Children's palliative care conference helps 'people through hard things' at Limerick hotel
Limerick's Strand Hotel had medical professionals, advocates and researchers sharing knowledge on children's palliative care
THE SEVENTH All Island Children’s Palliative Care Conference took place at the Strand Hotel, Limerick city.
The conference had presentations from Dr Feargal Twomey, UL professor and consultant in palliative medicine for Milford Hospice and HSE Mid West,and Dr David Graham, Consultant Paediatrician for the Northern Ireland Regional Paediatric Palliative Care Network on April 24.
Professor Abby Rosenberg, Chief of Paediatric Palliative Care at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Boston Children’s Hospital delivered a keynote speech on The Science and the Art of Resilience at the conference.
Professor Rosenberg said: "Palliative care is specialised healthcare focused on minimizing the symptoms and stressors of serious illness. Resilience is the process of navigating adversity. Both are about helping people through hard things.”
“Combining them from the outset into holistic approaches to healthcare delivery and practice can significantly improve patient, family, and clinician experiences."
"We apply these principles every time we meet a new patient or family. For example, we begin by asking parents to 'tell us about your child as a person,' and we end by taking a 'resilience inventory' that explores a family's sources of strength and meaning. Together, we are able to recognize the whole child, amplify what matters to them, and support their ability to thrive,” Professor Rosenberg said.
Professor Jonathan Koffman, Director of the Wolfson Palliative Care Research Centre at Hull York Medical School, gave a talk on delivering palliative care for those from ethnic minority backgrounds.
The professor stated: “We know that children and families from minority ethnic backgrounds often experience palliative care differently, and not always equitably. These differences are rarely intentional, but can arise from the way services are designed, how communication takes place, and how assumptions are made in clinical care.”
“Addressing inadvertent racism requires us to look critically at our own practices and systems, and to work towards more culturally responsive models of care that truly meet the needs of all families,” Professor Koffmann said.
Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill addressed the conference on April 23, Thursday. The minister stated: “Working collaboratively, we can all ensure that every child with a life-limiting or life-threatening condition receives the appropriate care that respects their dignity and autonomy. ”
“To achieve this, we must support the development of resilient healthcare services that recognise and respond to the diverse needs of patients, ensuring that timely access, their care and comfort is always at the core of our work,” she added.
The conference was attended by clinicians, researchers and advocates to share knowledge, build connections and strengthen the delivery of children’s palliative care across the island.