeting the spiritual needs of patients and families through holistic practice: An evaluation of the role of the chaplain.
Prize: £200 travel expenses
Presentation Award
- Winner: Dr Julie Bellieu, Marie Curie Hospice Liverpool
Dying in the emergency department
Prize: £500 travel expenses
The prizes given will pay for travel expenses and/or poster printing costs for the winning researchers to attend other conferences to present their findings.
Marie Curie Cancer Care Palliative Care Research Conference, March 2, 2007: Palliative Care for All
This year’s conference was held at the Royal Society of Medicine in London, and proved very popular with over 100 delegates attending.
Keynote speakers included Mike Richards, Cancer Tsar, Roger Boyle, Heart Disease Tsar, and Sue Hawkett, Team Leader in Palliative and End of Life Care, from the Department of Health. Presentations were also heard from the NCRI Supportive and Palliative Care Research Collaboratives, the Marie Curie Delivering Choice Programme and the Making the Most of our Hospices project. Four abstracts from Marie Curie researchers were also presented orally.
The Joanna Mugridge Research Awards were presented to the best posters and the best oral abstract presentation. The winners were:
Poster Awards
- Runner-up: Dr Papiya Russell, Phil Mackie, Dr David Oxenham
Which carers don’t know what to expect when a patient is dying?
Prize: £100 book vouchers - Joint winner: Mary Batchelor, Dr Papiya Russell, Dr David Oxenham
Does patient or carer age affect communication with healthcare professionals in hospital cancer care?
Prize: £200 travel expenses - Joint winner: Dr Alice Jordan, Dr Julian Hughes, Prof John O’Brien
The assessment of good practice in pain management in severe dementia: a pilot study.
Prize: £200 travel expenses
Presentation Award
- Winner: Stephen Mason, Marie Curie Palliative Care Institute
Tomorrow’s doctors: longitudinal evaluation of a palliative care programme for medical undergraduates.
Prize: £500 travel expenses
The prizes given will pay for travel expenses and/or poster printing costs for the winning researchers to attend other conferences to present their findings.
