Sector news and updates

Keep up-to-date with discussions and activity around assisted dying by bookmarking our information page for members.

Our next Frailty Care community of practice meeting is on Wednesday 22 April, from 14:00 to 16:00.

We will be hearing from:

• Dr Simon Etkind, Assistant Professor of Palliative Care at University of Cambridge who will be talking about 'Recognising Frailty as a Palliative Condition: Identity, Integration & Thresholds'
• Antony Perryman, Advanced Clinical Practitioner – Community Frailty Team, East Kent Urgent Care Services who will be presenting a case study 

To take part, please sign up to join the Frailty Care community of practice. You will then be sent a meeting invitation.

Have you heard of Kratom? Neither had we.

This month’s Clinical ECHO session will explore the intersection of illicit medications and palliative care. Matt will lead the discussion, with the latest news and updates from Max Watson and an outstanding journal club paper presented by Kate Flemming. As always, we’ll be joined by special guests at the cutting edge of palliative care. The session will take place on Wednesday 29 April, from 15:30 to 17:00. Clinical ECHO is delivered through Project ECHO Northern Ireland.

Register for the Clinical ECHO here.

Our next Progressive Neurological Conditions community of practice meeting is on Tuesday 5 May, from 10:00 to 11:30.

We will be hearing from some great speakers:

• Dr Edward Richfield, Consultant in Elderly Medicine at North Bristol NHS Trust
• Paula Brown, Head of Clinical Care and Education at St Marys Hospice

To take part, please sign up to join the Progressive Neurological Conditions community of practice. You will then be sent a meeting invitation.

Are you a Hospice Medical Director, Deputy Medical Director, or Medical Leader? Join our new national network aiming to provide a forum to build relationships, share learning, and provide a strategic voice for medical leaders into Hospice UK and national advocacy.
 
This Network is being hosted by Hospice UK in response to member requests, with Dr Nick Dando, Deputy CEO and Medical Director at Thames Hospice and and Dr Sam Kyeremateng, Medical Director at St Luke’s Hospice Sheffield kindly agreeing to establish the Network in the first instance.

Our first Network online meeting will be on Wednesday 6 May, from 10:30 to 12:00. Once you have signed up, you will be sent the meeting invite. We look forward to you joining us. 

Our next Hospice Technology Leaders Network meeting will be on Wednesday 6 May, from 14:00 to 15:30. 
 
In this session, we will be joined by Dr Neil Bacon, Founder and Medical Director at GRACE, alongside Dorothy House Hospice, presenting a case study / demo of the GRACE platform and with discussion around AI, patient experience and data, plus time for Q&A. 

To take part, please sign up to join the Hospice Technology Leaders Network. You will then be sent a meeting invitation.

Our next Education Network meeting will be on Tuesday 12 May, from 10:00 to 11:30. 
 
In this session, we will be joined by Ross Chirgwin, Palliative Care Rapid Response Clinical Nurse Specialist & Non Medical Prescriber at St Helena’s. He will give a talk on 'Growing your own: providing developmental pathways and retaining non-medical prescribers within specialist palliative care'.

To take part, please sign up to join the Education Network. You will then be sent a meeting invitation.

For colleagues working on the front line in healthcare, hospices, care homes and more, this often involves supporting bereaved families and loved ones. While this work can be deeply rewarding, it can also take an emotional toll on personal wellbeing.

Our Coping with Professional Grief workshop, run by our Compassionate Employers team, is a practical and interactive session which includes peer‑to‑peer learning and provides space to reflect, share experiences and build confidence in supporting both yourself and others.

Aims of the training

• to understand what professional grief is and how it may impact individuals and the workplace
• to offer guidance on supporting yourself and your team
• to highlight the support that is available

By the end of the workshop, you’ll be able to:

• explain the difference between professional grief and other forms of grief
• recognise the impact of professional grief on employees and the workplace
• identify ways to support individuals and teams exposed to frequent loss
• find and signpost appropriate further support

Book on our upcoming workshop on Tuesday 12 May 2026 from 10:00 to 12:30, at a cost of £120 + VAT per person.

The deadline to apply for our fully-funded Level 4 Project Management Diploma is Thursday 30 April. This course is open to hospice professionals in England.

Designed to support people who manage or contribute to projects in hospice settings, participants on this course will develop practical, in‑role project management capability, building skills and professional behaviours needed to deliver projects effectively in complex, resource‑pressured environments.

Details about this course can be found on our website. For information about making your application, please contact Corndel.

Our Big Conversation webinar for May is on ICB contracts for NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC) Fast Track. The session will take place on Tuesday 12 May, 14:00 to 15:30.

We will be joined by Jon Devlin, Director of Partnerships at Community Hospice, and Louise Bryan, Chief Executive at Havens Hospices, to hear and share learnings from their experiences with ICB funding for the NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC) Fast Track pathway, including examples of service models and components.