Representatives from East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH) which supports families and cares for life-threatened children and young people across East Anglia will attend The Paediatric Palliative Care Workshop hosted by Hospis Malaysia from 25 – 27 September. The event is being run in association with the International Children’s Palliative Care Network and Asia Pacific Hospice Palliative Care Network.
Linda Maynard, EACH Nurse Consultant, will travel to Malaysia to deliver presentations, participate and teach in workshops at the three day event as well as visiting with children with palliative care needs in their own homes following the event. The event has run for the past three years and approximately 50 nurses and doctors from Malaysia and surrounding countries are expected to attend this year.
Linda will be accompanied by David Vickers, EACH Medical Director. Dr Vickers is a Consultant Community Paediatrician who provides strategic medical expertise to the Board, Management Executive and, in particular, the Director of Care; the EACH Clinical Governance Committee and Care Panel.
Thanks to their Royal Patron, HRH The Duchess of Cambridge, EACH has built a relationship with Hospis Malaysia, to develop services and share best practice. This relationship follows a visit to Hospis Malaysia in September 2012 as part of a tour by The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to Singapore, Malaysia, Solomon Islands and Tuvalu in celebration of The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.
Linda will deliver presentations on pain assessment and management, how communication is different in palliative care, psychological and emotional support of families and nurse-led research, while David will deliver presentations on palliative care for adolescents, advance care planning and documentation, withholding and withdrawal of treatment at end of life and inviting colleagues to embrace palliative care.
It is hoped that by working with EACH, Hospis Malaysia will further develop their skills and knowledge of children’s palliative care, and raise awareness and understanding of the movement across the country.
Linda Maynard, EACH Nurse Consultant, said: “Dr Ednin Hamzah, the Medical Director of Hospis Malaysia, wrote to us in April this year, inviting us to attend and contribute to the workshop. We were also asked to stay for a few days after the workshop to work with the Hospis Malaysia team and to visit some local paediatric units. We very kindly accepted the offer and are really looking forward to the opportunity to share our knowledge and learn about how children’s palliative care is delivered and being developed throughout Malaysia and in the wider network across Asia.
“We have already made some new friends as we have corresponded with colleagues as part of our preparations and look forward to getting to know many more clinicians during the course of the Workshop.”
Linda will bring greetings from the children and young people at EACH to the children and families using Hospis Malaysia services with a specially created piece of artwork featuring photos taken at the EACH hospices in Ipswich, Milton and Quidenham.
For more information visit: www.each.org.uk and www.hospismalaysia.org
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