Day 1: Tuesday 25 November

Speaker:

• Anne Menard, Research Editor, BMJ Open

Chair: Melanie Taylor, Evidence Lead, Hospice UK 

👥: Research, Clinical

Members of the Hospice UK Technology Leaders Network are invited to meet up with their peers.

👥: Technology leads

Fellow trustees and chairs are welcome to join this informal meet-up to connect with colleagues.
 

Chair: Karen Warden, Chair, Pilgrims Hospices in East Kent; South East   Coast representative, Hospice Boards Council, Hospice UK

👥: Trustees

Discover the beauty of Arabic calligraphy in this lunchtime drop-in session. 

Explore the art form and learn to write your own initials using handmade pens and eco-friendly inks - crafted from recycled engine oil. Practice on specialist paper and take your personalised creation home. 

No experience or booking needed - just drop in and get creative.

👥: All delegates

This session includes four presentations of abstracts submitted via our Call for Papers:

• Hospice collaborative rapid access service - presented by Havens Hospices 

• Hospices working collaboratively to reduce hospital admissions – presented by Pendleside Hospice 

• ‘A big safety net’: collaborative working to support care of a 16-year old in an adult hospice – presented by St Wilfrid’s (Chichester) 

• Leading, collaborating, envisioning: the impact of an advanced practice lead for the North West Hospices Collaborative – presented by Pendleside Hospice 

These abstracts are published in an online conference supplement produced by BMJ Supportive and Palliative Care, an official journal of Hospice UK.  

Chair: Catherine Hodge, Programme Development Lead, Hospice UK 

👥: All delegates

This session offers a dedicated, safe space for hospice CEOs and senior leadership teams to come together in a peer-led forum. 

Building on feedback from last year’s conference, as well as the series of CEO thought leadership pieces published on our website, this session creates a unique opportunity for leaders to share perspectives, reflect, and engage in candid discussion. 

Speakers:

• James Sanderson, Chief Executive Officer, Sue Ryder
• Nigel Hartley, Chief Executive Officer, Mountbatten Hospice Group
• Kate Heaps, Chief Executive, Community Hospice
• Steph Edusei, Chief Executive Officer, St Oswald’s Hospice 

Chair: Toby Porter, Chief Executive, Hospice UK

👥: CEOs

The greatest generational wealth transfer in history has started to happen which provides charities with major opportunities in legacies and philanthropy. 

The session will explore these opportunities and will be in two parts: 

• Firstly, it will focus on legacy income. We’ll explore key trends in the legacy market, legacy marketing and the implications for hospices. 

  We’ll then drill down into the results of the first full year of the National Hospice Legacy Campaign, supported by 143 hospices across England, Scotland and Wales. We’ll hear from Community Hospice (Greenwich and Bexley) who will share what they did locally to optimise the success of the campaign for their hospice. 

• In the second part, we will broaden out to explore how we might harness more of this great wealth. In addition to an increase in legacies, what are the emerging giving trends among high-net-worth individuals more generally? How are they choosing to give through their lifetime and afterwards? And what can hospices do to reap the benefits? 

Speakers:

• Catherine Bosworth, Director of Income Generation and Grants, Hospice UK
• Molly O'Shea, Head of Communications and Marketing, Community Hospice
• Lynne Lamont, Head of Charities & Institutional Clients, RBC Brewin Dolphin
• Sarah Pook, Charities Business Development Manager, RBC Brewin Dolphin 

Chair: Catherine Bosworth

Kindly supported by our Gold sponsors, RBC Brewin Dolphin

👥: Income Generation, Trustees

Neurodegenerative conditions such as Multiple System Atrophy (MSA), Motor Neurone Disease (MND), and Huntington’s Disease present complex, unpredictable trajectories that challenge traditional models of palliative care referral and support. 

This interdisciplinary session brings together representatives from the MSA Trust, Motor Neurone Disease Association (MNDA), Huntington’s Disease Association, and a specialist palliative care nurse to explore the benefits of early, collaborative palliative care involvement for people living with these conditions. 

This session will: 

• Illuminate the unique needs and clinical presentations of MSA, MND, and Huntington’s Disease. 

• Highlight how timely palliative input can enhance quality of life, symptom control, and advance care planning.  

• Foster improved understanding of the roles of disease-specific charities and how they can support both professionals and families. 

• Promote effective partnership working between neurological services, charities, and hospice teams and how by working in collaboration with the patient, care delivery can be improved.  

Speakers:

• Andy Barrick, Chief Executive Officer, Multiple System Atrophy (MSA) Trust
• Lynda Friel, Head of Service Improvement and Transformation, Motor Neurone Disease (MND) Association
• Dorinda Moffat, MND and Neurorespiratory Specialist Practitioner, Prospect Hospice
• Cath Stanley, Chief Executive Officer, Huntington’s Disease Association 

Chairs: Julia Russell, Senior Clinical Practice & QI Manager, Hospice UK

👥: Clinical 

Those who are socially excluded need high-quality personalised care the most but get it the least. 

At this panel, we will discuss the palliative and end of life care needs of people in prison and people experiencing homelessness. We will examine how, as hospices, we can improve and expand our support for those who experience severe and multiple disadvantage. 

Speakers:

• Fr. Dr. Matthew M. Durham, Executive Director, Hospice Palliative Care & Community Development, Saint Elizabeth’s Foundation, Canada
• Nancy Lefebre, Chief Operating Officer, Chief Nursing Executive, Senior Vice President, Saint Elizabeth’s Foundation, Canada
• Emma Dixon, Director of Clinical & Digital Services; Senior Information Risk Officer (SIRO), Moya Cole Hospice
• Heidi McIntyre, Homeless Palliative Care Coordinator, Moya Cole Hospice
• Lucy Brant, Senior Policy Manager, Marie Curie

Chair: Katie Reade, Head of Policy and Public Affairs, Hospice UK

👥: Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, Clinical, Community Engagement

This session includes four presentations of abstracts submitted via our Call for Papers: 

• Providing support and finding self-compassion after making an error in hospice care – presented by St Nicholas Hospice Care 

• Embedding a culture of giving: changing language, shifting mindsets presented by  St Christopher’s Hospice  

• Becoming an anti-racist organisation – presented by Princess Alice Hospice 

• Think you’re safe? Think again. Ransomware is coming – presented by St Raphael’s Hospice 

These abstracts are published in an online conference supplement produced by BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care, an official journal of Hospice UK.  

Chair: Paul Fraser, Deputy Director of Programmes, Hospice UK 

👥: All delegates

This session will explore how hospices can lead and influence the development of integrated frailty care, drawing on the depth of palliative expertise and strong community roots. 

Presenting emerging models from national and local perspectives - including virtual wards, hospice-led services, and the unique contribution of social work - the session will highlight practical, values-led approaches that respond to growing population need.

Delegates will hear how specialist palliative care can remain distinct yet connected and integrated within wider systems, how data can strengthen the case for hospice involvement, and how frailty care can be reframed as a strategic opportunity for sustainability, equity, and person-centred innovation.

Speakers:

• Dr Sarah Bell, Medical Director, Garden House Hospice Care
• Lisa Hunt, CEO, Garden House Hospice Care
• Dr Shelagh O’Riordan, Consultant Community Geriatrician, Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust and Clinical Director for Frailty in East Kent; President Elect, UK Hospital at Home Society
• Wendy Ashton, Education Lead, Association of Palliative Care Social Workers; Patient & Family Support Team Lead, Eden Valley Hospice and Jigsaw, Cumbria’s Children’s Hospice 

Chair: Cat Sullivan, Senior Clinical Practice & QI Manager, Hospice UK

👥: Clinical

A session exploring the relationship between the arts and grief and how creative expression can support people before and after loss.

Speakers: 

• Ben Reed, Head of Creative Development, Wild in Art
• Judi Newman, CEO, St Elizabeth Hospice (Ipswich)
• Georgina Jones, Co-Founder, Grief Disco
• Hugh McElhinney, Compassionate Communities Lead, St Elizabeth Hospice
• Joe Cavalli-Price, Founder: Music In Hospices

Chair: Matthew Brindley, Rheolwr Polisi ac Eiriolaeth/Policy and Advocacy Manager Wales, Hospice UK

Kindly supported by Wild in Art 

👥: All delegates

This panel session will identify and explore what hospice charity and clinical leadership teams should be doing next to prepare their care services, charities and workforce for any change in the law on assisted dying.

Speakers:

• Dr Karen Chumbley, Co-Chief Executive and Chief Clinical Officer, St Helena Hospice
• David Houston, CEO, Trinity Hospice & Palliative Care Services, Blackpool
• Rhona Baillie OBE, CEO, The Prince & Princess of Wales Hospice
• Sam Kyeremateng, Medical Director, St Luke’s Hospice 

Chair: Toby Porter, CEO, Hospice UK

👥: Clinical, CEOs, Trustees
 

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is advancing rapidly and the palliative care sector must respond with deliberate, informed action.

This session will provide an evidence-based perspective on how AI can enhance hospice and palliative care while ensuring that patient safety, dignity, and equity remain paramount.

 Structured around three core themes of ethics, clinical practice, and education, this session will draw on real-world applications, highlighting both opportunities and potential risks. It will explore the importance of robust governance frameworks, principles of fair and responsible use, and clinician-led deployment strategies that will deliver tangible benefits for patients, professionals and organisations will be addressed.

Key topics will include risk management, informed decision-making, and the implementation of essential human safeguards, while exploring how digital confidence, engagement, and innovation can be cultivated. 

Speakers will provide clarity beyond the prevailing hype, presenting credible use cases and strategic insights to guide leaders in determining when to adopt, adapt, or defer AI solutions in the palliative care context.

Speakers:

• Dr Matthew Allsop, Associate Professor of Palliative Care, University of Leeds
• Cola Chen, Clinical Education Programmes Manager, University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (UCLH)
• Dr Amara Nwosu, Senior Clinical Lecturer in Palliative Medicine, Lancaster Medical School
• Penny Scaffold, Creative Technologist, Woodbrook Online 

Chair: Maaike Vandeweghe, Clinical Workforce Project Manager, Hospice UK

👥: Technology leads, Research, People and Human Resources

Join other delegates for drinks and networking.

👥: All delegates