On October 10 2024 North West Hospice proudly hosted their 3rd Explorations: National Palliative Care Conference in the Radisson Hotel. This year’s theme was ‘Palliative Care in an In-Patient Setting – Acute Hospitals, Residential Care, Community Hospitals and Specialist Palliative Care Units.’
The day started by incorporating one of our wonderful volunteers, Ramona the harpist who welcomed delegates in the morning. The welcome address was given by John Fitzmaurice, HSE IHA (Integrated Healthcare Area) Sligo Leitrim W Cavan S Donegal Manager, who welcomed over 200 delegates from all over Ireland. He highlighted the importance of an acute and community integrated approach to the delivery of patient care ensuring patients can get access the right care at the right time in the right place.
There was a range of experienced, knowledgeable and expert key speakers representative of a range of disciplines including; Professor Karen Ryan, Consultant in Palliative Medicine at MMUH, Professor Tom Hutchinson, Professor of Medicine at Mc Gill University in Canada, Deirdre Lang, Director of Nursing and national Lead for Older Person, Dr Martina O’Reilly, Programme Manager for the National Clinical Programme for Palliative Care, Dr Michael Lucey, Consultant in Palliative Medicine & Clinical Lead PCOC Ireland, Dr Mahrukh Azhar, SpR Palliative Medicine, Ann Booth, CNS Laura Lynn Children’s Hospice, Donnacha O’Ceallaigh, Project Lead HIQA, Karen Charnley, CEO AIIHPC, Dr Nessa Keane, Registrar Palliative Medicine and Frank Diamond, Mental Health Consultant. The conference was closed by Maurice Dillon, HSE National Lead for Palliative Care.
As part of the 2024 Explorations Conference, we were honoured to share patient Sean Owen’s inspiring journey with the North West Hospice. His story is a powerful reminder of the importance of compassion, care, and community in making life’s most precious moments truly count. Through his candid words, Sean shows us that life, even in its later chapters, can still be full of kindness, laughter, and meaning. His wisdom echoes the heart of what palliative care and person centred care is all about—supporting patients and families with dignity and warmth when they need it most. Sean’s story grounded the whole day in the importance of a person centred approach and how we achieve that within in-patient settings.
Our relatives experience was a video from the Tansey family who shared their story in relation to their late Mum, Phyllis. The family said ‘We were delighted to be asked to take part in it as we have so much respect for the tremendous work that North West Hospice do’
The Radisson Hotel provided a beautiful lunch and refreshments allowing for networking during the breaks. 13 national and international companies had conference stands on the day showcasing their work. There were 10 poster presentations showcasing excellent national research within palliative care. This conference included updates on the new National Adult Palliative Care Policy launched in September 2024.
The talented students and their teachers Enya McCafferty and Avril O’Hanlon from St John’s National School entertained the delegates after lunch and due to the high calibre of their singing they received a spontaneous standing ovation. Frank Diamond ensured the day ended on a positive and musical note reminding all the delegates of the importance of self-care sending people away with tools to use every day. Delegates travelled from across Ireland to attend this event. They were not disappointed and ranged in disciplines. Some worked within specialist palliative care and some within community hospitals, acute, residential, or primary care services.
Nuala Ginnelly, North West Hospice Operational lead said “This was a very successful conference with fantastic attendance. We are delighted to host this event every year in partnership with our North West Hospice Charity colleagues , which brings people from all over Ireland to Sligo and also provides a very valuable educational resource to our local health care providers.”
Emma Ball, General Manager, Primary Care, Sligo South Donegal Leitrim West Cavan said “Congratulations to all the staff of North West Hospice on hosting such a wonderful national event, locally. The calibre of speakers this year was excellent and bringing together of so many disciplines shows the range of beneficial services and amazing volunteers we have on our doorstep.”
The HSE would like to acknowledge the contribution from and thank North West Hospice Charity for supporting the delivery of this national conference on an annual basis.
The conference was very well evaluated with some delegates stating the following:
‘Bringing us all back to the essence of humanity within Palliative care which also should be in every discipline. The need for connection and mindfulness with people in need’
‘Holistic overview of most up to date data on our island’
‘All topics were broad and very informative, good range of SPC subjects and generalist PC including care of older person services’
Last updated on: 22 / 10 / 2024
