4th Annual Conference & AGM |
“Hospice @ Home – A NICE Way Forward”
Report of the Annual Conference By Rosalind Matty, Hon. Secretary The fourth Annual Conference and AGM of the National Forum for Hospice at Home was held on October 20th 2004 at Regents College Conference Centre. Over 120 delegates attended. Retiring Forum Chair Rowena Dean, in her welcome speech informed delegates that talks have continued during the year around Care Standards and the complications for [email protected] services. She had given oral evidence on behalf of the Forum to the Government’s Health Select Committee on Palliative Care. The subsequent report from the Committee identifies that patient choice for care at home is an important component of palliative care and a current hot issue. The Conference keynote Speaker was Peter Tebbitt, National Palliative Care Development Advisor, National Council for Hospice & Specialist Palliative Care Services, whose presentation on the NICE Guidelines and Hospice at Home made it very clear that palliative care is no longer an optional extra for the NHS and is in fact now a core responsibility. The NHS may commission services from across the health care spectrum (statutory, voluntary and independent sectors) but services commissioned must comply with NICE recommendations. The challenges for Hospice at Home include the need:
There then followed three further presentations:-
The afternoon session was chaird by the new Chair, Carol Stone (Chief Executive of the Ellenor Foundation and the Lions Hospice) and consisted of four workshops relating to various aspects of Hospice at Home. The workshops included:-
The afternoon sessions ended with some very lively discussion as delegates reported back on the various workshops they had attended. These workshops created a great deal of interest and much valuable information relating to areas of good practice and innovative ways of collaborative workingwas disseminated in an interactive manner. Carol Stone concluded the day by encouraging delegates to share information about local developments in Hospice at Home to allow the forum to continue to drive forward and champion the integration of Hospice at Home services into community palliative care. |
Hospice at Home
National Forum for Hospice at Home UK